TuneLab
MAT ZO & THE M MACHINE
The Mad Zoo takeover promised chaos, and Mat Zo & The M Machine deliver a gloriously unhinged tour through the fringes of club music, where a 10-minute Todd Terje odyssey sits comfortably beside a chopped-up Kendrick Lamar sample. This is the sound of two producers with ADHD record collections let loose in the booth, and we are all beneficiaries of their beautiful mania. The Lab LA feels like a mad scientist's workshop where every experiment pays off. Technically, it's a rollercoaster with an average BPM of 123.3, but the range from 109 to 126 tells the real story of dynamic, genre-hopping shifts.
The key of 12A acts as a frequent home base, allowing for wild detours without losing musical coherence. The energy arc is less a smooth curve and more a series of exhilarating jumps, managed through quick cuts and bold blends that keep everyone guessing. The crate digging here is next-level: opening with the sheer, sunny brilliance of Todd Terje's 'Inspector Norse' is a statement of intent. From there, we get the moody, progressive build of Kidnap's 'Survive', the hilarious German library music interlude of 'Entspannungsmusik', and the glitchy funk of Siriusmo's 'Nights Off'.
Dropping Disclosure's 'Confess To Me' adds a shot of UK garage swagger, while Chrome Sparks' 'Moonraker' offers a moment of wistful electronica. The journey is a thrilling scramble from the playful opener, through the peak-time frenzy of 'King Kunta' re-contextualized for the dancefloor, to the glitchy, abstract conclusion of Josh Brown's 'Saturated Static'.