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.
The Equaliser
The Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're not alone
You're not alone
You're not alone
The lyrics to The Midnight's song The Equaliser, while simple, convey a powerful message of reassurance and support to the listener. The repeated phrase "you're not alone" serves as a reminder that even in our darkest moments, there are people around us who care and are willing to help us through our struggles. The song acknowledges the pain and difficulties that we all inevitably face in life, but emphasizes the importance of human connection and understanding in overcoming those challenges. The use of repetition also contributes to a sense of unity and solidarity, as if the singer is standing with the listener and giving them a much-needed boost of encouragement.
Overall, The Equaliser is a song that speaks to the universal human experience of feeling isolated and overwhelmed, and offers a simple yet profound message of hope and support. It reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles, and that there is strength in community and empathy.
Line by Line Meaning
You're not alone
You may feel isolated or disconnected, but I want you to know that I am here with you. You have someone who cares and is willing to support you.
You're not alone
No matter how much you feel like you're facing your struggles by yourself, I'm reminding you that you have people in your life who love you and will stand by you through thick and thin.
You're not alone
Even when you're feeling overwhelmed and like no one understands your experiences, it's important to remember that there are others who have gone through similar things and can empathize with what you're going through. You aren't the only one.
You're not alone
Sometimes it can seem like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, but I want to assure you that you have a support system and a network of people who care about you. You don't have to bear everything on your own.
You're not alone
It's easy to feel lonely and forgotten, but I want to remind you that there are people who understand you and are there for you, even if you can't see them right now. You are never truly alone in this world.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Jamison Tyler Lyle, Tim Mcewan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
nicola
thank you terrifier 2 for introducing me to this masterpiece. obsessed
Kcm Man93
Contrasted so well with the gore and madness. I loved how out of the box this song was for the movie.
John Austin
@Kcm Man93 True. A small mellow moment in an extremely intense movie.
Wesley Coldmud
@Kcm Man93 out of the.... cerial box? 🙃
Denny Perez
I’m been listening to this all day long…
David D
What a badass song for a disgusting movie
Luke Bohm
I'm here after watching Terrifier 2 and I can't believe I've been deprived of synth-wave for this long... GOOSEBUMPS!!!
Sammy Stark
OMFG ME TOO!
Vikki Ann
I've been looking for this since I saw the movie on release day and I feel the same! It's such am amazing song 💖
Netterz
Same just seen the movie