IVAN SMAGGHE in The Lab LDN

IVAN SMAGGHE in The Lab LDN for the Farr Festival takeover is exactly what we needed: a wilfully obscure, hypnotic journey that reminds us dance music can be art, not just utility. This is for the trainspotters who get a thrill from not recognising a single track for twenty minutes, a shared act of musical archaeology. The vibe is dark, cerebral, and slightly disorienting, like wandering into the backroom of a Berlin bunker at dawn. With a low BPM average of 115.1 and a wide range from 105 to 129, this is a slow-burn exploration of leftfield house and electronica; keys are eclectic, with 10A and 12A appearing, but the focus is on texture over harmony.

Energy is more evenly split, with lows at 54% providing a murky foundation, mids at 40% carrying the odd melodic hook or spoken word, and highs at 6% used for atmospheric crackle and hiss. The mixing is deep and immersive, often letting tracks play out in their full, extended glory—the 37-minute 'Yakuza Mob' is a testament to this patient, almost performance-art approach. Pletnev's 'Devil's Logic' opens with a brooding, cinematic tension that sets the stage for the weirdness to come. DJ Cue SA's epic 'Yakuza Mob' is the centerpiece, a sprawling, minimal techno odyssey that demands and rewards attention.

Allen's 'Four Dimensional Existence' offers a more melodic, kosmische interlude, and Euphoric Tides' 'Depths Spirals' closes with a beautiful, ambient drift into the ether. It begins with the ominous pulse of 'Devil's Logic', peaks (or rather, plateaus) within the deep, extended groove of 'Yakuza Mob', and dissolves into the ambient wash of 'Depths Spirals', a live set that defiantly follows its own rhythm.