Brizm
Byron The Aquarius soulful house set in The Lab LDN
Byron The Aquarius’s ‘soulful house set’ in The Lab LDN is exactly what we needed: a warm, musical bath for the soul after one too nights of relentless four-on-the-floor. This is house music played by a musician, where every key change and bassline feels live, organic, and deeply felt. The vibe is akin to a perfect, intimate jazz club that just happens to have a dancefloor, all low lighting and appreciative nods. Technically, Byron weaves a tapestry at a relaxed, groovy 118.4 BPM average, frequently using the soulful key of 3B as his home.
The energy profile is masterfully mid-range dominant (0.672 avg), which allows the lush chords, wah-wah guitars, and, of course, those impeccable live keys to shine with breathtaking clarity. The low-end (0.232 avg) is present and funky, but it’s the supportive partner to the melodic action, not the star. His selections are a history lesson in feeling. He opens not with a classic, but with the modern, driving tension of Marc Marzenit’s ‘Perron’ remix by Wehbba, a clever bridge from techno territories.
From there, it’s a deep dive into gold: Milton Hamilton’s ‘Crystalized’ is pure, spaced-out jazz-funk, and the drop of Michael McDonald’s ‘I Keep Forgettin’ is a moment of pure, unadulterated joy. Donald Byrd’s ‘You and Music’ is a sophisticated gem, and Hardrive’s ‘Deep Inside’ is a timeless garage anthem rebuilt from the ground up. Honeysweet’s ‘I Put a Spell On You’ mix is dripping with soul, and the Butch remix of Alan Fitzpatrick & Patrice Rushen’s ‘Haven’t You Heard’ is a 10-minute journey in itself. The set builds from techy beginnings into a crescendo of classic soul and disco, before landing perfectly on the live-wire funk of George Duke’s ‘Reach For It’, a closing track so good it makes you want to start the whole journey over again.