EDM collaborative Lab Group is bringing its star-studded lineup to the Mission Ballroom in 2024. Headlining a Friday night show on February 23rd, they will feature each of the core collaborators from their upcoming album. Adding to the party is Clams Casino, a renowned producer from New Jersey, and Jacques Greene, a DJ and producer who hails from Montreal. Additional artists will perform on top of the already stacked lineup.
At Home in the Lab
Lab Group provides a musical mixing pot where various sounds and artists can come together. According to an interview with MP3 MAG in 2021, the alliance formed back in 2012. CharlestheFirst (real name Charles Elias Ingalls) and Potions (real name Tom Owens) met as teenagers with big music dreams and lots in common. They began sharing and writing music together shortly after and became good friends.
The coincidental placement of tracks on a collective release called SVNSET WAVES brought the third member of Lab Group into the mix. Supertask (real name Kyle Bishoff) and Ingalls had adjacent songs on that album, and Bishoff was impressed with what he heard. The pair met up soon after at a festival where they each performed and worked together on an EP in 2017 titled Escapism // Work While You Talk. Ingalls introduced Bishoff to Owens, and the triumvirate took root. Owens coined the name Lab Group, playing off the term lab to describe any recording studio they shared.
Early Experimentation
While the trio worked together at times in the years following their introduction, 2021 marked their first official joint release. In July 2021, we received the debut EP entitled Lab Group 1. Those eight tracks demonstrate the diverse musical styles and the synergy the trio accomplished together. They also feature collaborations from tiedye ky, Player Dave, and hawk. (Ingalls rapping alter-ego project) along with Tsuruda. The EP laid the groundwork for the collaborations featured on the upcoming follow-up record Lab Group 2.
Reworking The Equation
Tragedy struck the group and EDM as a whole in late 2021 when Ingalls passed away unexpectedly at only 25 years old. Many collectives would be hard-pressed to continue after losing a founding member. Lab Group’s members were shaken, but decided to keep pushing on in Ingalls’ honor. They dedicated future work to his legacy and filled a void by bringing in familiar faces. They began concocting a new formula with tiedye ky and Player Dave joining full time.
Fusing a New Formula
Providing ethereal vocals, subdued guitar licks, and emotionality to the tracks is tiedye ky (real name Kyle Bate). Bringing ambient bass beats and his background in classical music is Player Dave (real name Charlie Sahm). Having already featured on the first Lab Group EP, the two were natural additions to the lineup. Sahm recently played a Cervantes co-headlining show along with Black Carl, and he included a song featuring Ingalls.
Unveiling a New Creation
Inquiry, Exploration, Discovery. Those words feature on the announcement poster for Lab Group’s 2024 Mission Ballroom show. They also express the original sense of curiosity and cooperative nature the group members embody. Playing a DJ set on night one of Rezz Rocks, Bishoff and Owens gave fans a taste of what they’ll bring to the Mission Ballroom. That 2024 show will feature the collaborators from their upcoming second album.
An acclaimed opening lineup awaits attendees. Presenting atmospheric arrangements will be Clams Casino (real name Michael Thomas Volpe) as primary support. Volpe incorporates a diverse assortment of music styles into his mixes. He is best known for writing, producing, and remixing hip-hop tracks for industry giants like A$AP Rocky, Lana Del Rey, and The Weeknd. Jacques Greene (real name Philippe Aubin-Dionne) will bring his otherworldly audio styling to the Mission stage. Aubin-Dionne’s production credits include work with vocalists Katy B and Tinashe. Beyond releasing his music and others’ works as co-owner of Vase Records, he’s remixed household names like Ciara and Radiohead.
Don’t Wait Until the Lab is Closed
Anyone fortunate enough to catch Potions and Player Dave at Mishawaka in May can attest something magical is brewing. Use our lab-tested link to lock down your tickets today for the Mission Ballroom show in February 2024 before it sells out! If you want to rely on a lucky spin of the roulette wheel, you can also enter here to win a pair from Party Guru.
