TuneLab
THE JUAN MACLEAN house set in The Lab NYC
The Juan Maclean’s house set in The Lab NYC is a disco-tinged love letter to the NYC dancefloors that raised us, a set where every track feels like a cherished vinyl pulled from a milk crate under the booth. The vibe is effortlessly cool, all swinging hats and warm basslines, a welcome reminder that house music can be both intelligent and immensely fun. This is disco house and indie dance at its finest, cruising at a perfectly pitched 122 BPM average, the sweet spot for both dancing and appreciation. Harmonically, it lives in the bright, positive realm of 12A, with visits to 3B adding just enough depth and contrast.
The energy is wonderfully bass-heavy (0.71 avg low), creating a physical, grounding pulse over which airy melodies and funky guitar licks can glide. The mixing is smooth and musical, often highlighting the full arrangements of classic edits and allowing the personality of each record to shine through. The selections are impeccable: Goody Goody’s ‘It Looks Like Love’ is a swooning, soulful opener that immediately disarms. Bawrut’s ‘Rumba’ is a modern, minimal-disco gem, while Avon Stringer & Jesse Rose’s ‘Pressure’ delivers a tougher, tech-house informed groove.
The inclusion of MF DOOM’s ‘Beef Rap’ is a brilliantly weird, sample-friendly moment, and Cody Currie’s ‘Dynamite’ is pure, filtered disco joy. It all starts with the romantic sway of ‘It Looks Like Love’, builds to a peak with the driving, percussive pressure of the track ‘Pressure’, and sends us off swinging with Mr. G’s raw, hardware-jammed ‘Got That Swing’.