The Midnight
- Synthwave
- futuresynth
- electronic
- chillwave
- Independent
- Counter Records
- Tim McEwan
- Tyler Lyle
The Midnight is an American synthwave band composed of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Tyler Lyle and Los Angeles–based Danish-born producer, songwriter, and singer Tim McEwan.[1]
Origins
The band was formed as a result of Lyle and McEwan meeting during a co-writing workshop in 2012 in North Hollywood, CA.[2][3] Inspired in part by the score for Drive, and the retro synth genre growing around its release,[3] the pair wrote two singles, "WeMoveForward" and "Gloria", that would be released two years later in 2014 as part of their debut EP titled Days of Thunder.[4]
Career
In 2016, the duo released a 12 track LP, Endless Summer,[5] followed in 2017 with the release of Nocturnal,[6] which spent several weeks as a best seller on the music distribution website Bandcamp and reached number 17 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic charts in October 2017.[7] The band went on to perform their second sell-out concert, taking place at the Globe Theatre on Broadway in Los Angeles in November 2017.[8] The band had multiple collaborations with Timecop1983, another retro synth genre producer. One of the collaborations appears on the album Nocturnal, titled "River of Darkness". The other collaboration between them appears on the album Night Drive of Timecop1983, titled "Static".
The band's motto is "mono no aware" (物の哀れ), a Japanese phrase that loosely translates to "a sense of nostalgic wistfulness and the awareness that nothing lasts forever".[9]
In 2019 McEwan appeared in the documentary film The Rise of the Synths, which explored the origins and growth of the synthwave genre. McEwan appeared alongside various other composers from the scene, including John Carpenter, who also starred in and narrated the film.
During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, The Midnight hosted a remix competition called Remix Radio, providing the stems of multiple songs they had produced on their website for free. On April 3, 2020, the livestream premiered on YouTube for one hour and thirty minutes.
In 2024 the band announced Tim McEwan, the band's co-founder, producer and live drummer, would be stepping away from touring responsibilities for the foreseeable future. The decision was made, they claim, in an effort to focus on new music.
Personal lives
Tim McEwan's parents are Tom McEwan and Terese Damsholt.[10]
Band members
Current members
Touring musicians
| Former touring musicians
|
Discography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/The_midnight_fm_84_the_globe_theatre_exterior_201711.jpg/220px-The_midnight_fm_84_the_globe_theatre_exterior_201711.jpg)
Studio albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US [11] | AUS [12] | UK [13] | ||
Endless Summer |
| — | — | — |
Nocturnal |
| — | — | — |
Kids |
| — | — | — |
Monsters |
| 134 | 28 | 85 |
Heroes |
| 167 | 66 | 74 |
Live albums
Title | Details |
---|---|
Red, White and Bruised: The Midnight Live |
|
Collaborative albums
Title | Details |
---|---|
The Midnight Remixed 01 |
|
The Midnight Remixed 02 |
|
Extended plays
Title | Details |
---|---|
Days of Thunder |
|
Horror Show[14] |
|
The Rearview Mirror (with Magik*Magik)[15] |
|
Singles
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Sunset" | 2016 | Endless Summer |
"Vampires" | ||
"Crystalline" | 2017 | Nocturnal |
"Lost Boy" | 2018 | Kids |
"America 2" | ||
"Arcade Dreams" | ||
"America Online" | 2019 | Monsters |
"Sometimes She Smiles" | Vehlinggo Presents: 5 Years | |
"Deep Blue" | 2020 | Monsters |
"Dance with Somebody" | ||
"Prom Night" | ||
"C O L D P I Z Z A" | 2021 | - |
"Neon Medusa" | Horror Show | |
"Good in Red" | ||
"Ghost in Your Stereo" | ||
"Change Your Heart or Die" | 2022 | Heroes |
"Heartbeat" | ||
"Avalanche" | ||
"Brooklyn. Friday. Love" | ||
"Heart Worth Breaking" | ||
"Land Locked Heart" | 2023 | Road 96: Mile 0 (Video Game Soundtrack) |
Remixes
Artist | Title | Release date |
---|---|---|
Tyler Lyle | Lost & Found (The Midnight Remix) | March 13, 2016 |
Drake | 0 To 100 (The Midnight Remix) | July 2016 |
Scavenger Hunt | Never Enough (The Midnight Remix) | November 8, 2016 |
ARIZONA | Oceans Away (The Midnight Remix) | February 24, 2017 |
Clubhouse | Kyra (The Midnight Remix) | April 10, 2017 |
Jon Bellion | 80's Films (The Midnight Remix) | June 25, 2017 |
The Night Game | The Outfield (The Midnight Remix) | April 27, 2018 |
SYML | Clean Eyes (The Midnight Remix) | February 8, 2019 |
The Ivy | Missing Out (The Midnight Remix) | April 21, 2020 |
Latroit | Don't Give Up (The Midnight Remix) | September 25, 2020 |
References
- ^ "The Midnight". The Midnight.
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ a b Tausi New VHS Technologist (20 April 2017). "The Midnight Live Stream Video, April 10/2017" – via YouTube.
- ^ "Days of Thunder, by The Midnight". The Midnight.
- ^ "Endless Summer, by The Midnight". The Midnight.
- ^ "Nocturnal, by The Midnight". The Midnight.
- ^ "Reliving the Past with The Midnight: An In-Depth Interview". 12 November 2017.
- ^ "FM-84 and The Midnight @ The Globe Theatre - LA Music Blog". lamusicblog.com.
- ^ Dexter, Robyn (2019). "The Midnight paint with vibrant sonic colors as they prepare their new LP, tour the world [Interview]". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ "The Midnight Interview". gaffa.dk.
- ^ "The Midnight Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ Peaks in Australia:
- Monsters: "Discography The Midnight". australian-charts.com. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- Heroes: "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 19 September 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1698. Australian Recording Industry Association. September 19, 2022. p. 6.
- ^ "Midnight | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ "Horror Show - EP by The Midnight on Apple Music". Apple Music. 19 March 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ "The Rearview Mirror - EP by The Midnight & Magik*Magik on Apple Music". Apple Music. 23 July 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2023.