Half Closed Eyes
Mano Le Tough, aka Niall Mannion, is a now Berlin based producer who’s been making crazy moves in the European electronic scene, and we’re hoping it’s not long before he’s as big of a hit with the States as he is with TMN. Getting his start in a seaside village close to Dublin, Ireland, Mano Le Tough brings some electronica serenity to the latest track off his newest EP Trails.
“Half Closed Eyes” is a track that hits us a few tunes deep into the album and changes up its pace at just the right time. Beginning with the kind of experimental “off beat” electronic percussions you might have the pleasure of hearing in a Nicolas Jaar track (*pause for a moment of silence for Darkside please*), the song also opens with a sample of some chopped up and looped vocals. Next Mannion brings in a house bass line and this is when the track really gets us going. The tune starts morphing into something you might hear Bonobo spin—-a progression of symbols and bells, all while continuing with the vocal sample, which is now uttering “on and on…” like any good electronica song should. But don’t worry, the track never maintains its normalcy because the off beat percussions come right back along with some Doppler effect synths and industrial noise, and you can feel good about being weird again.
On top of making madly good music, Mano Le Tough also throws this hot dance party in Berlin called Passion Beat where he hosts himself as a resident DJ along with his buddy, The Drifter. Hosting other names like Nicolas Jaar and John Talabot, we’ve made this a must-go destination in our electronic dance party geo-calendar. Because that is definitely a thing.
