Mano Le Tough: Artist You Should Know

In a few short years House producer Mano Le Tough (nee Niall Mannion) has gone from relative obscurity in a small seaside village in Ireland to DJing some of the world’s most exclusive clubs, releasing a handful of gorgeous EPs on labels run by dance music’s elite and remixing artists like Aloe Blacc, Midnight Magic and Roisin Murphy.

Artists Prins Thomas, Tensnake and Ben Watt have all seen Mano’s work ready for the floor have all released his warm melodic chuggers on their boutique imprints and now after an excellent run has finally prepared a full length being released by Permanent Vacation.

His album, “Changing Days“, is a solid debut that showcases precisely the lush balance he strikes between thick dance floor grooves and the shimmering production that makes private listening on headphones so rewarding.

Like his labelmate John Talabot‘s album last year, Mano Le Tough‘s album is a sure fire end of year list contender because his sound is truly unique and pleasantly entrancing. Upon receiving the record, I immediately found myself listening to “Everything You’ve Done Before” on repeat in the car, on headphones, at home, in the studio and every listen was rewarding in diverse ways but always totally immersive and always totally exciting.

Mannion sums up his method as follows, “I guess I try and make music that has an emotional resonance without being overly sentimental or schmalzy. It means a lot to me to try and connect with the listener on a deeper level and add something to their lives that’s more than a hands in the air 5am moment in a club (although there is nothing wrong with that).”

Absolutely. There is nothing wrong with that.

Below is a sample of Mano Le Tough’s work that caught my absolute attention. The “In My Arms” 12″ was released on Prins Thomas’ Internasjonal label.