We have covered Counter Records/Ninja Tune act The Midnight a number of times in the past, notably around their prom playlist idea where they generated a bespoke playlist for you based around the year you had your prom (or would have had your prom had you gone to an American high school). 

Their latest undertaking is to set up a stems compilation on Bandcamp that runs to a staggering 282 tracks based around their Monsters album from July 2020, all tied into a remix competition. 

The stems for all the tracks on the album are available for individual download (costing $1 each) and they are, to say the least, comprehensive. There are, for example, 24 separate stems for the track ‘America Online’, including Computer Sounds Stem, Massive Sad Digital Sprinkles Stem, Metallica Brass Plucks Stem and Old VHS Synth Stem.

As a teaser, the band have made all the stems for the track ‘Deep Blue’ available for free download so fans and budding remixers can play around with them. The deadline for remix entries is 26th February, with the winning entry getting a commercial release and five runners-up each receiving a signed copy of the Monsters album. 

“These remixes are not royalty free, but we do want to encourage you to share these with your community,” say the band on their official site. 

The Midnight also stated on their Instagram account that the stems for their other albums will soon be made available in the same way. 

It is a huge undertaking and one of the most ambitious stem remix competitions we have seen for a long time. It works as a new push for the album, a revenue driver in its own right (with each stem being charged for, but at a price that is affordable to those seeking to enter the competition) and a way to give a new remixer a foot up.