Prior to forming The Midnight, Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan were both established musicians. Lyle was an indie-folk singer-songwriter based in the state of Georgia and gained initial notability with several self-released titles, becoming regionally and nationally known. McEwan was a drummer and producer based in Denmark, later becoming a member of the Danish production group Deekay who has written and produced songs for many popular artists.
The pair met for the first time in 2012 at a songwriter’s workshop in North Hollywood organized by Katie Donovan, Lyle’s A&R representative at the time. Prior to meeting, McEwan had listened to some of Lyle’s previous work and liked Lyle’s folk sound. Despite differing musical backgrounds, they bonded over a mutual love of 80s rock and began to write songs together. After initially struggling to define their sound, McEwan suggested that they compose songs in the synthwave style. McEwan had prior exposure to the burgeoning genre and was inspired by the movie Drive. The first song they wrote together as a duo was WeMoveForward, which was included on their debut EP Days of Thunder.
STYLE AND WORKFLOW
For most of their career, The Midnight has created a strong and distinct synthwave sound in their music - Tim McEwan once described the band's early albums “as if Miami Vice had a baby with a John Hughes movie”. However, McEwan has continuously expressed a desire to evolve the synthwave genre and not be confined by it. Tyler Lyle has stated several times that the band's philosophy when composing is “combine, not confine”. Influences of genres such as lo-fi, soft rock, trance, and vaporwave can be heard on Monsters, and Lyle's musical background has brought influences of indie folk and Americana to the band's sound as well. Regarding the merging of their individual talents and styles, Lyle has said:
It’s rock and roll with synthesizers. Tim has a keen ear for production, and I can write songs that fit comfortably within the tradition of 20th century classic pop songwriting. Somewhere in the middle things get interesting.
McEwan employs various digital synths in his production, including Serum, Diva, TAL-U-NO-LX, Spire, and Roland Cloud's Jupiter 8 and Juno 106. In mid-2020, he mentioned that his favorite synth to use at the time was U-He's emulation of Prophet-5, known as Repro 5. McEwan has stated that he commonly begins with presets and then tweaks them to his liking. KONTAKT is used for sampling.
Both McEwan and Lyle use Logic Pro on macOS as their primary Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).Universal Audio interfaces are used to capture their sounds, which are then processed using UAD plugins. Using the same utilities makes it easier for them to share session files as a significant amount of their work is done remotely, due to living in different areas of the US. However, they will usually get together in the same room a few times during a release's production and will often write and record together while on tour. A release's sound and overall direction are generally created by the two bouncing ideas off each other - McEwan will send Lyle a rough track or beat, which Lyle will then think of lyrics and a title that would go good with the beat, after which McEwan will further build and produce the track. McEwan has stated that the production of a typical The Midnight album takes around three to six months, “from the early gestating part to finish”.
Production and drums are handled by McEwan, with Lyle providing guitar, lyrics, and vocals. Lyle has stated that he writes on a daily basis, and many lyrics come from a large number of fragments he keeps stored in Evernote. Most of the remaining instrumentation is digital, but on occasion songs (including most with saxophone and guitar solos) will at first have digital instruments that are then outsourced to other musicians to play live on the track. Thomas Edinger has been the primary saxophone player for The Midnight's releases, and McEwan's brother Oliver has frequently played bass for the band as well.
For live performances, various setups have been used by the band. Lyle stated that the Spring 2019 tour utilized an Ableton rig, with McEwan using an SPD SX sampling pad and MIDI controller. Lyle ran his guitars through a Kemper profiling amp, and he also used an OP1 for certain synth moments and pads.
Nighthawks
The Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looking for you to get it right
All by myself, next to you
Out of touch and out of sight
Do you feel my heart beat?
Do you feel what i feel?
The city`s calling
The pain real
Baby don't you see?
Nighthawks
All alone in the night
Nighthawks
Concrete jungle neon lights
Nighthawks
Wherever we belong
Nighthawks
Everlong in the night
The smell of smoke the city`s grey
Here i sit nothing much to say
She comes over heart in hand
The price of love i`m willing to pay
Could we be?
Or am i meant to be alone
I told her
Sollitude looks good on you
Nighthawks
All alone in the night
Nighthawks
Concrete jungle neon lights
Could we be?
Or am i meant to be alone
I told her
Sollitude looks good on you
Nighthawks
All alone in the night
Nighthawks
Concrete jungle neon lights
Nighthawks
Wherever we belong
Nighthawks
Everlong in the night
Nighthawks
All alone in the night
Nighthawks
Concrete jungle neon lights
Nighthawks
Nighthawks
Nighthawks
All alone in the night
Nighthawks
Concrete jungle neon lights
Could we be?
Or am i meant to be alone
I told her
Sollitude looks good on
Nighthawks
All alone in the night
Nighthawks
Concrete jungle neon lights
Nighthawks
Nighthawks
Nighthawks
All alone in the night
Nighthawks
Concrete jungle neon lights
Could we be?
Or am i meant to be alone
I told her
Sollitude looks good on
The Midnight's song "Nighthawks" seems to be about feeling alone in a large metropolitan city, surrounded by concrete jungles and neon lights. The lyrics express the singer's desire for a connection with someone, but also his fear of being alone. The chorus repeats the word "Nighthawks," which is likely a reference to the iconic painting by Edward Hopper of the same name. In the painting, the lonely figures in a late-night diner are surrounded by darkness and ambiguity, much like the singer of the song.
The opening line, "All alone late at night, looking for you to get it right," sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is searching for something, but it's not clear exactly what he's looking for. He's "out of touch and out of sight," which could mean that he feels disconnected from others or that he's hiding from them. The lines "Do you feel my heart beat? Do you feel what I feel?" suggest that he's looking for someone to understand him, to feel what he feels.
The second verse introduces a female character who comes "heart in hand." The singer seems to be conflicted about whether "we could be" or if he's "meant to be alone." In the end, he tells her that "solitude looks good on you," implying that he's not ready for a relationship. The repeated chorus of "Nighthawks" adds to the feeling of loneliness and isolation.
Overall, "Nighthawks" is a melancholic and atmospheric song about the struggle to connect with others in a fast-paced and impersonal world.
Line by Line Meaning
All alone late at night
The singer is alone at night, perhaps searching for someone or something.
Looking for you to get it right
The singer may be looking for someone who has let them down in the past to finally come through and do the right thing.
All by myself, next to you
Despite being physically close to someone, the singer feels emotionally isolated.
Out of touch and out of sight
The artist feels disconnected from the person they want to be with and perhaps cannot find them.
Do you feel my heart beat?
The artist wonders if the person they are thinking of can sense their longing and deep emotions.
Do you feel what I feel?
The singer is yearning for a deeper connection with someone and is asking if that person shares their emotions.
The city`s calling
The city is beckoning the singer to leave their current situation and explore something new.
It's time to leave
The artist has an urge to move on and leave their current situation behind.
The pain real
The artist is experiencing emotional pain and it is affecting them deeply.
Baby don't you see?
The artist is imploring the person they are thinking of to understand their emotions and connect with them.
The smell of smoke, the city`s grey
The city, while exciting, can also be dark and lonely. Perhaps the singer is experiencing the negative aspects of urban life.
Here I sit, nothing much to say
Despite being in the middle of a bustling city, the artist feels at a loss for words.
She comes over heart in hand
Someone approaches the singer with their heart on their sleeve and ready to connect.
The price of love I`m willing to pay
The singer is willing to take a risk and invest emotionally in a relationship, despite the potential cost or pain.
Could we be?
The singer wonders if they and the person they are thinking of could have a deeper connection and be together romantically.
Or am I meant to be alone?
The artist is grappling with the possibility that they may not find the connection they are looking for.
I told her solitude looks good on you
The artist may be grasping at the possibility that they are better off alone and trying to convince someone else of the same thing.
Nighthawks
A term that refers to those who are out late at night, especially in the city.
Concrete jungle neon lights
A metaphor for the city, with its bright and illuminated skyscrapers and bustling streets.
Wherever we belong
The artist may be feeling lost and searching for a place where they fit in.
Everlong in the night
The artist may be feeling unfulfilled and searching for something deeper and more meaningful.
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Giel Bertrand
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tayo
on The Equalizer - Not Alone
A very good music can you make some new songs then we will give your channel 24700 subscriber I promise