TNGHT - II (EP)

Seven years felt like a lifetime without TNGHT. When Hudson Mohawke and Lunice first crashed into the wider conversation in 2012, their self-titled EP reset the dial on big-room club music. It was brash, funny, and heavy in a way that made festival trap feel brand new for a moment. II lands in November 2019 with that legacy hanging over it, but the duo don’t try to outgun their younger selves. They sidestep, sharpen, and find fresh angles on their unruly chemistry.

You hear it straight away in Serpent, one of the lead singles. The title fits. Synthesisers slide in and out of tune like something scaly weaving through long grass, while the drums snap with that familiar TNGHT thwack. They have always had a knack for making a few well-chosen sounds feel enormous, and Serpent is a masterclass in restraint paying off. Dollaz, the other early taste, goes right for the jugular with chopped vocals that feel like a chant built for cramped club basements. It is playful, a little rude, and delivered with the confidence of two producers who know exactly where to leave space for the crowd to move.

That sense of negative space runs through the whole record. Where the first EP felt like a flurry of elbows in the pit, II plays with light and shade. The percussion is still cartoonishly large, but there are moments where melodies wobble in like a crooked grin, then duck out before you can pin them down. It suits where both artists have been. Hudson Mohawke’s technicolour palette and Lunice’s dancer’s sense of groove meet in the middle, and the result feels sleek without losing the duo’s chaotic streak.

Production-wise, you can tell the sessions were about stripping back rather than piling on. Kicks are tuned to the key of the track. Snares are dry and in your face. Bass tones bloom, then clamp down, like the engineers rode the faders by hand. Nothing feels overcooked. Even when the synths go wonky, they sit right in the pocket. It is the sound of two producers who have spent a decade hearing their ideas echoed across the scene, then deciding to cut through the noise with focus rather than volume.

The cultural context matters here. TNGHT helped shape a whole wave of peak-time rap and dance hybrids after 2012, and you can still hear their fingerprints in club sets from London to Montreal. Coming back with II could have been an exercise in nostalgia. Instead it reads like a quiet flex. They nod to their past, then tilt the frame. There is menace and humour, and a sense that these tunes were built to test a system rather than a streaming algorithm.

Speaking of systems, II really earns its place on wax. The TNGHT II vinyl pressing carries the low end with weight, the kind that makes sub lines feel physical even at modest volume. If you are crate-digging for TNGHT vinyl to give your home setup a proper workout, this one is a tidy showcase. The highs are crisp without getting brittle, and the midrange has that chewy, tactile feel you want from club gear translated to a living room. It also sits nicely next to the 2012 EP for a front-to-back session if you are building out TNGHT albums on vinyl.

Reception was warm for good reason. Critics at places like Pitchfork and The Guardian noted the duo’s knack for mischief and muscle, and fans quickly singled out Serpent and Dollaz as set highlights. Spinning the record now, it is easy to hear why. These are tracks that invite DJs to have fun with blends. They leave gaps for MCs. They know how to make a room feel on edge, then laugh.

If you are looking to buy TNGHT records online, the Warp and LuckyMe stores have been reliable in the past, and a few independent shops still carry stock. In vinyl records Australia circles, copies turn up in the wild often enough that a Saturday flick through a Melbourne record store can pay off. The sleeve art looks sharp on a shelf, but the real reward is dropping the needle and feeling that first kick roll up through the floorboards.

II doesn’t try to be a grand statement. It is lean, cheeky, and built to last in sets and in headphones alike. As a return, it feels right. As a reminder of how thrilling Hudson Mohawke and Lunice can be when they lock in, it is even better. If the first EP blew the doors off, this one slips back into the room, grins, and dares you not to move.