TuneLab
JOE GODDARD in The Lab LDN [SAVAGE takeover]
Joe Goddard has always had the uncanny ability to make the deeply cool feel welcomingly daft, and this SAVAVE takeover for The Lab LDN is a perfect testament—where else do you get Todd Terry rubbing shoulders with a Fred again.. edit? The vibe is a joyous, slightly sweaty basement party where genre pedantry is left at the door. This is a masterclass in playful, percussive house and tech house, cruising at a steady 126.8 BPM with a strong preference for the bright, open key of 12A. The energy balance (0.57 low, 0.35 mid) tells the story: it’s all about the bumping bassline and skippy hats, with enough mid-range texture to keep it interesting without overwhelming.
His mixing is deceptively simple, often using long blends and acapellas to create joyful collisions. The tracklist is a digger’s delight: 'Hot Chocolate - I Just Love What You're Doing' is a stone-cold classic deployed with perfect timing, 'Shosho - Fishing People' is a quirky, bubbling weapon, 'Orange Tree Edits - Pembe (Jimmy Rouge Edit)' is a worldly, hypnotic loop, and 'Carlos Romanos - 1 2 1 (Doug Willis Raw Edit)' is raw, unadulterated jack. The moment 'Fred again.. - Danielle (smile on my face)' peeks through is a genuine, crowd-pleasing smile.
He kicks off with the driving, tribal thump of 'Jamie Jones & Darius Syrossian - Eyes of the Night', builds to a peak of pure piano-house euphoria, and winds down with the deep, soulful sway of 'Reel People - Alibi (Dennis F's out on Bail Mix)'. A live set that reminds us fun isn’t a dirty word.