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2020 album by The Midnight
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From The Floppy Disk

Nikki Flores

Flores in 2020
Nikki Flores
Flores performing live with The Midnight in 2020
Flores performing live with The Midnight in 2020
Background information
Birth nameBrandi Nichole Flores
Born (1988-10-17) October 17, 1988 (age 37)
Fontana, California, U.S.
Genres
  • Pop
  • R&B
  • Electronic
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active2003–present
Websitenikkiflores.com

Nikki Flores (born Brandi Nichole Flores, October 17, 1988)[1][2] is an American singer, songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. She has an extensive catalog of credits as a singer and songwriter.

A native of Fontana, California,[3] Flores signed with Epic Records in 2003[4] and released her first single Strike in 2005.[5] After being dropped from the label in 2009, she signed with Patriot Records in 2010, an imprint of Universal Republic.[6][7] Her first single with the label, City Lights, was released in September that year.

After a full album failed to materialize on either label, Flores began a career of writing songs for other artists and making appearances as a featured vocalist. Artists she has written for include Christina Aguilera, Jordin Sparks, Nas, and JoJo.[3][1] Flores has provided backing vocals for the likes of Keyshia Cole, Demi Lovato, and Cher Lloyd. In 2016, she released a six-track EP titled XII XV.[8] She has also collaborated several times with German DJ Markus Schulz as a writer and vocalist. In 2021, she re-released her 2008 single Let It Slide after it began appearing on TikTok. As of 2023, she is working on solo music under the project name Luuna's Room.[9]

Her first collaboration with The Midnight was the song Jason from the album Endless Summer, providing vocals and co-writing the track. Flores worked with the band again on their following release Nocturnal, co-writing and singing vocals on the song Light Years. Her next collaboration with The Midnight was the song Because The Night from their 2020 EP Horror Show, a cover of the 1978 song by Patti Smith. She also provided background vocals on the song Good in Red. While she did not appear as a guest vocalist on any songs, Flores assisted in the writing and production of The Midnight's fifth album Heroes.

Flores has performed live with The Midnight on several occasions, most recently during the 2020 concert special The Midnight Online. She sings vocals for the songs that she was featured in and also sings vocals on the song Sunset.

Contributions to songs by The Midnight

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Nikki Flores | Discography | Discogs". Discogs. April 3, 2022. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Nikki Flores | About". Nikki Flores. April 3, 2022. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Who Is Nikki Flores? Welcome To Her Diary: Chapter 1 | RnB". RnB Magazine. June 14, 2016. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Nikki Flores on Apple Music". Apple Music. April 3, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Nikki Flores - Strike | Releases | Discogs". Discogs. January 1, 2005. Retrieved April 3, 2022. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  6. ↑ "Nikki Flores | Singer/Songwriter signed to Patriot Records/Universal Republic. Music is my love. Check it out :)". Wordpress.com. January 1, 2010. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Nikki Flores Channels Journey For Her New Single - Clizbeats.com". Clizbeats. October 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; September 20, 2020 suggested (help)
  8. ↑ "Spotify – XII XV". Spotify. January 1, 2016. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  9. ↑ Flores, Nikki (April 6, 2023). "Nikki Flores on Twitter: "She's yours 🌙🔮✨ I hope you love "Luuna's Theme" https://t.co/Ld9L971J6p" / Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)

External links

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Heroes (song)

Heroes - Album.jpg
This template is about the song. For the album, see Heroes.
"Heroes"
Song by The Midnight
from the album Heroes
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2022 (2022-09-09)
Length5:13
LabelCounter Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Tim McEwan
Heroes track listing

Heroes

  1. "Golden Gate"
  2. "Brooklyn. Friday. Love."
  3. "Heartbeat"
  4. "A Place of Her Own"
  5. "Heroes"
  6. "Heart Worth Breaking"
  7. "Loved By You"
  8. "Aerostar"
  9. "Change Your Heart or Die"
  10. "Avalanche"
  11. "Souvenir"
  12. "Photograph"
  13. "Energy Never Dies, It Just Transforms"

Heroes is a song by The Midnight. It is the fifth track from their album Heroes.[1]

The song was written by band members Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan alongside Lelia Broussard and Royce Whittaker. It was produced by McEwan. It has a running time of five minutes and 13 seconds and is in the key of G minor.

A live version of Heroes was released as a single on August 15, 2023, which appears on the expanded edition of Red, White and Bruised: The Midnight Live.

Lyrics

One year closer to my death
I still haven't found what I'm looking for yet
It's not big blue eyes, long blonde hair
It's not a million dollars or a secret prayer

Another year asleep under the spell
Sometimes it's hard to remember
'cause you wear it so well
Made my home in the underground
'Cause nothing grows in the wasteland now

Are we just too easily pleased
Here with the pundits and sages
Witty and pretty and shitty and high
Almost getting by
Almost getting by

I'm ready to live my life again
Like there's a chance worth taking
Ready to love you like I can
Like my heart's not breaking
Wherever you are, wherever you are
Red, white, and bruised
I'll keep waiting
The missing hero is you

Broke down on the 101
Just bad luck believers
Blinded by the sun
Yeah, we chased our dreams
like you taught us how
But nothing grows in the wasteland now

Are we just too easily pleased
Here with the pundits and sages
Witty and pretty and shitty and high
Almost getting by
Almost getting by

I'm ready to live my life again
Like there's a chance worth taking
Ready to love you like I can
Like my heart's not breaking
Wherever you are, wherever you are
Red, white, and bruised
I'll keep waiting
But the missing hero is you

Official versions and other media

Heroes

from Heroes

Heroes - Instrumental

from Heroes (& Instrumentals)

Heroes (Live)

from Red, White and Bruised: The Midnight Live

'Heroes (Live)' (Official Music Video)

References

  1. ↑ "Heroes | The Midnight". Bandcamp. September 9, 2022. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
‎

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Monsters

This template is about the album. For the song, see Monsters (song).
Monsters - album.jpg
Monsters
Album by
The Midnight
ReleasedJuly 10, 2020
Genre
  • Synthwave
  • Electronic
  • World
  • Lo-fi
  • Vaporwave
Length57:56
LabelCounter Records
ProducerTim McEwan
The Midnight chronology
Remixed 02 - album.jpg
The Midnight Remixed 02
(2019) 		Monsters - album.jpg
Monsters
(2020) 		Horror show - ep.jpg
Horror Show
(2020)
Singles from Monsters
  1. "America Online"
    Released: May 3, 2019
  2. "Deep Blue"
    Released: May 6, 2020
  3. "Dance With Somebody"
    Released: June 10, 2020
  4. "Prom Night"
    Released: June 24, 2020

Monsters is the fourth album by The Midnight. It was released through the label Counter Records on July 10, 2020.[1]

Monsters was preceded by the release of four singles: America Online, Deep Blue, Dance With Somebody, and Prom Night.

Background and composition

The Midnight's previous album Kids was originally planned to be a larger release with more songs compared to the final product. It was later stated that its production was scaled back so Tyler Lyle would have more time to spend with his newborn child.[2] With the band having a lot of leftover ideas from the making of Kids, they decided to expand upon its themes and began work on a follow-up album as part of a planned trilogy.[3][2][4]

Some of the prizes given during the Fall 2020 ARG have revealed details about the development of Monsters. It had a working title of Kids 2 and several early demos of songs that appeared on Monsters were also shared. A snippet of America Online was shared on the band's social media in April 2018, predating the release of Kids.[5] An early instrumental snippet of the song Monsters included in the ARG prizes is named "Monsters (early instrumental demo for KIDS)", indicating that it was also initially planned to be included on Kids.

In February 2019, it was mentioned on the band's social media that new songs were being recorded in Atlanta (the home of Lyle).[6] On March 20, a no-captioned photo of an America Online startup screen was posted, the first official mention of the song since the April 2018 snippet.[7] On March 25, a new clip of America Online containing vocals was shared.[8] On April 5, a photo showing an America Online branded floppy disk with a caption of "New single dropping soon" was posted.[9] A tiny portion of the single artwork was shared on April 18,[10] followed by another small portion on April 29, with a release date of May 3 being announced.[11] The next day, the single was officially confirmed to be America Online.[12] The full single artwork was revealed on May 2.[13] The artwork showed a computer with an AIM-esque chat interface, along with a desktop showing a file called "Monsters.zip", which would later turn out to be the name of the album. On May 6, the band's Twitter account posted the single artwork and stated that the font used in it was the name of a track from the upcoming album.[14] A June 4 post showed an old System 7 interface with a text editor open and the font Helvetica selected, confirming the aforementioned song's name.[15]

Further sharing of information about the next album was infrequent for the remainder of 2019, largely due to the band's ongoing tour. During the tour, a few songs confirmed by the band to be on the pending album were performed, including Seventeen, Monsters, and Brooklyn. The band shared in October that the next album would have a song "that feels like the spiritual successor to Lost Boy"[16], and also stated in December that the album has "taken a lot of inspiration from world music."[17]

In January 2020, the band said that "there may or may not be an homage to Ecco the Dolphin on our upcoming album."[18] It was mentioned in February that the new album would have pan flute and saxophone,[19] and it was also confirmed for a 2020 release.[20] On April 24, a new snippet of the next single cover was posted on social media. On April 27, the single was confirmed to be Deep Blue with a release date of May 6. A short instrumental clip of the song was included in the post. The full single artwork was revealed on May 3.[21] On May 6, the release of Deep Blue was accompanied by the announcing of Monsters as the next The Midnight album, with a planned release date of July 10.[22] The artwork and tracklist were also revealed.

On May 29, Dance With Somebody was announced as the third single from Monsters alongside a short snippet of the song and a release date of June 3.[23] However, The Midnight announced on June 1 that the single's release would be delayed a week to June 10, with the postponement being done in solidarity with racial justice protests happening at the time in the US.[24] Prom Night was revealed to be the album's fourth and final single on June 18, with a short snippet and a release date of June 24 being shared.[25]

Monsters promotional poster

Monsters was officially released on July 10, 2020. Receiving mostly positive reviews, critics noted that the album moved the band's sound in a different direction and expanded its horizons, breaking the traditional mold of the synthwave genre.[26][27][28][29][30] The album was also the biggest commercial success to date for The Midnight, charting at number 134 on the Billboard 200,[31] number 12 on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart,[32][33] and number 18 on the Independent Albums chart.[34]

According to Tyler Lyle, a few that songs were written or sketched during the creation of Kids were held over for Monsters.[35] He also noted that the production of Monsters took longer than previous releases due to the band's tour schedule.[2][36][37] Monsters was released with fifteen tracks, the largest number to date on a The Midnight release. The title track is a collaboration with Jupiter Winter, a music duo consisting of Lelia Broussard and Royce Whittaker. Broussard co-wrote the track and sings vocals on the second verse. She had previously joined the band as a guitarist and backup vocalist during the Fall 2019 Tour. Broussard and Whittaker would both join The Midnight for the concert special The Midnight Online. Brooklyn, the album's eleventh track, was originally a solo song by Lyle from his album The Floating Years.[38]

A continuation of Kids,[39][40] the album explores the trials and tribulations of growing up as a teenager and young adult. McEwan noted that the songs on Monsters "range from calm to sad to aggressive, and reflect[s] some of the internal struggles of adolescence."[41] When asked about the significance of 1991, McEwan opined: "The KIDS have grown up. They're teens now. And 1991 was the year the internet went live. Hence the modem sound and opening the album with America Online."[42] Lyle has described Monsters as "an examination of the half in darkness, half in lightness war of individualization through adolescence."[43] During an interview with Icon Vs. Icon, he said about the album:[44]

We wanted MONSTERS to be about adolescence, where the adult world starts knocking on your door and you have to face questions about intimacy, closeness and alienation. It’s a continuation of KIDS in a lot of ways. We wrote a lot of songs for it and hopefully we have a lot of songs for the next record as well to complete the arc. This collection we really felt spoke to the theme of connection.

Monsters has been noted for having a new and different overall sound compared to previous releases by The Midnight. Tim McEwan said a goal with Monsters was to "broaden the palette a bit and sonically evolve the sound of not just us but what is allowed in synthwave and question what is synthwave" and also to not be "encumbered by rules of a genre."[44][45] McEwan elaborated further stating "I think there's a tendency with all genres to be bubbled into this chamber of one specific genre, and I felt it was important for us to move forward and to have the ability to move freely."[46] Tyler Lyle said with regards to Monsters that McEwan "is evolving the sound a little bit more" and that "We’re opening the palette a little bit more — in some ways becoming a little bit more acoustic and in other ways becoming more dance-focused in different areas.”[47] During a fan question-and-answer session on Twitter prior to the release of Monsters, he mentioned that he "wrote about 250 songs between 2016-2019" and "20 something of those songs got properly demoed/ realistically considered for Monsters."[48]

McEwan stated that he took inspiration from various genres including soft rock, lo-fi, hip-hop, and trance. Influences of vaporwave can also be heard on tracks like America Online and City Dreams (interlude).[49] The song Dream Away is mentioned by McEwan as being a "homage to the 90s wave of world influenced electronic music like Deep Forest and Engima."[50] Lyle said that his work on Monsters was inspired by a string of Bruce Springsteen albums from the late 1970s to early 1980s, with the song Prom Night regarded as "an openhearted nod to Springsteen's gift as a dark and complicated writer who could also write a full throated pop song without those two words seeming to contradict."[51] Lyle's vocals are supplemented with vocoder effects on the songs Monsters, Fire In The Sky, America Online, Deep Blue, and Night Skies, with the effect heard on Fire In The Sky actually being McEwan's voice.[52]

Singles

America Online
May 13, 2019
Deep Blue
May 6, 2020
Dance With Somebody
June 10, 2020
Prom Night
June 24, 2020

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle except where noted.

Monsters
No.TitleLength
1."1991 (intro)"0:27
2."America Online"5:49
3."Dance With Somebody"4:17
4."Seventeen"4:02
5."Dream Away"3:39
6."The Search for Ecco"4:04
7."Prom Night"5:02
8."Fire In The Sky" (Lyle, McEwan and Collin McLoughlin)4:09
9."Monsters (feat. Jupiter Winter)" (Lyle, McEwan and Leila Broussard)3:17
10."Helvetica"5:16
11."Brooklyn"4:14
12."Deep Blue"3:57
13."Night Skies"3:04
14."City Dreams (interlude)"2:17
15."Last Train"4:22
Total length:57:56

Additional instrumentation was provided by Thomas Edinger (saxophone on Dance With Somebody), Oliver McEwan (synth bass on Dance With Somebody, Bass & fretless bass on Brooklyn), Daniel Heløy Davidsen (Lead guitar solo on Seventeen), Izzy Fontaine (additional guitar and guitar solo on Brooklyn, guitar on Prom Night & Last Train), and Jesse Molloy (saxophone on Deep Blue). The album was mixed by Tim McEwan and mastered by Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood at The Lodge in New York, NY. Songs were recorded in Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, and the back of a tour bus all over the world.

Artwork and layout by Aaron Campbell.

Release history and variants

Digital release history for Monsters
Date Edition
July 10, 2020 Standard
Monsters - album.jpg
-
October 8, 2020[53] Instrumentals
Monsters - album.jpg
Unlike previous instrumental releases, songs that were already instrumental on the original album are included as well.[54]
April 2, 2021 Stems
Monsters - album.jpg
Contains the 15 songs from the album denoted with BPMs plus 278 stem parts comprising all songs except for 1991 (intro). The stems are not royalty free but projects and remixes made with them are allowed to be used on non-monetized platforms. First The Midnight EP/album to get a full stems release, which was done for The Midnight Remix Radio Vol. 2 remix contest.
Physical release history for Monsters
Year Format Color/Design
2020 Cassette Translucent Purple
TM Web Music Monsters Casette.webp
First tape variant.
2020 CD -
TM Web Music Monsters CD.webp
-
2020 LP Purple Swirl
TM Web Music Monsters LP Main.webp
First vinyl variant. First pressing was plagued with issues, with some listeners experiencing warbly playback, skipping, and various other problems, which misaligned holes on the vinyl might have caused.[55] Those who ordered the first pressing were sent an email offering a no-cost replacement. This variant received another pressing in August 2024 in the US.
2021 Cassette Transparent Purple/Transparent Orange
COUNTCAS198X-1mup.webp
Second tape variant. First double cassette release of a The Midnight EP/album, with the second tape containing the instrumentals.
2021 LP Purple Splatter
COUNT198-Purple-Front-Mockup-EDIT1-SQ.webp
Second vinyl variant. This variant received another pressing in August 2024 in the UK.

References

  1. ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "THE MIDNIGHT: Tim McEwan And Tyler Lyle On Bringing 'Monsters' To Life!". Icon Vision. July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  3. ↑ https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/
  4. ↑ https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview
  5. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BhKJu2enKnN/?hl=en
  6. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BthA52Jgqlk/
  7. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BvN9q1Fgn-Z/
  8. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BvaxeXUAdMe/
  9. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv4kcp4AmJb/
  10. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BwY8ZOkg0B7/
  11. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw3Gy8wAplG/
  12. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5OMM_gJTg/
  13. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw94A6fJ_uF/
  14. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1125597102208208896
  15. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/ByTwgNQAe1C/
  16. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1185424671946108929
  17. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1211337621164584965
  18. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1219150931675058176
  19. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233130503571529728
  20. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233133817126256640
  21. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ugmqlp8QY/
  22. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2jzxcpQ22/
  23. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxgf9TA7PM/
  24. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CA56j6sJ-2y/
  25. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlUTPTpFew/
  26. ↑ https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1307979/the-midnight-monsters-album-review-new-album-band-tyler-lyle-tim-mcewan-outrun-synthwave
  27. ↑ https://vehlinggo.com/2020/07/10/midnight-monsters-review/
  28. ↑ https://edm.com/music-releases/the-midnight-monsters
  29. ↑ https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_midnight_monsters_album_review
  30. ↑ https://www.fuzzymag.co.uk/post/the-midnight-monsters-review
  31. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/TLP
  32. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/ELP
  33. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9423495/the-midnight-sofi-tukker-gorgon-city-dance-electronic-charts
  34. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/IND
  35. ↑ https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/
  36. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/
  37. ↑ https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278433049483632641
  38. ↑ https://tylerlyle.bandcamp.com/album/the-floating-years-2
  39. ↑ https://youtu.be/X9VPeEZKxlY?t=451
  40. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/
  41. ↑ https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview
  42. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  43. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 "THE MIDNIGHT: Tim McEwan And Tyler Lyle On Bringing 'Monsters' To Life!". Icon Vision. July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  45. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  46. ↑ https://headlinermagazine.net/headliners/the-midnight-future-nostalgia.html
  47. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/
  48. ↑ https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278430811939835910
  49. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  50. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  51. ↑ https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/
  52. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  53. ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals
  54. ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals
  55. ↑ "The Midnight – Monsters (2020, Purple w/ Pink Marbled Swirl , Vinyl) - Discogs". Discogs. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
‎

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