From The Floppy Disk
Nikki Flores
Nikki Flores | |
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Flores performing live with The Midnight in 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Brandi Nichole Flores |
| Born | October 17, 1988 Fontana, California, U.S. |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Website | nikkiflores |
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
- Jason - co-writer, vocals
- Light Years - co-writer, vocals
- Good in Red - background vocals
- Because The Night - vocals
- Heartbeat - co-writer
- Brooklyn. Friday. Love. - co-writer
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Nikki Flores | Discography | Discogs". Discogs. April 3, 2022. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ "Nikki Flores | About". Nikki Flores. April 3, 2022. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Nikki Flores on Apple Music". Apple Music. April 3, 2022.
- ↑ "Nikki Flores - Strike | Releases | Discogs". Discogs. January 1, 2005. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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) - ↑ "Spotify – XII XV". Spotify. January 1, 2016. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ 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(help)|title=
External links
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Ghost in Your Stereo
| "Ghost in Your Stereo" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Midnight | |
| from the EP Horror Show | |
| Released | October 16, 2020 |
| Length | 4:09 |
| Label | Counter Records |
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| Horror Show track listing | |
Horror Show | |
Ghost in Your Stereo[1] is a song by The Midnight. It is the second track from their EP Horror Show.
The song was written by band members Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle alongside Jeffrey Blake Simpson and Micah Dalton, and was produced by McEwan and Essenger. It has a running time of four minutes and nine seconds and is in the key of C minor.
Lyrics
Tombstones climbing up the sky
To claim the boredom in the whine of the radiator
To freeze the fates that intertwine
Unresolved and undefined in this echo chamber
Once you've given up the ghost
Just like Lazarus you'll know there's an operator
Some strange passenger inside
To that strange power I'm resigned like an iron anchor
I'm just a ghost in your stereo
The fading memory of a shipwreck in the undertow
You're just a lost song I wrote
And I'm just a ghost in your stereo
Ghost
You move on a thousand times
New lover's shadows on the blinds
Your heart's a mercenary
But like a dancer on the wire
Come the sparks of frayed desire as the fire's carried
I'm just a ghost in your stereo
The fading memory of a shipwreck in the undertow
You're just a lost song I wrote
And I'm just a ghost in your stereo
Ghost
Official versions
Ghost in Your Stereo (Instrumental)
from Horror Show (The Instrumentals)
References
- ↑ "Ghost in Your Stereo | The Midnight". Bandcamp. March 19, 2021. Archived from the original on July 23, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
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Nocturnal
| Nocturnal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Album by | ||||
| Released | October 13, 2017 | |||
| Genre | Synthwave | |||
| Length | 42:20 | |||
| Label | The Midnight Music | |||
| Producer | Tim McEwan | |||
| The Midnight chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Nocturnal | ||||
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Nocturnal is the second album by The Midnight. It was released independently by the band on October 13, 2017.[1] Crystalline was the lone single to release from the album.
Background and composition
The first hint of new music from The Midnight after the August 2016 release of Endless Summer was a snippet Tim McEwan posted to social media in December that same year.[2] The snippet had a title of Comet and featured McEwan as the vocalist, which would have been the first time since Synthetic that a song with his vocals was on a The Midnight release. Ultimately, Comet did not end up making the then-unknown album but was promised by McEwan to be released one day. The song was eventually included on the 5 Year Anniversary Edition reissue of Endless Summer.
In February 2017, a video of Nikki Flores singing to an unidentified song (which would turn out to be Light Years) was shared by the band.[3] McEwan shared in early March that he was en route to New York City to write new songs with Tyler Lyle.[4] The same week, McEwan said that there were some "moody vibes in the studio right now."[5] Also in March, it was posted on social media that a song titled Maniac Cop was being worked on, but no snippet was shared.[6] As no song on Nocturnal has that name, it is not known if the title was later changed or if the song was cut from the album. In late March, continuing production of new material was hinted at with McEwan posting that he was "struggling with the ever elusive kick drum."[7]
More information about new songs and a new album continued to be shared over the first half of 2017. In April, the band shared that the next album "will have a slightly darker tone"[8] and also shared a snippet of a song presumably titled Lone Wolf.[9] This particular song did not make the album but was later confirmed by McEwan to appear on a future album instead.[10] A clip of Collateral was posted in early May.[11] In June, McEwan shared that he was "going through guitar takes for one of our new songs" and further stated that "the lead sound is SO PERFECT. Very 'In The Air Tonight'."[12] In June, the band shared that "there's a track on the new album that'll make your nose bleed."[13] Lyrics from what would end up being the song Crystalline were posted in early July.[14]
On August 9, 2017, The Midnight officially confirmed that a new EP (later regarded as an album) was being released on October 13.[15] About a week later, an upcoming single titled Crystalline was teased and was referred to as a song that "will set the tone for the new EP."[16] Later in August, a clip of Tokyo Night Train was shared. On August 23, the EP's title of Nocturnal was announced alongside a snippet of the title track.[17] A few days later, the artwork for Nocturnal was teased with McEwan saying "if you like movies like Drive, Blade Runner, Thief, Manhunter and The Terminator then you going to love the artwork for Nocturnal."[18] The band said in early September that the new EP "will be slightly more introvert" and "less concerned about big hooks and more about creating mood and vibe."[19] A short clip of Crystalline was shared on September 9 and the single was said to be "coming soon."[20] On September 13, the band said they were "putting the finishing touches to the mix of our first single Crystalline."[21] Two days later, the band referred to Crystalline as being "different, yet still familiar" and stated that they "went off book a little bit" with the song.[22] Another snippet of Crystalline was shared on September 18 and a release date of September 22 was announced.[23] The single artwork was revealed on September 21.[24]
After the single release, more new lyrics (this time from Shadows) were posted towards the end of September.[25] It was also shared in another post that a track from Nocturnal would have a solo "that is a straight up homage to Whitesnake's Is This Love."[26] During an interview with LA Music Blog on the release day of Crystalline, McEwan said the following about Nocturnal:[27]A small snip of the album artwork was shared on October 6, [28] and a collaboration with Timecop1983 was teased on October 7.[29] Names of the tracks from Nocturnal were shared over the following days, and the full artwork was revealed on October 9.[30] A duet with Nikki Flores titled Light Years was revealed on October 11 and was said to be a "spiritual successor to Jason."[31] The complete tracklist was revealed on October 12,[32] and Nocturnal was officially released the following day on October 13.[33]It’ll be more in line with “Vampires” or another track called “Equalizer”. What inspires me is usually movies. The aesthetic I’m going for with this new EP is more older Michael Mann movies like Thief and Heat or James Cameron’s The Terminator from 1984. That kind of nighttime, Los Angeles, cruising around the city, streetlights, neon, maybe a little bit of rain coming down the windscreen. It’ll have more moody, cooler vibe. It’ll be less John Hughes and more Miami Vice at night.
Two days after release, Nocturnal was the top-selling release on Bandcamp and it remained in the top spot for over a week.[34][35][36] The album charted at number seventeen on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums Chart after release and the following year it peaked at number seventeen on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart.[37][38] Nocturnal received mainly positive reviews from critics, who noted the darker and more mature sound compared to Days of Thunder and Endless Summer.[39][40][41][42][43] It was chosen by NewRetroWave as their top EP of 2017.[44]
Nocturnal contains seven tracks, but there was originally planned to be more, with the band deciding to cut several songs that didn't fit the overall theme of the album.[45] Lyle initially envisioned the album as a "full Halloween/October release that was bit darker than the usual The Midnight fare." The idea of a Halloween-themed EP was later revisited by The Midnight in 2020 with Horror Show. The band said they were inspired by several noir themed shows and films, including Stranger Things, The Terminator, and the movies created by John Carpenter.
Nocturnal sees The Midnight collaborating again with Nikki Flores on the song Light Years. Flores co-wrote the song and provides vocals to accompany those of Lyle. She previously worked with the band on the song Jason from Endless Summer. Additionally, The Midnight also collaborated with popular synthwave artist Timecop1983 on the track River of Darkness.
Singles
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shadows" | 6:27 |
| 2. | "Crystalline" | 6:02 |
| 3. | "Collateral" | 5:46 |
| 4. | "River of Darkness (feat. Timecop1983)" (Lyle, McEwan and Jordy Leenaerts) | 6:05 |
| 5. | "Nocturnal" | 7:03 |
| 6. | "Light Years (feat. Nikki Flores)" (Lyle, McEwan and Nikki Flores) | 5:21 |
| 7. | "Tokyo Night Train" | 5:36 |
| Total length: | 42:20 | |
Credits
Additional instrumentation was provided by Thomas Edinger (saxophone), Pelle Hillström (lead guitar on Crystalline & River of Darkness), Mads Storm (synth guitar solo on Collateral), Dan Rockett (guitar harmonics on Collateral), Kristiane (Crystalline whisper) and Nikki Flores (vocals on Light Years).
The album was mixed by Tim McEwan and mastered by Anders Schumann.
Artwork by David Legnon.
Songs that inspired Nocturnal
On January 26, 2018, The Midnight shared a Spotify playlist of songs that inspired the music on Nocturnal.[46][47] The songs on the playlist are:
- "Paint It, Black" (The Rolling Stones)
- "The Terminator Theme (Extended Version)" (Brad Fiedel)
- "Bad As Me" (Tom Waits)
- "In The Air Tonight - 2015 Remastered" (Phil Collins)
- "Red Right Hand - 2011 Remastered Version" (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
- "You Belong To The City" (Glenn Frey)
- "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" (The National)
- "A Thousand Years" (Toto)
- "Waiting Around to Die" (Townes Van Zandt)
- "Theme from "St. Elsewhere"" (Dave Grusin)
- "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" (Martha Wainwright)
- "Pretty Pimpin" (Kurt Vile)
- "Is This Love - 2007 Remastered Version" (Whitesnake)
- "The Thunder Rolls - Cover" (All That Remains)
- "Love on a Real Train" (Tangerine Dream)
- "Because the Night" (Patti Smith)
- "Frankfurt" (Pryda)
- "Midnight" (Coldplay)
- "Clean" (The Japanese House)
- "When the City Sleeps" (Voyager 12)
- "Paint It Black" (8-Bit Misfits)
- "Infinite" (Notaker)
Release history and variants
| Date | Edition |
|---|---|
| October 13, 2017 | Standard |
| December 15, 2017[48] | Instrumentals |
| April 2, 2021 | Stems |
| Year | Format | Color/Design |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Cassette | White |
| 2018 | Cassette | Blue |
| 2018 | LP | Blue |
| 2018 | LP | Pink |
| 2022 | CD | - |
| 2024 | LP | Transparent Blue |
References
- ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/nocturnal
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/TheMidnightOfficial/videos/1798807050344106
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/TheMidnightOfficial/videos/1836541939903950
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1839389036285907&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1840036032887874&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1843002199257924&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1849686015256209&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1859728167585327&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1859828360908641
- ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1198463902842941440
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/TheMidnightOfficial/videos/1872524036305740
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1890587614499382&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1898480393710104&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1903497283208415&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1918051898419620&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1920779604813516&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1924036174487859
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1925869540971189&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1927901600767983&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1930558317168978
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1932148527009957&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1932583993633077&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1934127390145404
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/1396858670538948/photos/a.1423071464584335/1935311236693686
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1936371556587654&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1938284856396324&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20180130121456/http://lamusicblog.com/2017/09/interview/interview-with-the-midnight/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/1396858670538948/photos/a.1423071464584335/1941183679439775/?type=3
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1941971689360974&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/1396858670538948/photos/a.1423071464584335/1942497015975108
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1943530275871782&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/1396858670538948/photos/a.1423071464584335/1944001235824686
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1944114642480012&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/1396858670538948/photos/a.1528254687399345/1944439209114222/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1946294448928698&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1948361688721974&id=1396858670538948
- ↑ "The Midnight - 'Nocturnal' is no. 17 on @billboard... | Facebook". Facebook. October 30, 2017. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/the-midnight/chart-history/TLN/song/1049930
- ↑ Sievers, Alex (October 16, 2017). "Album Review: The Midnight - 'Nocturnal' | KillYourStereo | Australian and International Punk, Hardcore, Metal, Rock and Indie Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Comps". KillYouStereo. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ↑ https://newretrowave.com/2018/09/17/the-midnight-the-nocturnal/
- ↑ https://newretrowave.com/2017/10/23/the-midnight-nocturnal/
- ↑ https://vehlinggo.com/2017/10/31/recommended-listening-the-midnight-mr-eff-more/
- ↑ https://synthspiria.com/the-midnight-nocturnal/?fbclid=IwAR28-skbnQvaA7qa8F13dH91eZTj31Q9DlZWVeiWMOsO5RD80Mj5aBR63-Q
- ↑ https://newretrowave.com/2017/12/28/top-ten-retrowave-eps-of-2017/
- ↑ "Who Are The Midnight?: An Interview with the Masters of Modern Nostalgia". Vehlinggo. November 12, 2017. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ "The Midnight - -Spotify Playlist- As you'll hear, Tyler and... | Facebook". Facebook. January 26, 2018. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
- ↑ "The Midnight: Songs that inspired Nocturnal - playlist by The Midnight | Spotify". Spotify. January 26, 2018. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
- ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/nocturnal-the-instrumentals
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