Released September 2, 1996 | Format 12"
CD | |
B-side "Mutual Slump"
"The Number Song"
"Red Bus Needs to Leave"
Remixes Recorded 1996 at The Glue Factory
(San Francisco, California) Genre Instrumental hip hop
trip hop
plunderphonics Length 4:57 (LP version)
5:02 (radio version) | ||
"Midnight in a Perfect World" is a song by American DJ and music producer DJ Shadow. It was released as the lead single from his debut studio album, Endtroducing....., on September 2, 1996. The song peaked at number 52 on the Scottish Singles Chart and number 54 on the UK Singles Chart.
Contents
Composition
Featuring a soulful vocal line and a slow drum beat, "Midnight in a Perfect World" is based around mournful piano sampled from the 1969 song "The Human Abstract" by David Axelrod. Aside from the Axelrod sample, the track also samples "Sower of Seeds" by Baraka, "Sekoilu Seestyy" by Pekka Pohjola, "Releasing Hypnotical Gases" by Organized Konfusion, "Dolmen Music" by Meredith Monk, and "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw.
Release
"Midnight in a Perfect World" was released as both a 12-inch single and CD single on September 2, 1996. In January 1997, the song was released to American college and modern rock radio stations. A music video for the song, directed by B Plus, was also released and gained lots of airplay on the MTV program Amp.