The Midnight is an American synthwave band composed of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Tyler Lyle and Portland-based Danish producer, songwriter, and singer Tim McEwan.
The band's motto is "" (), a Japanese phrase that loosely translates to "a sense of nostalgic wistfulness and the awareness that nothing lasts forever".
History 2012–2014: Formation and Days of Thunder The band was formed as a result of Lyle and McEwan meeting during a co-writing workshop in 2012 in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Inspired in part by the score for Drive, and the retro synth genre growing around its release, 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.
2015–2018: Endless Summer, first remix album, Nocturnal, and touring In 2016, the duo released a 12-track LP, Endless Summer, followed in 2017 with the release of The Midnight Remixed on the Monstercat label.
Their second studio album, Nocturnal, was released in October 2017, which spent several weeks as a best seller on the music distribution website Bandcamp and reached number 17 on Billboards Dance/Electronic charts in October 2017. 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. In April 2018, The Midnight announced their first official tour for Fall 2018 with 18 shows across North America.
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 2018 album Night Drive of Timecop1983, titled "Static".
2018–2020: Kids, second remix album, and Monsters
The Midnight released their third studio album, Kids on September 21, 2018. The album is the first in a trilogy series that shares similar thematic elements.
In 2019, The Midnight Remixed 02 was released on Monstercat. McEwan also 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 July 2020, The Midnight released their fourth studio album, Monsters on Counter Records. The album was included on AllMusic's list of the best albums of 2020. The album is a thematic continuation of their previous album Kids, focusing on adolescence, closeness and alienation from the perspective of a teenager.
2020–2023: Horror Show, The Rearview Mirror, Heroes, and live album
The Midnight first released their second EP, Horror Show in October 2020 exclusively through Amazon Music. The EP was released to all platforms in March 2021. They followed with the collaborative EP, The Rearview Mirror with Magik*Magik Orchestra in July. The EP features reimagined orchestral versions of songs from Endless Summer to commemorate its fifth anniversary.
The Midnight released their fifth studio album, Heroes in September 2022. It is the third and final album in the Kids trilogy which includes songs that are influenced by hair metal bands and heavy metal, specifically Def Leppard and Mutt Lange.
The band released their live album, Red, White and Bruised: The Midnight Live in September 2023 which featured performances from their Heroes tours.
2024–present: Graphic novel, Syndicate deluxe, and Neon Odyssey
The Midnight announced that their first graphic novel, The Midnight: Shadows, would be released by Dark Horse Comics in October 2024. The story and characters are based on The Midnight's music, and the book features writer Zack Kaplan working with artists Stephen Thompson, Johnoy Lindsay, and Thiago Rocha.
In 2024, the band announced McEwan would step away from touring to focus on producing new music.https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1928048/the-midnight-review-london-electric-ballroom-2024 The band added drummer Kwesi Robinson to the lineup to fulfill McEwan's role on live drums.
The Midnight made their Ultra Records debut with the single, "Chariot" in September 2024 from their upcoming sixth studio album, Syndicate. The band followed with their second single, "Love Is an Ocean" in February 2025. Third single "Digital Dreams" released on May 30, 2025. "Chariot" was featured on the soundtrack for the Codemasters racing video game F1 25 which also released the same day. The fourth single "Shadowverse" was released on August 1, along with the reveal of Syndicate's tracklist and October 3, 2025 release date. A fifth single, "Summer's Ending Soon", was released on August 29. A sixth single, "Runaways" featuring Bonnie McKee, was released on September 17.
In an interview with Daily Express, McEwan called Syndicate "our version of an apocalypse record" which had gone through a rework after the band and label mutually agreed the first version wasn't there yet. Lyle called Syndicate "the album that we just couldn't help ourselves from making" with both Lyle and McEwan going through personal trauma during the writing process. Lyle calls the album the denouement of the Kids / Monsters / Heroes trilogy, signaling the closing of a chapter.
The Midnight announced a deluxe version of Syndicate with six additional songs was releasing on May 15, 2026. The expanded album features new songs, unreleased demos, and remixes including their latest single "Love Is an Ocean (Chromeo Remix)".
In May 2026, The Midnight collaborated with tabletop gaming group and publishing company Avantris Entertainment to create the theme song and animated music video for "Neon Odyssey", a Dungeons & Dragons 5.5E 1,400+ page, three-book space opera trilogy. The song and cinematic released on May 5 at the opening of the Kickstarter project which surpassed their initial funding goals by raising $2.25m within the first hour of the campaign. Avantris said The Midnight played a huge part in creating the tone and overall vibe of the Neon Odyssey space opera with McEwan calling the collaboration “one of those great experiences – where someone comes to you asking for the thing you really like to do and you know are good at.”
Personal lives Tim McEwan's parents are the musician Tom McEwan and actress Terese Damsholt.
Band members
Current Tyler Lyle – lead vocals, guitar, synths (2012–present) Tim McEwan – producer, percussion, synths, vocals (2012–present)
Touring Justin Klunk – saxophone, synths (2022–present) Kwesi Robinson – drums and percussion (2024–present) Oliver McEwan – music director, bass, synths (2026–present) Rhett Shull – guitar, groove boxes, sound design (2026–present) OBLVYN – synths, vocals (2026–present) James Small – drums and percussion (2026–present)
Former touring Nikki Flores – vocals (2017) Jesse Molloy – saxophone, synths (2017–2021) Alekos "Kosie" Syropoulos – saxophone, synths (2018–2019) Jacob Scesney – saxophone (2019) Lito Hernandez – saxophone (2019) Lelia Broussard – vocals, guitar, bass, synths (2019–2025) Royce Whittaker – music director, guitar, synths, vocals (2020–2025) Chris Kuffner – guitar, synths (2022) Chris Thigpen – bass, synths (2026)
Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions US USDance USIndie AUSPeaks in Australia: Monsters: Heroes: Syndicate: GER SCO SWEPhys. UK UKDance UKIndie Endless Summer Released: August 5, 2016 Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl — — — — — — — — — — Nocturnal Released: October 13, 2017 Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl — — — — — — — — — — Kids Released: September 21, 2018 Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl — 12 13 — — — — — — 44 Monsters Released: July 10, 2020 Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl 134 3 18 28 — 26 — 85 1 5 Heroes Released: September 9, 2022 Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl 167 3 22 66 41 13 — 74 — 4 Syndicate Released: October 3, 2025 Formats: CD, Digital download, streaming, vinyl — 6 — 90 — 60 15 — — — "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
Live albums Title Details Red, White and Bruised: The Midnight Live Released: September 1, 2023 Formats: Vinyl, cassette, digital download, streaming
Collaborative albums Title Details The Midnight Remixed 01 Released: August 14, 2017 Formats: Digital download, streaming The Midnight Remixed 02 Released: September 27, 2019 Formats: Digital download, streaming
Extended plays Title DetailsDays of Thunder Released: July 15, 2014 Formats: Cassette, CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl Horror Show Released: October 16, 2020 Formats: Cassette, Digital download, streaming, vinyl The Rearview Mirror (with Magik*Magik) Released: July 23, 2021 Formats: digital download, streaming, vinyl
Singles Title Year Album "Years (Prologue)"2014Days of Thunder"WeMoveForward""Los Angeles" "Endless Summer"2016Endless Summer"Sunset""Vampires""Crystalline"2017Nocturnal "River of Darkness" "Light Years""Lost Boy"2018Kids"America 2""Arcade Dreams""Sometimes She Smiles"2019 Vehlinggo Presents: 5 Years"America Online" Monsters"Deep Blue"2020"Dance with Somebody""Prom Night""Cold Pizza"2021 "Neon Medusa"Horror Show"Change Your Heart or Die"2022Heroes"Heartbeat""Avalanche""Brooklyn. Friday. Love""Heart Worth Breaking""Land Locked Heart" 2023 Road 96: Mile 0 (Video Game Soundtrack) "Shadows (Redux)" 2024Shadows comic vinyl"Chariot" Syndicate"Love Is an Ocean" 2025 "Digital Dreams" "Shadowverse" "Summer's Ending Soon" "Runaways""Love Is an Ocean (Chromeo Remix)" 2026 Syndicate (Deluxe) "Neon Odyssey" – "Tonight, Tonight" Sending Hearts To All My Dearies: A Tribute To The Smashing Pumpkins
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 Chromeo "Lost and Found (The Midnight Remix)" October 4, 2024
Tours
Headlining
Fall 2018 Tour Spring 2019 Tour Fall 2019 Tour Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 Tour Change Your Heart Tour (2022–2023) Fall 2023 North American Tour Summer 2024 EU/UK Tour Fall 2025 EU/UK Tour Time Machines Tour (2026)
Co-headlining Chrome Nights North American Tour (with Chromeo) (2024)
Notes
References