As if Warp Records weren’t smashing it already… They’ve consistently been releasing superb electronic music since 1989, and today their roster includes cult legends such as Brian Eno, Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada, alongside more recent boundary-pushers like Flying Lotus and Clark.
Hudson Mohawke’s “Satin Panthers” EP, an almost jokingly overblown mix of melodramatic synthesizers and unconventional sound-effects including the explosive indie-dance anthem ‘Thunder Bay’, was one the most impressively unique and compelling EPs of 2011. Now Hudson Mohawke has teamed up with Lunice, whose intricate beats underpin an equally compelling brand of electronica (check out ‘The Glow’ ) to form TNGHT, who release their eponymous debut EP on July 23rd / 24th.
The two artists fit together like a jigsaw, ‘Higher Ground’ really does just sound like they’ve each taken their own unfinished ideas and simply slotted them next to each other. They make it sound so easy! Each artist’s own style is evident in different parts of the song, from the Satin Panthers- esque half-time percussion-backed faux-trumpets, to the erupting Lunice rattles. It really is the best of both worlds: experimental, yet unpretentious, bedroom-style song writing contained within a conventional 3-minute pop structure. There’s not much to detract – this is a killer tune, opening the door for the possibility of Hudson Mohawke scoring another EP-of-the-year.
TNGHT is released on July 23/24 on Warp Records.
Words: James Balmont
