The LAB Experience - The LAB Experience (2025)

THE LAB EXPERIENCE is a project of Brazilian keyboardist and composer Luiz ALVIM, who is based in Rio de Janeiro and has a background in classical piano. His progressive rock roots can be traced back to a six-piece band called REVEALING WEB in which he formerly played keys, and which broke up in the mid noughties without having recorded any of the songs they had been working on. Working with some ex-members of REVEALING WEB and a number of other musician friends, Luiz re-arranged and reimagined some of those previously unrecorded songs and also composed some new ones, eventually releasing them as the self-titled debut album of his new band SLEEPWALKER SUN in late 2005. A second album called 'Stranger in the Mirror' was then released by SLEEPWALKER SUN at the beginning of January 2010.

Luiz was a great fan of the band MARILLION, and on March 27th 2011, whilst waiting to perform keys with them onstage as part of their 'Swap The Band' session at the Marillion Weekend Convention held at Center Parcs Port Zélande, Ouddorp, Netherlands he met and became friends with two other waiting participants of the 'Swap The Band' session. They subsequently decided to form a band known as SWAPPERS ELEVEN, and over the years they recruited the help of other former 'Swap The Band' winners with their evolving project, which eventually boasted a line-up of seventeen players and guest musicians from nine different countries, leading to the release of their debut album 'From a Distance' via Oskar Records on 27th July 2020.

Luiz also became the keyboard player of Brazilian drummer Alex CURI's progressive metal/fusion band ORGANIC REACTION at around the same time, having previously contributed keys to one of his earlier projects called SEQUAZ, which essentially began as a power trio circa 2014. Whilst Luiz says he's never been a huge fan of instrumental music, as he's matured and gained experience performing instrumental music he has gradually become interested in reimagining some of his older songs by replacing the original guitars with keyboards to create a heavier, more intense sound.

Whilst reimagining his older songs he has also been composing some new material without vocals, ultimately leading to the creation of THE LAB EXPERIENCE. His self-titled debut album as THE LAB EXPERIENCE, released on January 29, 2025, is thus entirely instrumental. Two tracks on the album are pieces from the SLEEPWALKER SUN debut album, but reinterpreted as instrumental pieces. Another is from the SEQUAZ debut album 'Ilha Distante', already an instrumental track, but originally guitar-driven. The remainder are all brand new compositions.