TuneLab
RONI SIZE quality d'n'b set in The Lab #SmirnoffHouse
When a drum & bass legend like Roni Size turns up for a 'quality d'n'b set' in The Lab, we don't need Shazam; we just need to hold on. The vibe is intimate and intense, the low ceiling vibrating with every sub-bass ripple and amen chop. This is pure, unadulterated jungle and drum & bass, averaging a blistering 173.7 BPM and predominantly navigating the darker, more complex harmonic terrain of 3B. The energy is relentlessly forward, with the low-end (0.63 avg) providing a tectonic foundation for intricate mid-range breaks and sparse, haunting melodies.
Size's mixing is a history lesson in itself, weaving between old-school ruffage and contemporary neurofunk with seamless, double-drop precision. The tracklist is a treasure trove for heads. Diemantle's 'My Thing (Sex Machine)' is a brutal, contemporary opener that nods to the sound's rave roots. Decimal Bass's 'Work for Nothing' is a minimal, techy roller, while Culture Shock's 'Tangents' represents the polished, anthemic side of the genre.
The sheer audacity of dropping a Serum remix of D-Livin's 'Why?' alongside a classic like Dillinja's 'Twist 'Em Out' shows a mastery of the continuum. Throwing in Pharoahe Monch's 'Simon Says' as a breakbeat interlude is the kind of crate-digging flex we live for. The journey starts with the rude-boy intro of 'My Thing', hits a cavernous, emotional peak with Dub Phizix's epic 'Never Been', and concludes with the bewildering, brilliant left-turn of Agatha Christie's 'Ковёр вертолёт'—a tracklist that proves the genre's endless evolution.