TuneLab
Seth Troxler launches The Lab Johannesburg
Seth Troxler launching The Lab Johannesburg is exactly the kind of globally-minded, soul-soothing session we expect from him, a deep house journey that feels both geographically unmoored and spiritually specific. The vibe is late-night, introspective, and richly textured, all warm bass and whispered secrets. This is deep, soulful house music par excellence, moving at a perfectly measured 126 BPM and spending most of its time in the deeply comfortable, foundational 12A key.
The energy is overwhelmingly concentrated in the low end, creating a hypnotic, cushioning groove that Troxler navigates with a shaman’s patience, letting tracks like Jovonn’s ‘Hesperia Soul’ unfold over nine minutes. Harmonic shifts into 3B and 5A are rare but meaningful, adding slight shades of melancholy or uplift. The digging here is exceptional: opening with the classic, raw house of Men From The Nile’s ‘Watch Them Come’ sets a timeless tone.
Santierri’s ‘A Little 5 Hours Story’ is a beautiful, jazzy deep cut, Black Loops & Nikoss’s ‘Remind Me’ injects a touch of modern soul, and Osunlade’s ‘Power To Conquer’ is a spiritual, percussive highlight. The journey begins with the raw pulse of ‘Watch Them Come’, reaches a deep, soulful peak with ‘Hesperia Soul’, and exits on the tribal, atmospheric haze of E-Culture’s ‘Tribal Confusion (Inhalation Mix)’. A masterclass in sustained mood.