Seth Troxler - The Lab 03

  • Share
  • The Lab 03 is Seth Troxler's second mix CD in as many years. His first, for BPitch's Boogybytes series, captured the moment perfectly, even if by the time it was released a lot of the contributions had already been thoroughly road-tested and the element of surprise partially lost. Here, Troxler sidesteps these issues by mixing new and old for NRK's Lab series, spreading his wings a bit further, and the results, although occasionally uneven, are always interesting. The first disc, which is meant to show Troxler as most of us have come to know him, is deep and dubby from the outset. Its first three tracks merge in a cardiac embrace, breaking free of each other and taking to the skies during David Alvarado's "Beautification." The clouds are blown away by Lindstrom Vs Mungolian Jetset's "A Blast Of A Loser" which combines brilliantly with Hati Munetsi's "Ceremony" to set the stage for later developments. So far, so predictable you may think. The devil's in the detail though, as the sequencing on show feels effortless and natural. Frequencies modulate at their own pace and there's a tremendous amount of space between the beats, giving the music ample room to breathe. Soul Capsule's "Lady Science" is a highlight, providing the light before DBX's darkness. From there, the mood stays relatively sombre until DeWalta's "Farina" picks up the pace. Disc two kicks off with an almost two-decades old skit captured by Kenny Larkin, which leads directly into Ark and Exercise One's ambient interlude. Deniz Kurtel's remix of Chaim's "Alive" kicks things off properly, with the tone kept relatively low-key and abstract throughout. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in Oni Ayhun's excellent contribution, which mixes a Pharaoh Sanders-like sax and a momentous kick. Und's "Rodeo" momentarily changes the tempo and Dinky's excellent "This Is Your Heart" emphasises the circulatory feel of the mix's beginning. The following tunes, from Dntel to Superpitcher, raise the trance stakes somewhat, but the bass makes sure things never leave the floor completely. Andrew Weatherall's edit of Radioactive Man's "Fed Express To Munchen" feels like it's been shoe-horned in to make up the numbers, but Dinky's "Time To Lose It" feels like an appropriate closer. Sensual and housey, the mix on the first disc wisely never gets ahead of itself and keeps it deep. Disc two is the more interesting of the pair, though, and after a slow start it builds up an unstoppable momentum. It's a nice collection, but I'd like to have seen the tracks from the two discs combined more, rather than setting out to be club-orientated on the first and more introspective on the second.
  • Tracklist
      CD1 01. Hatikvah - Big Mind 02. Bearweasel - Button Down The Moose (Echologist Dub) 03. Hati Munetsi: Cereomony(African mix) 04. Tommy Bones - After The Club 05. Daze Maxim - Tomorrow Universe 06. Deepak Sharma & Dieter Krause - Wolkenreise (DJ Qu Remix) 07. DeWalta - Farina 08. Ark - Arkuarium 09. WestBoy - S L I V A (Chaim Remix) 10. Daniel Bortz & Sascha Sibler - Fantasy 11. David Alvarado - Beautification 12. Mungolian Jet Set - "A Blast of Loser (9406 Version) 13. Home & Garden - Themes of Yesterday 14. Dinky - Polvo 15. Soul Capsule - Lady Science (NYC Sunrise) 16. DBX - City On The Edge Of Forever 17.David Durango - Mosaic 18. Masomenos - Sunsun 19. Exercise One - Prowl 20. Chaim - Alive (feat Meital De Razon - Deniz Kurtel remix) 21. Oni Ayhun - OAR001-A 22. Superpitcher - White Lightning 23. Radioactive Man - Fed Ex To Munchen (Andrew Weatherall version edit) 24. Und - Rodeo Seth Troxler - "The Lab 03" (continuous DJ mix part 1) Seth Troxler - "The Lab 03" (continuous DJ mix part 2)
RA