"Tonite" (stylized as "tonite" on digital releases) is a song by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (dr ...
. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''
American Dream'' (2017), on August 16, 2017, through
DFA Records
DFA Records is an American independent record label founded in 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. They previously had a production team called The DFA, consisting of Goldsworthy and ...
and
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. A music video for the song was also premiered on the same day. The song peaked at number 191 in France and number 33 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Dance/Electronic Songs chart. At the
60th Annual Grammy Awards
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...
, the song won the award for
Best Dance Recording, making it the band's first Grammy win.
Production and composition
"Tonite" was written by band members
Al Doyle
Alexander John Joseph Doyle (born 28 August 1980) is a British musician. He is best known as the guitarist and synthesiser player for British indie electronic band Hot Chip and American rock band LCD Soundsystem. He is also a founding member of ...
and
James Murphy, who jointly performed all the instruments for the song. Doyle performed guitar, keyboards, electronic drums, and was the vocoder controller. Murphy served as the mixer and producer and performed synthesizer, drums, and percussion, while also being the vocalist. Many different pieces of equipment were used for the song;
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972.
History
ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "perf ...
, Jupiter 4,
EMS Synthi AKS, and Roland SH-5 synthesizers were used as well as the
Synare electronic drum kit.
Musically, "Tonite" has been described as featuring
dance-punk
Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 ...
,
synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
,
acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...
, and
electro-disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, ...
.
Release and reception
The song was previously premiered live during the band's shows at the
Brooklyn Steel venue earlier in April 2017. The studio version of "Tonite" was premiered on August 16, 2017, on
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's radio show on
Beats 1
Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...
.
On the same day, the song was made available for download and streaming,
with a music video also being released.
At the
60th Annual Grammy Awards
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...
, "Tonite" won the award for
Best Dance Recording. The win gave the band their first Grammy award, after being previously nominated five times but failing to win.
Personnel
Personnel adapted from ''American Dream'' liner notes.
*
James Murphy –
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972.
History
ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "perf ...
, synth bass, drums, percussion,
Jupiter 4,
EMS Synthi AKS, Roland SH-5, vocals; mixing
*
Al Doyle
Alexander John Joseph Doyle (born 28 August 1980) is a British musician. He is best known as the guitarist and synthesiser player for British indie electronic band Hot Chip and American rock band LCD Soundsystem. He is also a founding member of ...
–
Synare, guitar, vocoder controller, Roland SH-5
Charts
References
{{LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem songs
2017 singles
2017 songs
Songs written by James Murphy (electronic musician)
Columbia Records singles
Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording
Acid house songs
Synth-pop songs
Songs written by Al Doyle