Midnight in a Perfect World
1996 single by DJ Shadow
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"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.
- "Mutual Slump"
- "The Number Song"
- "Red Bus Needs to Leave"
- Remixes
| "Midnight in a Perfect World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by DJ Shadow | ||||
| from the album Endtroducing..... | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | September 2, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Studio | The Glue Factory (San Francisco) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriters |
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| Producer | DJ Shadow | |||
| DJ Shadow singles chronology | ||||
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Composition
Featuring a soulful vocal line and a slow drum beat,[3][4] "Midnight in a Perfect World" is based around mournful piano sampled from the 1969 song "The Human Abstract" by David Axelrod.[5] Aside from the Axelrod sample, the track also samples "Sower of Seeds" by Baraka,[6] "The Madness Subsides" by Pekka Pohjola,[6] "Releasing Hypnotical Gases" by Organized Konfusion,[7] "Dolmen Music" by Meredith Monk,[4] and "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw.[8]
Release
"Midnight in a Perfect World" was released as both a 12-inch single and CD single on September 2, 1996 in England,[9] and later in America too.[10] In January 1997, the song was released to American college and modern rock radio stations.[11]
Both releases have different artwork, with the American release featuring a photo of John Hillyard, who owned a record store where DJ Shadow found many of the records he sampled on his album.[12] The photograph was taken by B Plus,[12] who also directed a music video for the song that was also released and gained much airplay on the MTV program Amp.[13]
Track listing
UK release
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Midnight in a Perfect World" (Radio Vision) | 5:02 |
| 2. | "Midnight in a Perfect World" (Gab Mix) | 5:21 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Midnight in a Perfect World" (Extended Vision) | 9:53 |
| 2. | "Mutual Slump" | 4:03 |
US release
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Midnight in a Perfect World" | 4:57 |
| 2. | "The Number Song" | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Red Bus Needs to Leave" | 2:41 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Midnight in a Perfect World" (Gab Mix) | 5:20 |
| 2. | "The Number Song" (Cut Chemist Party Mix) | 5:09 |
Charts
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Singles Sales (Official Charts)[18] | 52 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts)[19] | 54 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
September 2, 1996 | Mo' Wax | MW057[14][15] | |
 United States |
January 1997 |
|
|
162-531 084[16][17] |
External links
"Midnight in a Perfect World" at Discogs (list of releases)