TuneLab
Hannah Wants | Lab London
Mixmag
Nothing quite says 'UK underground' like the visceral thrill of a speed garage bassline warping the foundations of a narrow room. Hannah Wants' Mixmag Lab London offering is a dedicated sermon from the church of swung rhythms and sub-bass pressure, for those of us who believe a 'Tall Paul Remix' is a sacred text. The vibe is all intimate, forward-leaning intensity, with strobe lights cutting through a haze of condensation as every rewound break is met with a collective roar. Technically, this is a fierce lesson in UK garage and speed garage dynamics, locked into a tight 130-132 BPM range and making clever use of complementary keys like 12A and 3B to keep the harmonic tension high.
The energy balance shifts notably, with a strong mid-range presence (0.43) driving the iconic organ stabs and vocal chops, while the high-end percussion crackles with urgency. Hannah's mixing is assertive and physical, using quick cuts and long, teasing blends to manipulate the room's energy with surgical precision. For the diggers, this set is a treasure trove. Opening with Praxis featuring Kathy Brown - Turn Me Out (Turn To Sugar) [Sol Brothers Mix] is a statement of intent, a timeless vocal anthem given a driving, contemporary framework.
C.J. Bolland - Sugar Is Sweeter (Armand Van Helden's Drum 'n' Bass Mix) is a legendary, genre-bending flip that still sounds alien, while Silvio Ecomo - Uprising (SPEEDGARAGE MIX) is the unadulterated, snarling bassline weapon the genre was built on. The closing Nalin & Kane - Beachball (Tall Paul Remix) is the ultimate euphoric release, a trance-tinged classic perfectly repurposed for a garage dancefloor. The journey masterfully builds from the soulful pressure of the opener, peaks with the brutalist funk of the 'Uprising' mix, and floats us home on the balearic chords of 'Beachball'.