TuneLab
Rodriguez Jr. feat Liset Alea live
Falaises d'Etretat in France for Cercle
Another Cercle spectacle where we’re all pretending the cliffside isn’t giving us vertigo just to chase that ethereal synth line. Rodriguez Jr. and Liset Alea deliver a live set because why merely DJ when you can perform, adding a layer of unpredictability to the usual backdrop of breathtaking scenery. The Falaises d’Etretat loom, all mist and ancient rock, with the music carving a path through the salt air like a sonic foghorn for the soulfully lost.
Technically, this is a masterclass in sustained mood, locked at a patient 125 BPM and harmonically anchored in 12A, with thoughtful detours into 7A and 5A to avoid monotony. The energy profile is overwhelmingly low-end focused at 0.89, crafting a deep, immersive groove that prioritizes texture and emotion over peak-time aggression. Rodriguez Jr.’s live tweaks and Liset’s vocals act as organic filters, painting over a canvas of sturdy percussion and undulating basslines. The mixing is fluid and unhurried, allowing each track’s narrative to unfold fully, a testament to the live format’s unique tension.
Crate digging highlights include Marsh’s “1992 (Extended Mix),” a slice of pure, nostalgic deep house that feels both timeless and perfectly placed. Fabio Fuso’s “Obscurity” sets the enigmatic, cinematic tone from the jump, while the centerpiece “Radian (Cercle Version)” is a hypnotic, rolling original that defines the entire journey. Don’t sleep on the acid-tinged surprise of Memoryman’s “King Khan (Acid Mix)” or the melodic depth of Rodriguez Jr.’s own “Monticello”—each selection feels like a curated piece of a larger, emotional puzzle. The journey flows seamlessly from the mysterious opener “Obscurity,” builds to the live vocal peak of “Radian,” and winds down with the warm, driving closure of Gaetano C & DePandis’s “Saw,” a coherent arc that never sacrifices its heart for the spectacle.