Mano Le Tough – No Road Without A Turn
- NICK DUTFIELD
- Aug 26, 2021
- 2 min read
While Drug Chug has been grabbing all the headlines, the less celebrated genre Balearic Dub Chug has had to fight hard for even a single column inch in the chug-focused publications. Redressing the balance starts here with Mano Le Tough’s No Road Without A Turn. Clanging percussion and deep vibes lead us into the tune, setting the scene before things get melodic. By the end, it’s full on chill out guitar, the like of which would have you dressed head to toe in white cotton if you didn’t know better. Meanwhile, the ghost of José Padilla is having a phantasmic brandy and coke or bifter, or both.
Le Tough has an album coming up on the Pampa label and there’s plenty to suggest it will be a varied affair, with the singles so far occupying many spots on the chug spectrum, including not chuggy at all. In fact, the newest track, Together, is aimed more at 130bpm trance territory. His remix credits include Pet Shop Boys, Róisín Murphy, Caribou and Errol Alkan so it’s fair to say he has his admirers.
Also doing good Balearic Dub Chugging is Railton Ruckus by Rude Audio. It’s moodier by far, but with an equal blend of clank and tunefulness, plus wobbly drive. As the title suggests the vibe is more tower block than beach. The ghost of Jose Padilla is now popping out for Wheat Crunchies and Rizlas at 6am. Maybe he still has espadrilles on, but he should watch out for puddles.
Finally, let’s scare ourselves silly with the proper dark dub fanfare that kicks off The Bug’s Pressure. We’re leaving parasols a long way behind now, but there’s still deep bass chug in the tank. Flowdan’s verses evoking a life under pressure, where there’s always extra at stake. Padilla’s ghost is quaking at the intensity, he’s thinking of booking flights out. Straw hats don’t cut it at this end of chug life. Where did I leave my phantom plectrum?
THIS WEEK
Mano Le Tough – No Road Without A Turn
13,095 views since 28th May Weekly Average Views – 764
LAST WEEK
Audiobooks – Lalala It´s The Good Life
Weekly Average Views – 732 Blog Week Views - 300
EXTRAS
Rude Audio – Railton Ruckus
The Bug – Pressure feat. Flowdan
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