TuneLab
Eats Everything
Mixmag Lab London x Fly San Miguel
Eats Everything in the Mixmag Lab London is a reassuring promise: no matter how deep we fall into niche subgenres, someone will always be there to play a gloriously stupid piano house loop and make us cheer. The vibe is pure pub-backroom-turned-rave-cave, sticky floors and wide smiles under the harsh fluorescent glow of the 'Lab' sign. This is a tech house masterclass, operating at a sweat-inducing average BPM of 132.2 and harmonically glued together by the ubiquitous 12A. The energy balance is beautifully judged, with the mid-range (0.46 avg) carrying the melodic hooks and the low-end providing a relentless, bouncing foundation.
Eats Everything's mixing is as fun as it is functional, using long, euphoric blends to build a sense of communal release. The set is a tour of house music's funnier, funkier corners. The opener, Afropeans & Mousse T.'s 'Better Things (So Phat! Remix)', is a joyous, hands-in-the-air statement of intent. Cromby's 'House Flava' is a lesson in minimal, bass-driven funk, while Tony Romera's 'Technic' is a peak-time tech-house weapon of the highest order.
The crowning moment is the extended, ecstatic run of Mousse T.'s 'Feel Love' mix of 'Sing It Back', a track that defines 'crowdpleaser'. Olive F's 'Umami' offers a deeper, percussive interlude, and the inclusion of Eats Everything's own reebeef of 'My Love Is Deep' is a cheeky, effective nod. From the opening gospel-house of 'Better Things', through the transcendent peak of 'Sing It Back', to the closing synth-stab assault of 'Technic', this full tracklist is a lesson in uncynical joy.