Coming at you is a big time collaboration bouncing ideas back and forth across the Atlantic. The track’s contributors include Besomorph (Germany), N3WPORT (USA), And LUNIS (France). The sound pulls heavily from Besomorph’s darker melodies with N3WPORT interjecting traditional trap elements–most notably the percussion.

One element that we are especially fond of is the rim shot that punctuates the beat. A “rim shot” refers to the striking of the snare drum in a manner where the stick contacts the metal edge of the drum and the drum face simultaneously which adds a sharp stab to accentuate the fatter snare sound. By staggering the kick drum with the rim shot during the chorus they both are given an open sound stage with which to play in.

Now in regard to the vocals, things get a little bit goofy. We believe that they were pulled from “Zombie” by Janee and LUNIS which is itself a cover of a Cranberries song. Does that make the rendition from Besomorph and N3WPORT technically a remix? Maybe, maybe not. We’re also unsure about the extent to which LUNIS aided in the creation of the new song, but given the cleanliness of the delivery we assume that the vocal files were handed over with the singer’s blessings.

It should be noted that this LUNIS has no association with Lunice Pierre, the Canadian producer who constitutes half of TNGHT. The band LUNIS is comprised of Lauréne Bourvon (vocals) and Louis Mevel (production). If you’d like to check out some of there other work, here is a link to their acoustic version of “Out of Town,” a song composed by Janee and LUNIS.

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.

A song so wild, it brings this site back online.

A song so filthy, it’s indescribable.

A song so esoteric, it wraps you in ardor.

A song by Prav.

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.

The Floridian producer formerly went by Srixirs, but has changed it to Sxre (pronounced “sire”). Since then he has been cranking out a new song every couple weeks and fortunately his work has not yet become monotonous, something we see when artists try to make music like factories.

“Rage” is a pleasant kick to the groin. With heavy hip-hop influence, it’s hard not to imagine rapping over this track. Something novel which Sxre employs is compression and reverb on the drops which makes the song sound as though it was being recorded on a cell phone in a downstairs nightclub.

“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.

Overturn makes liberal use of vocal samples to punctuate each measure, sounds that NTICE would have collected during his time remixing. They add a nice spice. However, the song has enough progression that it would have held its own without them.

Though NTICE is now trying to differentiate himself from his former remix work, this song was released through Gang Gang Records, a small US based group which digitally republishes songs with their name on it. Wherever the songs come out next, we’ll be waiting patiently for the next one.

It was released 3 years ago, but that’s recent enough to prove drum & bass is still cranking out A+++ music–the best is not all behind us. Both of these artists, Maduk and vocalist Veela, are alive and well doing their thing better than ever. Maduk and Veela have collaborated before to create “Ghost Assassin” which is a stellar song in its own right, but “Got Me Thinking” blows it out of the water.

In the present song, Veela sounds a bit different than we’re used to. There is an uncanny smoothness to her delivery. That’s not to say that her singing is normally rough, but it’s as though she sounds more relaxed while recording this. It’s this sound which gives the song its feeling of intimacy; Veela’s breathiness during the intro conjures images of a lover telling a secret.

Let’s not forget Maduk’s contribution. The song has discrete sections which combine for a great progression. These are:

• Lvl 0 – Intro
• Lvl 1 – Vocal Intro
• Lvl 2 – Build (pre-drop)
• Lvl 3 – Instrumental Chorus
• Lvl 4 – Main Chorus (vocals come in again)
• Lvl 5 – Frantic Chorus (vocal delivery increased)
• Lvl 2 – Build (pre-drop 2)
• Lvl 4 – Main Chorus 2
• Lvl 5 – Frantic Chorus 2
• Lvl 1 – Vocal outro

Around the 2:00 minute mark there is a distinct lack of pause (no dip into what I’d call level 0 or 1 mid song). The song goes right back into the action which is one of the things that gives it such a high-energy vibe. Throughout the entire 3.5 minutes we get an energizing experience.

If we had a system here at Arcane[DISCORD] to provide a medal or stamp of approval, it would be all over this song. Get your “replay buttons” ready.

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?