“We feel sometimes our songs come from elsewhere — a lost time or existence.”
A light-as-air synth plays through a muffled radio speaker. A thumb taps the VCR’s Tracking button, trying to bring the video into focus. There it is: the hazy image of a teenage girl in a mustard yellow dress. She holds the phone to her ear, wrapping its coiled cord around her finger…
Oh, wait. That’s not real. I was daydreaming while listening to Midnight Garden’s “Hold Me After,” the opening track on their 80’s-tinged Blue Tomorrows.
Maybe it’s time to call the doctor again. But I’d rather just learn more about the synth duo behind this album. “Keepsakes of You” is playing now: “Are you out there listening, too?”
Yes, we are. And you should be, too.
DARKNESS CALLING: Thanks again for chatting with us. First, what can you tell us about you two (Nick and Zach) in terms of your roles in the band and how this project came together?
MIDNIGHT GARDEN: We met over ten years ago in high school and have been writing and playing together in some form ever since. We used to play a lot together where we’re originally from, before taking a break and regrouping a few years later under the name Midnight Garden.
We don’t really have dedicated roles. We both write and play various synths and machines, and we both sing. But typically one of us will write a part, or a foundation, and the other will build on it, and it sort of just goes back and forth like that until the song feels finished.
DARKNESS CALLING: Really love the vibe of the Blue Tomorrows album, from the cover art to the music. We featured "Hold Me After" on this week's playlist, and I definitely feel it's one of the standout tracks we've ever featured. How long did you two work on making this album, from inception to completion? Any interesting stories from behind the scenes?
MIDNIGHT GARDEN: Thanks! We’re psyched that some people are connecting with it. That’s the goal. It took us roughly six months or so to write and record everything. Admittedly, we work kind of slow. We record at our homes ourselves, as we write, so we don’t really have demos. Everything heard on the record comes from the foundation of the original idea.
Zach’s brother Jordan helped us out with the art. He’s a very accomplished artist; he has a great eye and an ability to translate the sounds and feelings we intend the music to conjure into a visual medium. He has been making the art for our projects for as long we’ve been releasing music. You can find his stuff at jordanvouga.com.
We originally intended to release an EP, but our label convinced us to keep going and do a full-length. We were eager to get some new music out but are definitely fans of the longer album medium, so we jumped at the challenge and opportunity.
DARKNESS CALLING: I was poking around on Bandcamp and learned that this was released through Earth Libraries based out of Birgmingham, AL. Is that where you guys are located? How did you two get connected with Earth Libraries?
MIDNIGHT GARDEN: We’re actually originally from the Chicago area, but we have both relocated to San Diego. Earth Libraries was originally a group of archivists preserving and protecting knowledge and social history. These sort of lost chapters of our existence fascinate us. The project lost funding over the years, and we were happy to see it revived by some really cool and dedicated people who decided to turn it into a label. We knew we had to reach out to a project like that, as we feel sometimes our songs come from elsewhere, a lost time or existence. Because of all this, things just clicked.
DARKNESS CALLING: I know the pandemic has thrown a wrench into a lot of bands' plans in terms of shows, etc. Do you have any livestream events lined up for the future?
MIDNIGHT GARDEN: We don’t have any plans on streaming or even playing right now. A couple of guys behind synths and samplers doesn’t sound too visually stimulating to us, and we’d want to create something special to supplement the live music, and we just haven’t been focused on that.
DARKNESS CALLING: Thanks again for chatting with us. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers about your project?
MIDNIGHT GARDEN: Our pleasure. Thanks for talking to us. We’ve just begun writing and recording some new songs that we’re excited about. We want to get these ones out quick, so we’ll see. In the meantime, we hope people enjoy exploring Blue Tomorrows.
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