The Lab Sessions announce guest DJs and playlists for 'Assemble' 09.

Episode 9 of Assemble returns this Friday in its regular slot on Scientific Sound Asia. The station continues to operate as a key underground electronic music platform, DJ agency and promoter across Asia, supporting scenes in India, China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, the Philippines and beyond while maintaining a strong international outlook.

The Lab Sessions is an electronic music collective based in Bogotá, Colombia, formed around the idea of connection through sound, shared space and long-term cultural exchange. Through curated radio showcases and large-scale events, TLS has worked consistently to present an authentic picture of Colombia’s underground electronic music scene, both locally and to audiences outside the region.

Alongside this, the collective places strong emphasis on artistic quality and inclusivity, addressing a diverse audience made up of local listeners and an international community. Their work highlights the depth and potential of Colombian artists, reinforcing the idea that forward-thinking electronic music is shaped as much within local scenes as it is through global movement.

Active since 2016, The Lab Sessions has built a substantial presence across South America, hosting events and performances in a wide range of respected clubs and alternative spaces. Their history includes appearances at venues such as Octava, Klan 31, Teatron, KAPUTT, Vagabond, Bud-X Colombia, Top Secret Medellín, Armando Records, Céntrico, Mambo Alive, Sutton and Montibus Fest, alongside independent platforms including Bassline events, TLS Parties and Euro Techno.

More recently, their activity has expanded further across the region, with events in cities such as Cali and Quito, appearing at venues including Madame Garden, La Fabryka, Groove and Dirty Sanchez. Assemble episode 9 reflects this ongoing development, bringing together the collective’s curatorial vision, regional experience and commitment to underground electronic music culture on Scientific Sound Asia.

Guest DJ Takamasa Owaki.

This week’s first guest DJ is Takamasa Owaki, originally from Kamo-gun in Japan, whose sound reflects a long-running international journey shaped by movement between scenes and cultures.

Takamasa Owaki began his DJ career in South America, taking part in events across Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador.

That period helped define a flexible approach to selection rooted in House, Nu Disco and Tech House, informed by nearly two decades of musical influence spanning 1980s and 1990s electronic music, Disco and Rock. Alongside this, early exposure to classical music at home, encouraged by his father, played a quiet but lasting role in shaping his sense of structure and mood.

At the age of twenty-three, he spent two years in the United States as an agriculture trainee. During this time, immersion in electronic music alongside Hip Hop, Reggae and Latin styles proved decisive, expanding his rhythmic vocabulary and setting the foundations for his DJ identity. After returning to Japan, he worked as a florist while steadily developing his skills through café and bar residencies, refining a sound built on flow rather than fixed genre boundaries.

Today, his sets move fluidly through Disco, Afro House, Psychedelic and Ambient textures, with Deep House and Soulful House forming the core. This approach is expressed most clearly through his Cactus Experience project, which focuses on urban, refined grooves and immersive progression. Deep House selections are warm and inward-looking, Soulful House brings emotional resonance, and Chillout passages are used to release tension and reset the atmosphere.

Alongside his DJ work, Takamasa Owaki has remained active in the studio. His recent releases mark a clear continuation of his disco-leaning, late-night direction, with Pleasure Line and Midnight Boogie, the latter a collaboration with Shiika, both released on DIGGGz Recordings. These tracks balance groove, musical detail and understated funk, aligning closely with the sound of his current sets.

His career began on vinyl, and over the years, he has held residencies and performed at venues including Lavista at the InterContinental Hotel Doha, The Warehouse Wine and Tapas at Pearl Rotana Abu Dhabi, Impressions Lounge at Anantara Abu Dhabi, ToroToro at Etihad Towers, and Hard Rock Cafe Bogotá. Through Cactus Experience, Takamasa Owaki continues to develop a sound designed for depth and continuity, inviting listeners into a measured, immersive journey rather than a collection of moments.

Guest DJ (second hour) Nico Niceberg.

This week’s second guest DJ is Nico Niceberg, a Colombian DJ and producer from Bogotá whose background combines formal musical training with a steady immersion in underground club culture. Born in the 1990s, Nico’s musical path began during his school years through piano lessons, alongside early exposure to music production in his spare time.

An interest in electronic music from the same era gradually deepened, driven by the sounds and structures of 1990s House and Techno. Following a period of service in the Air Force and the completion of studies in computer engineering and piloting, he made a decisive shift in 2016, committing fully to music as his primary focus.

From that point, Nico undertook formal study as both a DJ and producer, quickly establishing himself within Bogotá’s electronic music circuit. His sound centres on Tech House, Progressive House and Deep House, shaped by an emphasis on groove, atmosphere and long-form progression rather than short-form impact. This approach has positioned him as a developing presence within the city’s underground community.

He is currently an active member of The Lab Sessions collective, where he also hosts a guest show, contributing to the group’s wider curatorial vision. Through this platform, Nico Niceberg has appeared at a wide range of clubs and events both in Bogotá and beyond, performing alongside The Lab Sessions at venues including Armando, BudX Bar, AfterMood, Klan, Lede, Céntrico, Zielo and Miranda.

Further appearances in Medellín and other cities have expanded his reach, with performances at Selina, Tropical Cocktails, Enboga, 8490, CrazyShots, The Room, Vander and El Pilón, among others. Across these settings, Nico Niceberg continues to refine a sound rooted in House and Techno traditions, aligned with the evolving direction of Colombia’s underground electronic music scene.

The first hour, curated by Takamasa Owaki, opens with an ambient introduction before moving into Funky and Soulful House through Let The Drums Speak and Jovonn’s Timeless. These early selections establish a warm, groove-centred foundation rooted in classic House sensibilities.

Deep House becomes the dominant thread through tracks such as You Don’t Care by Hennings Project and Apollo from Kassian and Laroye. Nu Disco and Disco-leaning selections follow, including What You Won’t Do for Love and The Beat Goes On, maintaining a steady flow while drawing on disco-influenced structures.

The hour closes with brief stylistic shifts, introducing Organic House through Intro Nature and an experimental moment via Kokoro no Usagi. These additions broaden the palette without breaking the overall continuity of the mix.

The second hour, mixed by Nico Niceberg, moves decisively into Minimal and Deep Tech territory. Tracks such as Nova by Rossi and Sustain from Juan AR establish a stripped-back, functional progression, supported by further Minimal / Deep Tech cuts from James Saunders and Justin Park.

As the set develops, Progressive House and Tech House appear briefly through No Drama and Elevator, before returning to a Minimal framework. The episode concludes with a consistent, groove-driven finish that balances precision and restraint across both hours.

'Assemble' 09 by The Lab Sessions Crew.

Takamasa Owaki (first hour). 

Takamasa Owaki - Intro Cactus 1 [CactusExperience]

Bah Samba, The Fatback Band, Harvey Lindo - Let The Drums Speak (Harvey Lindo Edit) [BKO]

Jovonn - Timeless [Body'N Deep]

Ralf GUM, Sio - Un-Love You (Ralf GUM Main Mix) [GOGO Music]

Hennings Project - You Don’t Care (Original Mix) [Moiss Music]

Mikki Afflick - Fly With Me (Brooklyn Butterfly) (An AfflickteD Soul Mix) [Soul Sun Soul Music]

Kassian, Laroye - Apollo feat. Laroye (Original Mix) [Heist Recordings]

Apparel Wax - 006A1 [Apparel Music]

Blank & Jones, Monte - What You Won’t Do for Love (Monte Extended Remix) [Soundcolours]

Husky, Ido - Go Don’t Stop (Extended) [Bobbin Head Music]

Platinum City - Change [Midnight Riot]

Ripple, Dr Packer - The Beat Goes On (Dr Packer Rework) [Salsoul Records]

D-O-S - Never Gonna Fall In Love Again (Like I Fell In Love With You) (Disco Instrumental) [Expansion House]

Fernando Picon - Intro Nature [Surbeats Records]

Tomoe Shinohara - Kokoro no Usagi [Ki/oon Records]

Nico Niceberg: (second hour).

Rossi - Nova [FUSE London]

Juan AR - Sustain (Original Mix) [Unreleased / White Label]

Dimish - No Drama [Proton Music]

Juan AR, Pinco - West Side Project [Dirtyclub Music]

Justin Park - Detox [Whoyostro]

Max Chapman - Elevator [Resonance Records]

Flash 68 - Vibrate [MoodyHouse Recordings]

James Saunders - Circuits [Whoyostro]

Frink - Quinta Densidad [Bondage Music]

Rossi Feat. Insight - Paradise [FUSE London]

James Saunders - Keyless [Whoyostro]

Listen on Mixcloud here.