The Third Room Curations

The Third Room Curation series is a 6-record rollout featuring some of the best-known, most hyped, or under-the-radar techno artists from the current underground. Each record is created by a different artist: Oscar Mulero, D.Dan, Freddy K, Verraco, Alarico and GiGi FM, bringing a unique voice to the label, either showcasing their own musical prowess or highlighting new artists that have hit their radar. Each record consists of at least four brand-new joints, whether that's remixed gold, collaborative efforts, or something new from the curator in question.

Curation 01: Oscar Mulero

Oscar's joints differ from his usual style in the first half of the record. Malaria's usual Spacey slammers have been replaced by soothing dub chords. On the first track, 'Sonic Synergy'. Likewise, in his partnership with DVS1 on the track 'Recreation Pair', similar warm, fuzzy tones create a swirling, meditative allure. These two tracks hit a soft, warm nerve in the body, with a clear route to both their affinities with the Detroit-style attack. Now, as the record progresses into its second act, Mulero teams up with both Luigi Tozzi and Isabel Soto to capture 2 tracks that fit more cohesively within the Mulero-verse. Each track captures what most Mulero fans would be used to. The Spacey, explorative techno sound, which is part hypnotic, part futuristic, but 100% dance-coded, explodes with trippy bleeps and far-out rumbles.

Curation 02: D.Dan

D.Dan invites Renée Wise, Conor Wall, and the duo of Sanji and DJ Maria for a much heavier selection. For creations, everything's a lot more in-your-face, with a real sense of kinetic energy throughout each and every track on the record. There's a funky brashness that flirts with ultimate club tunes, as heard on D.Dan's 'Bound', and a stunning big-room aesthetic from the effervescent Rene Wise. Punching acid lines or left super-dry, allowing them to invade the space on the track 'Gensou' while 'Slither' roars with a crushing kick and a crunching bassline. All the tracks are serious, heavy, and gravitational, providing heavy rhythmic concussions while leaving just enough on the floor to swallow dances whole.

Curation 03: Verraco

The greenness of the compilation series Verraco introduces a freer, easier-listening experience. From the outset, tracks like 'Liberation - Stone Version' from Substance and Vainqueur feel like waves of salty water spraying in the wind, making it evident that this curation is much more about the organic side of techno. Smooth basslines, subtle vocals, and resonant synthesisers, coupled with strong swing and percussive elements, create this real, organic-sounding house-infected techno on 1morning's 'untitled'. I'm sure you'll agree that not much needs to be said about Skee Masks. However, 'Clear Sky 909' is a fantastic jungle-tinged techno track that returns to the dance roots of the German while still incorporating the futuristic, German-based electronic side of his music.

Curation 04: Freddy K

The 4th to step up to the third room in the creation series is the enigmatic FreddyK. You can point to his swift rise to household-name status in the underground, his longevity, his constant relevance, or his mature, Merlot-like talent. Freddie stands out as the one artist whose main output is DJing, and this quality is overwhelmingly evident in his selection. Freddie appears to have picked songs for their energy, minimalism, and simplicity, and for how well they fit into an all-vinyl kerfuffle. Take, for example, the opener 'Bat' by Toobris, which is full of underlying percussive elements that explode in the half spaces. There's real forward momentum not only in Toobris' cut but throughout the record. Throughout, synthesisers mimic alien vocalisations, as on Sons of Hidden's 'Before Mirrors'. At the same time, Quelza uses that forward momentum to simulate the classic trope of trains in dance music, only this time it's augmented by a darkened, almost sinister undertone. Expect elevated BPMs and locked-in basslines. It is a real selector's selection.

Curation 05: Alarico

Next up is a fusion of both minimal and psychoactive sound design. Moods peak as squeezed synthesised leads echo through dark, stonewalled dungeons. There's a clear intent in this record to expand beyond classic techno tropes, including percussive dub and minimal techno. Instead, each artist expands those sub-genres, switching on Alaricos's 'IB1809', which fuses these light, housey rhythms with convulsing synth leads and galloping bass lines. In contrast, Leah occhi and amotech blend glitching percussion with a free-flowing sway that slowly builds tension, resulting in a floating psychosis of sorts. Through intense, spontaneous, and somewhat generative sound design, each track in the selection creates a warm, blissful sense of satisfaction, as if syncing with your subconscious.

Curation 06: GiGi FM

GiGi FM selection is the final one in the series but one of the most interesting, as it really feels like, although she hasn't selected only female artists for the record, she's seen past gender, in a sense. Each track has got punch-kicked drums that inject aggression into these almost slices of compressed air through the crowd. Yet, each track incorporates this beautiful, almost angelic, and totally fan-sounding synthesis work, which evokes a sense of power far more than more aggressive male genres like hard techno. This selection is much more curated around a sense of "I have beauty within me, but you pushed me too far; now we're really getting deep into it." We're not performing aggression, we are experiencing it.  With that, each track has its own characteristic beauty, and each and every one of them is a fantastic job of incorporating delicacy, with what I believe is an informed understanding of men's perception of femininity. The traps are like a Joan of Arc or an insert powerful female. Never spiteful, a truly elevated selection to round out a truly elevated series of selections.

The series of curations by the third room aims to excite, and that's exactly what they do. The label can bring together talent from all over the world. One of the best aspects of the series is its willingness to take punts on both newer artists and heavy hitters, not only to increase excitement with each release but also, in effect, to alleviate pressure on some of the greener artists on the roster. Now, while the superlatives are endless for the absolutely top-quality output on each release, I do think there's a striking lack of representation throughout the records. The absence of black leading voices is an oversight that can bring richer diversity, sound design, style, and motivation throughout the series. The curations circumvent this oversight through superb artistry and high-level mastery of the craft on each release, meaning the records avoid accusations of derivativeness and instead inspire creativity. In addition, more female leads could have bolstered thematic variation. As for me, GiGi FM was the standout, not only for her productions but also for the quality with which she curated, adding a nuanced flavour. These criticisms are small and should be seen more as a green light to indulge stranger and more unconventional artists. As the techno landscape becomes more homogenised, creativity can be harder to come by. Overall, though, the SCP series of records at home and in any DJ's bag shows once again that Third Room is one of the best labels out there.

Label: The Third Room (2026)