On April 24, Astralwerks will release OTR’s full-length debut, Lost At Midnight. Today, as the album pre-order launched, OTR shared his new single, “Midnight Sun” (with Ukiyo), and the accompanying video. The two producers channel a powerfully uplifting energy on the shimmering track, which is available for download / streaming HERE.
“Midnight Sun” is heard in the film To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You – the sequel to the most-watched Netflix film of 2018, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before – and also appears on the original soundtrack, which was released today by Capitol Records. The second installment of the teen rom-com series based on the best-selling books by Jenny Han, To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is to be released on Netflix on Wednesday, February 12.
Ryan Chadwick – the 26-year old aerospace engineer-turned-producer behind OTR – says, “I wrote the first draft of ‘Midnight Sun’ when I was in the middle of traveling to and from the West Coast for a few collaborations. There’s a moment when you’re flying at 30,000 feet where the sun sets below the horizon resulting in a faint glow barely visible behind the earth. I tried to capture that moment in ‘Midnight Sun.’ Working with Ukiyo on the final track was incredibly organic and I felt like he knew exactly what the vision was supposed to be.”
Ukiyo adds, “Working together with OTR on ‘Midnight Sun’ was unconventional but effortless in the best way. He sent over something he was working on and I instantly thought of an idea I had lying around to add to it. I quite literally threw them over the top of each other. It was a surreal moment, hearing them combined, making pretty much what’s in the final version. I think we both knew it was done immediately after that.”
Timothy Arnott – known professionally as Ukiyo – has been one of the busiest Australian producers since 2016, releasing over 26 originals/remixes. His work encompasses an array of styles, from hip-hop oriented, Soulection-styled productions to heavily sampled, chill-hop creations to synth-soaked future-bass bangers. In 2020, the 23-year-old plans to play dates in the U.S. and Australia and release a comprehensive LP.
Lost At Midnight is now available for pre-order at all DSPs HERE. Fans who pre-order the album in digital format will instantly receive “Midnight Sun” (with Ukiyo) plus “Stay” (with WYNNE), “Heart” (feat. Shallou) and “Drive” (with Panama). The vinyl and digital editions are available for pre-order at http://store.musicbyotr.com.
“Heart” feat. Shallou climbed to #1 on the Sirius XM Chill chart and has amassed nearly 12 million cumulative streams to date. This Song is Sick hailed the track as “magical” while Earmilk said, “To unite the sonically soul-kindling abilities of OTR and Shallou is to create something truly sublime.” EDM Tunes observed, “‘Stay’ has a gentle nostalgic sound, provoking a soul-touching feeling within. The vocals are beautifully composed, and are brought together by intricate, soft rhythms.”
The follow-up to OTR’s independently-released 2018 EP Unfold, Lost at Midnight also features collaborations with Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Saint Sinner, LOWES, Au/Ra and Emerson Leif. The album abounds in elegantly sculpted beats and unearthly synth tones, along with poignant piano melodies that cut right to the heart. See below for track listing.
Chadwick uncovered his passion for music in 2012, when he began tinkering on a dusty, run-down piano in his college dorm lobby. Taking an internship in Japan in 2014, he found himself living in the small town of in Kurashiki, with no friends and a major language barrier. To combat the isolation, he purchased a keyboard and a train pass and spent all his free time making music and traveling to bigger cities. Upon returning to the University of Cincinnati, Chadwick kept up with his music and began releasing his material under the name OTR – a nod to Over-the-Rhine, a recently revitalized area on the outskirts of downtown Cincinnati. Now based in Atlanta, he recorded most of Lost at Midnight in his apartment, slowly uncovering certain signature elements that now define his sound.