Remixer

Tuff City Kids

Gerd Janson & Lauer

Tuff City Kids is the Frankfurt-based production duo of Gerd Janson - head of the respected Running Back label and a longtime resident at both Frankfurt's Robert Johnson and Berlin's Panorama Bar - and producer Phillip Lauer, founder of the Brontosaurus label and also a Robert Johnson resident. The pair began working together in 2008 as a remix project, initially reconstructing tracks by artists like Azari & III and Roland Appel using hardware, before releasing original material of their own. Their first EPs, "Bobby Tacker" and "Roby Tease," came out via Unterton (an Ostgut Ton sublabel) and Delsin Records, and since then they've delivered upwards of 75 remixes for artists as varied as Scuba, Groove Armada, and Fort Romeau - a work rate that's drawn comparisons to Masters at Work. Their debut album as Tuff City Kids, Adoldesscent, arrived on Permanent Vacation in 2016. Janson has also released acclaimed mix CDs including Fabric 89, while Lauer maintains a solo career blending deep house with '80s synth-pop and Italo-disco influences.