Techno Nonsense: Permanent Vacation
The first in Simon Hunter’s new series introducing the best electronic dance labels
Over the coming issues of Felix I will embark on a quest to dispel the popular belief that electronic dance music begins with Tiesto and finishes with David Guetta. I will try and dip into as many genres as possible; highlighting what’s big at the moment, what was big 20 years ago and just generally stuff that I’m into at the date of publication.
This week I will start by testing your tolerances and try to persuade you that disco music is not just flares, ‘fros and something to be buried in the depths of the 20th century. Over the past couple of years, disco has had an enormous resurgence in dance music and one of the biggest labels pushing many great, new producers through is Permanent Vacation. Founded in 2006 and based in Munich, Permanent Vacation champion a marriage of new and old disco with an overall ethos of having fun, something that seemed lacking in a lot of dance music for a number of years. The chiming guitars, rich synths and bouncy bass lines of disco of old are all still present, but a freshness has been injected into the scene by the likes of Tensnake, Azari & III and Todd Terje. Tensnake makes classic, borderline cheesy disco that never fails to put a smile on your face. In fact the Hamburg producer’s Coma Cat EP, originally released in January, brought summer forward by about 5 months. Todd Terje, on the other hand, has been providing some of the smoothest Balearic moments of the past few years. From his incredible remix of Balearic Incarnation by Dolle Jolle to other remixes for the likes of Jose Gonzales and Shit Robot, Terje has been taking music from across the spectrum and whipping it up into a cosmic bliss.
For a taste of Permanent Vacation try their Selected Label Works series [No1, No2]. Or if you’re still undecided as to whether you’re willing to dive that deep, Coma Cat by Tensnake and Beam Me Up (Jacques Renault Remix) by Midnight Magic are essentials. As winter draws in and university work starts to consume your life, so that you may not be able to play World of Warcraft as much as you once did, the new wave of disco is waiting to restore a smile to your glum faces.
Dolle Jolle - Balearic Incarnation (Todd Terje's Extra Doll Mix) by Senic
Midnight Magic "Beam Me Up" (Jacques Renault Remix) by JacquesRenault
