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 Years
The Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And blonde hair
Washing mom and dad's car on a Saturday
Everyone was there
These memories elude me
Can they be found
Hold up a light for us
Scream out loud
It's been four years since you've been home
I hope you've found your way out there on your own
I still see your face when I look up at the stars
There you are, there you are
That sneaky thief inside your head
That slept for years until the end
It stole your words and fucked your plans
Then you opened up and you loved again
You're bold
You're brave
You're beautiful
No we're not the same
It's been four years since you've been home
I hope you've found your way out there on your own
I still see your face when I look up at the stars
There you are, there you are
That summer day when I held your hand
I hope you know I was sorry then
The Midnight's song "The Years" is all about reminiscing the past, the moments that we cannot bring back but still hold a special place in our hearts. The lyrics of the song take us on a nostalgic ride where the artist longs for the memories of time spent with his family and friends, especially his loved one who is away from home for four years. The opening lines "I'm thinking about blue sky and blonde hair, washing mom and dad's car on a Saturday, everyone was there" tells us about the artist's fond memories of spending Saturdays with his family while cleaning cars, enjoying nature's beauty and great company. However, as time passes, these memories slowly start eluding us, which makes the artist ponder whether these memories can ever be found again.
The chorus of the song, "It's been four years since you've been home, I hope you've found your way out there on your own, I still see your face when I look up at the stars, there you are, there you are" expresses the artist's longing for his loved one who is away from home for four years. The artist hopes that his loved one has found a path of his own and has been exploring the world, but no matter where he goes or how far he goes, the artist still feels his presence in the stars above. The lyrics show the love and connection between two people, even when they are physically apart.
The final verse talks about the challenges one faces in life, where the thief inside our head steals our words, fucks our plans, and brings chaos to our lives. But with time, we learn to open up our hearts again and love with boldness, braveness, and beauty. The artist wants his loved one to know that even though they are not the same anymore, he remembers holding her hand on a summer day and that he was sorry back then. This verse is reflective of the artist's personal experience, where he has learned to cope with his inner fears and insecurities and loves himself and others more authentically.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm thinking about blue sky
I'm reminiscing about a bright, clear blue sky
And blonde hair
And the beautiful color of blonde hair, which likely reminds me of someone or something
Washing mom and dad's car on a Saturday
I recall an enjoyable pastime of washing my parents' car on a weekend
Everyone was there
And I remember the presence of all my loved ones around me
These memories elude me
But somehow, these memories are difficult to grasp, like they're just out of my reach
Can they be found
I wonder if it's possible to retrieve and fully remember these fading memories
Hold up a light for us
I ask for a light to illuminate and help us recollect these elusive memories
Scream out loud
I feel an urge to express myself and shout out loud, perhaps to let out any repressed emotions
It's been four years since you've been home
It's been quite some time since you've come back
I hope you've found your way out there on your own
I hope you've navigated your own path and found success
I still see your face when I look up at the stars
Despite the distance, I still think about you often and see you in the beauty of the night sky
There you are, there you are
It's almost like you're always there, watching over me and still a part of my life even from afar
That sneaky thief inside your head
I'm referencing the insidious sneakiness of mental health problems
That slept for years until the end
It's as if these issues were dormant and unnoticed until they reached an unbearable extreme
It stole your words and fucked your plans
These problems robbed you of the ability to communicate and wreaked havoc on your plans and aspirations
Then you opened up and you loved again
But you found a way to overcome these challenges and open yourself up to love again
You're bold
You're daring and fearless
You're brave
You're courageous and unafraid
You're beautiful
You possess inner and outer beauty
No we're not the same
We're different, but that uniqueness is what makes us special and valuable
That summer day when I held your hand
I recall a specific moment in time when I held your hand on a warm summer day
I hope you know I was sorry then
And I hope you understood how much I regretted any past mistakes or pain I may have caused you
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Andrew Ramsay
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