Having provided three labels with four very different singles, it’s not surprising Mano Le Tough has yet to be pigeonholed. But whether you’ve heard his synthy disco for Mirau (Eurodancer), sample-centric house for Dirt Crew Recordings (Baby Let’s Love), or whatever “Warhorn” qualifies as (for Internasjonal), chances are quality is the overarching characteristic you’ve noticed. This is especially true for his second Internasjonal single, Oblique, a spacious techno thriller falling somewhere between James Kumo and Delta Funktionen. Blanketing listeners in atmospheric minor chords as a sharpened bass line maintains movement, it reveals unexpected sweetness in bell melodies before slamming the beat back into place. While less spacey, Chateau Flight’s remix is also less focused, caking its immediate synth progressions and sonorous percussion in movie dialogue and offhand vamps that prove distracting. So far Mano’s experiments have been listeners’ gain, but more tracks like “Oblique” would be the most welcome here.
