Permanent Vacation Germany

Review: Considered the anti-hero of disco music, Argoman literally means 'lazy man', however it's also a combination of three Italian producer's names who started the project about one year ago. Any guesses who they might be? We will leave that to you! The track "Chimicalissimo" is new wave Italo disco at its finest, featuring peak-time dancefloor energy completely produced with analogue synths and drum machines. Gerd Jason and Fabrizio Mammarella team up again as Black Spuma and their remix turns the track into a slow burning disco monster. The dub version gives more space to a melancholic piano melody that culminates through analogue arpeggios to an unstoppable build.

Review: Permanent Vacation boss Benjaimin Frohlich is back. The man in Munich now presents the remixes of his fab 2016 release Rude Movements and gets an all star cast to lend their deft hand at a remix. First up is the imitable Lauer; king of all things neon-lit and retro who delivers the goods (as always) with his rendition of "Amos", while fellow Frankfurter Shan stays true to the classic house aesthetic on his deep late night groove: "Holloway" is injected with spooky analogue synth leads, chunky analogue arpeggios and rusty rhythms with the good ol' clap on the kick for good measure. On the flip, it's all about the sludgy and tape saturated "Spitting Image" reinterpreted Jack Pattern (actually a Swiss trio, would you believe) where their slow motion EBM mutation calls to mind the work of Slugbug or L/F/D/M. Wicked!

Review: Last year's "Sun My Sweet Sun", a wonderfully sun-kissed fusion of cowbell-heavy tribal percussion, drifting flutes, pulsating bass and exotic marimba melodies, remains one of Red Axes most endearing productions. It's rather exciting, then, to see the track finally being given the remix treatment. Konstantin Sibold handles the A-side, in the process delivering a suitably hypnotic "Afro-tech" version rich in woozy electronics and slowly building percussion pressure. Arguably even better is the "Fargo Goes to Hollywood" version, a loose but driving tribal percussion workout full of foreboding rave noises and mind-altering recorder solos. An impressive package is completed via an attractive and rolling alternate version from Red Axes themselves.

Review: When quizzed about his debut full-length before a Juno Plus party last year, John Talabot paused for a minute. "It's not really house, more electronica - like a proper album," he finally remarked. It's an apt description. Fin is clearly rooted in house - and the kind of melody-driven, atmospheric tackle that the Barcelona-based producer excels at - but it's certainly not a dancefloor-focused set. There are off-kilter downtempo moments, slo-mo compositions and twisted beatscapes that recall the impossible-to-pigeonhole antics of Hyetal (circa "Broadcast"), Sepalcure and Instra:mental. Then there's closer "So Will Be Now" (one of two collaborations with Pional), a near-genius chunk of future garage/deep acid house fusion that's so beautiful it almost hurts. As transformations go, Fin is stunning.

Review: Gerd Janson and Phillip Lauer's Tuff City Kids moniker has given us nothing but sweet joy since its first appearance for the Berghain-affiliated Unterton, back in 2012. The two artists respectively know their shit when it comes to Djing and record collecting, but they've also turned out to be pretty killer producers, too. Here they appear on the mighty Permanent Vacation label alongside singer Annie, with two cuts of "Labyrinth". The first, the club mix, is an 80's-leaning house monster with a subtle electro feel that makes it instantly hummable, whereas the TCK mix offers a slightly dubbier, darker and more contained version. There's a genial Morgan Geist remix on the flipside, with the oddball producer naturally transforming the tune into something altogether different but nonetheless party-ready, and the more mysterious DJ Oyster delivers his "Drum&Bass dub', which doesn't contain any breaks at its core but is packed with enough drums to create some serious damage in the clubs. Dope.

Review: Munich's Permanent Vacation churns out releases at a rapid rate, making it annoyingly easy to miss out on great material. Lucky, their sporadic Selected Label Works compilation series can help fill in the gaps. Volume Five contains a wealth of tasty treats, from the wonky late night throb of Dolkraut's mesmerizing "Fire", and progressive house influenced dancefloor bliss of TB's "City Girl", to the Orbital style intelligent techno of Daniel Bortz and Sacha Sibler, via the bass-heavy wonkiness of Lake People. There's also another chance to savour Session Victim's loose, warm and groovy rework of Midnight Magic, and a tops-off-friendly chunk of Sound Factory era pump from Tuff City Kids.