TuneLab
THOMAS JACK in The Lab LA
for a PHX Lights Fest takeover
Thomas Jack in The Lab LA for a PHX Lights Fest takeover brings a certain sunny, festival-ready ethos, a reminder that not all electronic music needs to be punishing to be effective. The vibe is open-armed and melodic, built for shared moments under a laser sky. This is tropical and melodic house at its core, locked into a steady, sway-inducing 122.4 BPM and predominantly using the bright, accessible 12A key.
The energy profile is notably more balanced than typical deep house, with a significant presence in the mid and high ranges to accommodate those catchy vocal hooks and shimmering melodies; the mixing is polished and fluid, designed for maximum accessibility. The track selection is a who’s who of the genre: Claptone’s ‘The Drums (Din Daa Daa)’ is an iconic, sample-heavy opener, and the collaboration with Alison Goldfrapp on ‘Digging Deeper’ is pure pop-inflected magic. Alex Kennon’s ‘Last Call (Karmon Remix)’ provides a deeper, driving moment, and the epic, near 28-minute journey of ‘U and I’ by LautLeise & Jan Clouds is the set’s undeniable, sprawling centrepiece.
He starts with the familiar kick of ‘The Drums’, builds into the extended, hypnotic peak of ‘U and I’, and brings it down with the timeless, dubby grace of Fade’s ‘All I Got (Chris Fortier 20yr Dub)’. A smoothly engineered dose of positivity.