Okay, so back in the early 2010s there was the group called TNGHT that com–ah, who am I kidding, you know who TNGHT is. Which means you also know that they were on an indefinitely defined break which after a year felt like it spelled the end for the duo. With bangers like “Higher Ground” and “Goooo,” their departure left a void that nobody else had been able to fill.

All of TNGHT’s social media went dark for 5 years. Then came this:

pic.twitter.com/iuJPAJQQxw

— TNGHT (@TNGHT) December 18, 2018

With no caption or accompanying material, many inferred that it spelt an upcoming reunion of the two members, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice. After that, hints continued to drop all but confirming an upcoming music release. And that release came in the form of “Serpent,” the first song off their new album “II.”

TNGHT fever was in full swing. More media and announcements followed, many of which were in TNGHT’s classic, cryptic style. However, this time around it everything seems much more cohesive from a release standpoint, so kudos to their marketing efforts.

The new album started to come together culminating in 8 truly wild songs which can be listened to here. Our personal favorite is “Dollaz” which can be streamed below.

Historically, TNGHT’s music videos have been a trippy blend of shots from live shows and other pickup shots which form a non sequitur. But the carefully constructed line between “artsy” and “psychotic” formed the basis for their mystique. Much of it still remains, but the dial has been turned up to 11. For an example, rewatch their video for “Bugg’n” and then check out “Gimme Summn” below from the new album. Without attempting to deconstruct the underlying message of the video, we think it’s a masterpiece and one of the more fun audio-visual experiences we’ve seen in a while.

Hudmo describes their creation process as “[…] randomly painting a canvas and then going back to whittle it down to its final form.” To me, that sums up the sound of the new EP quite well. It is a slight shift away from their first EP and plays out as more experimental with less hip-hop/trap influence and a more free-form style. There’s one thing that’s clear though,

We’re not sure what’s next for TNGHT. The two artists have made it clear after the band’s first hiatus that they do not want to lose their individual sounds by giving up on their solo careers. So it’s possible that the TNGHT groundhog may go into hiding once again. Regardless, we’re glad that there’s more to enjoy.

Collaborations are a funny thing. Though it’s not important to us as listeners, the dynamics of a collaboration can be very complex. Sometimes the two artists come together and their competencies fit together like puzzle pieces; most commonly this takes the form of one handling the instrumental and the other doing the vocals. In the case where a vocalist is not featured the dynamic can be a bit more confusing–it’s not clear where one artist’s style ends and the other begins.

In “Prism,” we have a little of both. The vocals here are signature Deelyle. This would lead us to believe that KDrew handled the backing track. However, from Deelyle’s introductory album ERA we know that he is capable of pumping out catchy tunes (although it’s possible that he was using a third-party producer for assistance). What we do know is that the presentation suggests KDrew took lead: his name comes first and his silhouette is featured more prominently in the album art.

We love the outcome. It fits great into any playlist which emphasizes inducing goose bumps. And we would say that experience is the most prominent feature of a good song: the ability to alter your emotional state. In this case, KDrew and Deelyle use “Prism” to elevate your mood to new levels of awesome.

Things we like: The intro is exceptionally strong and grand. Deelyle’s vocals fit the instrumental character well and are crisp.

Things we’d tweak: The song features a few sweeping sirens throughout. The general idea is that they add depth to the song, but if the song is enjoyed while driving, the sirens can cause undue stress and panic.

In this work, we have a European collaboration party. We’ve got DMNDS from Paris, Salasnich from Italy, and EKO from… well we’re not sure, but we think it might be this gentleman (or lady) here.

What results is a bouncy EDM tune with some roboticized vocals which morph into an instrument in the chorus. You can really hear the house influence throughout which shouldn’t surprise considering the contributing artists’ previous work. However, the familiar structure and addition of a vocal track move it closer to the pop segment. That being said, we think the heavy modulation on the singing gives the song a bite that keeps it out of the electropop genre.

“Siphon was the plotting of a melody that came to me in traffic. I recorded myself humming it on my phone and it ended up turning into a complete song.”

“Siphon” appears alongside “Ripples” on the EP Ripples / Siphon which can be considered the inaugural project for Paraleven. However, he is not a new producer. He has been operating under the alias Para11 working primarily as a DJ and learning the tools of the trade. This time earned him good favor with Lane 8 who decided to release Ripples / Siphon on his label titled This Never Happened.

Both songs off this EP are firmly in the “Deep House” category of music, and while House music isn’t one of our main categories, this one stands above the competition for its… well depth.

The first build features a see-saw of notes which incite a feeling of trepidation. After the initial chorus, the song’s energy stays muted, almost as if there was an internal conflict has been resolved. Long intros and outros (typical of house music) will make beat matching this track into a set easy work.

It’s a killer song–no doubt–with a dramatic flair. It sounds modern, but there is also an odd throwback quality to the sound. What I like most about “Exit Alive” is that it has the potential to make you feel like a badass. It would be a great song for energetic tasks like spirited driving or running athletic drills. The emotionally transformative quality is what defines this song.

I prefer artistic works like music to stand alone from their creators, but also feel a duty to report some information about the creators for background. Normally this involves writing that artist [X] is from [Y] and does [Z]; but KLOUD is a bit of a strange scenario. It’s been described as a “musical project” as opposed to being claimed by a particular individual. It’s also not explicitly stated if KLOUD is supposed to refer to someone creating the music (fictional or otherwise), a character, or an organization. All that we have been given is a series of videos that attempt to tell the story of an android being built and programmed which has been connected with the logo of a thundercloud. The resulting android appears to be KLOUD which sports an illuminated head or helmet similar to something from Daft Punk or Ruiner. That being said, their website (wearekloud.com) and tagline (Join the KLOUD) would suggest that it may be some kind of community.

There are additional music videos, including one for “Exit Alive,” which show more of the KLOUD robot, but I would suggest skipping them. Not because they’re not good, but because the music can take on a different character when attached to visuals. I believe that to best experience a piece of auditory composition, you should allow your mind to construct it’s own interpretation instead of allow a video producer to shape that for you.

TLDR: Have you ever taken a liking to the song but later saw a video with it that made you not like the song? Better to not take that risk in my opinion.

What do you think about trying to build mystique around music production? Do you like the intrigue that the creators attempt to cultivate or is it all a faff?

When you break it down, “Blurry Nights (CRVE U & Dave Edwards Remix) by Thutmose (Prod. Avedon)” has that name because:

• Avedon creates instrumental as the producer
• Thutmose provides vocals and releases the original, “Blurry Nights”
• CRVE U and Dave Edwards collaborate to remix the song

So what did CRVE U and Dave Edwards accomplish here? Their remix pushes the song into a near-perfect “outdoor summer chill session under the sun with refreshing drinks and close friends” territory. For whatever reason, the “electric pan flute” (in the chorus) is the quintessential instrument for this very specific genre; a plucky electric guitar is a close second. They did this by injecting the original with a new chorus which lengthens the song to a more playlist-friendly 2:46. In addition we have a more layered sound which can be heard best during the hair-raisingly smooth builds at 0:30 and 0:50.

That being said, the remix is still very true to the original. We’re thankful for this because the magnetizing hip-hop flair from Thutmose and Avedon didn’t need much tweaking.

This song is a fun remix for the duo, 13th Zodiac. I haven’t heard of them prior to this work, but their song “Attitude” seems to have attracted a fair amount of artists for remix work (see the bottom player for other remixes). Also included is the original (with the pink album art) in case you want a baseline.

That’s probably nothing you already don’t know, but I revisited the idea when coming across yetep. In the past two years he’s put out a serious amount of music. This most recent release was hosted with Dim Mak Records thereby expanding yetep’s reach. He’s also preparing to do some shows with Adventure Club where he’ll no doubt be playing his remix of their song “Wonder.”

The song features vocalist Sara Skinner who has a history of solid collaborations with similar artists. However, her portfolio is extremely varied with her vocals being used on anything from pop to dubstep. Another song that I like which features Sara Skinner is “Interstellar” by ATLiens. It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it has a cool sound which interlaces the clean vocals with a trippy instrumental.

“What Do U Want” on the other hand is right down the middle: clean electronic sound through and through. It is most definitely a song that will elevate yetep’s live sets to new heights.

As a result, I was blissfully unaware of the name “Travis Scott” and his most recent “hit.” Only recently have I listened to the original and researched him in an effort to be more informed about this remix. Part of that research had me discovering that in the Superbowl halftime show, instead of Spongebob performing “Sweet Victory” we were given Travis Scott which has to be one of the greatest injustices ever committed (so much so that I had to look up if it was actually a prank against the 1.2 million people who signed the “Play Sweet Victory at Halftime” petition).

If you haven’t figured it out already, I am not a fan of the original “Sicko Mode.” Luckily I hadn’t heard it prior to MartyParty’s remix which allowed me to come into the remix a neophyte. But I have listened to the original a few times to find out if it has any redeeming qualities–I struggle to find any. If you haven’t heard it already, I wouldn’t bother.

But MartyParty has done a great job of turning what I consider to be a musical farce into a musical force (clearly I’m hilarious…). Instead of clumsily constructed bars over a lazy beat, the vocals now serve backup duty to a heavy and deliberate electronic journey. That shouldn’t be surprising since MartyParty has shown us on his on and as part of the duo PANTyRAiD that he has what it takes to make dope tunes. That being said, it’s much more aggressive than his more ambient portfolio. But the song is better for it. You can really hear some of the PANTyRAiD cutting through; you could draw some parallels between MartyParty’s “Sicko Mode Remix” and PANTyRAiD’s “Wanting Moves” off the duo’s most recent album.

I’m now realizing that I spent 3 paragraphs bashing “Sicko Mode” and modern music and only 1 paragraph praising the music which I’m featuring. Hopefully it can speak for itself better than I can, so give it a listen.

Note: The song has been pulled from SoundCloud, but can still be accessed from the YouTube player below.

“Looking for Your Love” is not only a great song, but a good example of the type of music he’s making these days. He’s decided to start doing his own vocals which move his music from concerty instrumentals to more like dance anthems. Unfortunately songs cross genre boundaries quite often and this song I’d probably classify as electronic/dance, but you can dance to anything, which is why I don’t like using it as a music genre. As a result, I’m going to tag this as “electronic” for the time being. That classification ends up serving as a catchall for songs in my database I can’t slot into another category, but whatever.

As a bit of a softer entry in the Arcane[Discord] portfolio, I have to fall back on calling this a dance anthem again. I think it would do well in any house party assuming there are people willing to hit the floor. The prominent bass line on 4/4 time will help even the most rhythm-lacking dance novice flail on time. All jokes aside, it’s a great song which can easily appeal to tons of different music lovers.