TuneLab
System Olympia
Mixmag Lab London
System Olympia in The Lab London is a welcome detour into the archives, a set that reminds us dance music’s foundation is pure, unadulterated funk. This is less a club session and more a curated tour through disco, boogie, and oddball electronica—the kind of thing that makes you want to start a vinyl collection immediately. The vibe is eclectic, colourful, and rhythmically sophisticated, spanning a wild BPM range from 107 to 167 but averaging a cool 119.8.
The key centre is predominantly the bright, major-lift of 12A, providing a consistent thread of joy through the genre-hopping. The energy balance is uniquely mid-dominant, letting those funky guitar licks, slap basses, and synth chords shine, while the mixing is musical and narrative, respecting the songs’ structures. The selections are impeccable: opening with Piero Umiliani’s library music gem ‘Chaser’ is a wonderfully obscure choice.
Daniel Monaco’s ‘Tu Sei Pazza (Whodamanny Reinterpretation)’ is a modern edit that understands its source material, Angela’s ‘I Gotta Little Love’ is a sparkling boogie highlight, and Pat & Pats’ ‘Tobago’ is a sun-drenched, vocal-driven peak. The journey starts with the quirky ‘Chaser’, builds to the tropical funk peak of ‘Tobago’, and ends on the smooth, jazzy closer ‘Love On the Line’. A delightful lesson in dancefloor history.