Dissecting K+Lab’s Genre-Traversing EP, ‘Muuve’

K+Lab fuses hip-hop, bass, funk, and more on his newest sonic adventure, Muuve, featuring Lyrics Born, The Mic Smith, Bryx, and EPUTTY.

You might know K+Lab (real name Caleb Cowie) as the Australia-based, keytar-wielding “intergalactic funk” guru who never fails to light a fire under the dancefloor. With his live improvization and creative mixing, each K+Lab set is a fresh experience.

His malleable, multi-dimensional style draws from genres such as funk, soul, hip hop, 140, experimental bass, and glitch-hop. With Captain K+Lab at the helm, this seemingly heterogenous blend of influences coalesces into a brand-new sound. Most recently, it culminated in the EP Muuve, which released on December 12 via Philos Records.

K+Lab took to Instagram to delve into the roots of the effort, which preceded the release of lead single, “No Joke,” back in September. “This collection of songs was largely written on the road whilst touring North America, from sampling records in Atlanta to absorbing the Bass in BC,” he said.

K+Lab doesn’t waste any time getting into an irresistible groove on the title track “Muuve.” The bouncy beat is balanced by the smooth verses of Lyrics Born and The Mic Smith.

“Do Em Like” builds anticipation at the start and drops into a groovy, infectious bassline sure to get heads bobbing back and forth. In one of his latest Instagram Reels, K+Lab describes the process that birthed the track. It all started because Daily Bread invited him to go through his record collection in Atlanta. He sampled two records: “Soul Vibrations” by Kool & The Gang and “Shame” by Evelyn “Champagne” King. “Bass music and B minor go together like a square peg in a round hole but I knew there was something special here,” K+Lab said in the caption.

“No Joke” has a fluid, downtempo sound perfect for cooking dinner playlists at home, but it also contends as an emotional interlude during a high-energy live set. The gospel piano and vocal samples from Rev. Harvey Gates’ “The Price of Love” fill the airwaves as K+Lab’s buzzy bass intoxicates. “ENUFF” featuring Bryx explores a deep and upbeat glitch-hop terrain that is primed to keep the party going.

The EP ends on a trippy note, with “BLASTIN” featuring EPUTTY. Somehow, the track has implanted an image of kittens in space suits suspended in outer space in my brain. Its character is sort of dark, vast, and unknown — but not entirely threatening. It meets the edge of the very range of sounds traversed by the EP, acting as an epic epilogue. The organic yet otherworldly composition poses questions about the lonely vacuum of the unexplored universe, transmitting a call to recognize our common ground here on Earth through music.

K+Lab forges ahead, coming off a massive touring year that included four festivals in four weeks. Highlights from 2024 include a jazzy, sunkissed jam sesh at Shambhala with Father Funk, a piping-hot Red Rocks debut, and tons of new tunes. We are keeping a close eye on where Captain K+Lab is off to in 2025.

Check out Muuve on Spotify or your preferred streaming service.

Stream K+Lab – Muuve on Spotify:

K+Lab – Muuve – Tracklist:

K+Lab, Lyrics Born, Mic Smith – Muuve

K+Lab – Do Em Like

K+Lab – No Joke

K+Lab, Bryx – ENUFF

K+Lab, EPUTTY – BLASTIN

Image Courtesy Philos Records

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