TuneLab
VISIONQUEST underground house and techno set in The Lab LA
Of course we're here, chasing the ghost of a bassline from a set that felt transmitted from some perfect, sweat-drenched basement. VISIONQUEST's underground house and techno live set in The Lab LA is for those of us who believe the search is part of the ritual. The vibe is pure Lab LA: a dark, boxy room where the only light comes from the laptop screen and the occasional flash of a phone desperately trying to Shazam. This is a deep, percussive journey locked at an average 123.8 BPM, with an unwavering harmonic center in 12A that provides a warm, hypnotic foundation.
The energy is overwhelmingly low-end focused—those sub-bass frequencies aren't just heard, they're felt in the chest, creating a physical, rolling momentum. Mixing is patient and textural, layering intricate percussion loops to build a dense, driving tapestry. The arc is less about dramatic peaks and more about a sustained, meditative pressure, using subtle key shifts within the 12A sphere to guide the mood from introspective to euphoric without breaking the spell. The tracklist is a crate-digger's dream, balancing timeless classics with sharp modern cuts.
The Slam's RTM remix of Paperclip People's "Throw" is a quintessential house weapon that never fails to reset the dancefloor. Dennis Ferrer's "How Do I Let Go" offers a moment of soulful, vocal-led release, while the opener, Fade's "All I Got" in its Chris Fortier 20-year dub, sets a profoundly deep tone. Look out for the lean, driving funk of R.A.W.'s "Unbe (Erick 'More' Mix)" and the clever, bass-heavy rework of Calvin Harris & Sam Smith's "Promises" by OFFAIAH, which proves even pop can be weaponized in the right hands. The journey begins in the deep end with "Fade - All I Got (Chris Fortier 20yr Dub)", climbs to a peak with the relentless groove of "Paperclip People - Throw", and descends gracefully into the melancholic, bass-weighted closing of Andrew Fontana's "Bear".