Mano Le Tough At Juno Download

Review: Through his various releases on Internasjonal, Buzzin' Fly and Mirau, Neil "Mano Le Tough" Mannion has done enough to suggest that he has a great album in him. Even his most dancefloor-centric deep house cuts, such as the much played "Stories", come complete with emotion-rich melodies and bags of heady atmosphere. It's these two characteristics that shine through most on Changing Days, his long-mooted debut album for Permanent Vacation. Largely downbeat in mood and tempo, it bristles with atmosphere and inventiveness, weighing in somewhere between teary-eyed deep house and glacial electronica. As debut albums go, it's pretty darn good.

Review: As Mano Le Tough's reputation continues to head skywards, the Irishman-in-Berlin makes a welcome return to Prins Thomas' Internasjonal label with another sterling three-tracker. Unlike his recent Stories EP on Buzzin Fly, In My Arms largely eschews intricately layered soundscape deep house in favour of prog disco sounds. Of course, the attention to detail and emotion-rich melodies remain, particularly on the slow building 10-minute epic "Those Lights Are Lives". "Dropping Bombs" is deliciously Norwegian in its feel (think early Magnus International), while the shuffling title track impresses with its woozy krautrock synths, scratchy vocal and mournful pianos. Great stuff... as usual.

Review: Irishman Mano Le Tough is no stranger to the Permanent Vacation fold, having graced the label's recent If This Is House Zwei compilation as well as turning a remix of Midnight Magic. The artist/label relationship is further strengthened here with a full EP that acts as a neat soupcon to chew on until the main Mano Le Tough course arrives via his debut album - slated for transmission on Buzzin' Fly in the coming months. Arriving with the most literal artwork so far this year, Mountains is three tracks deep with the sort of sumptuous cooing house music Le Tough has trademark of late, with the title track a particular delight. From its fizzing beginnings, "Mountains" gradually unfurls into a floating dose of kaleidoscopic, psychedelic kraut house that wouldn't sound out of place on Kompakt. "She Said" deviates into what sounds like a traditional Irish folk ditty in the midst of its organic techno refrain, whilst the glistening patterns of sound and colour that permeate through the loose aqua house jam "Even Now" will please staunch fans of Permanent Vacation.

Review: With previous releases on Internasjonal, Dirt Crew, Mirau and Permanent Vacation to his name, Neil 'Mano Le Tough' Mannion is clearly a producer on the rise. Here he brings his melody-driven, musically layered take on deep house to Buzzin' Fly, a label that has forged its reputation on promoting similarly melodic fodder. "Stories" is delightful, a kind of gently undulating deep house fairytale that quietly rises and falls over seven spellbinding minutes. "Take It Back" and "From The Start" offer more straight-up dancefloor potential whilst retaining a similar level of inventiveness (the later, for example, features a great guitar breakdown).