The Pulse of a Darker Tomorrow
Some songs feel like a memory. Others feel like a dream. But Neon Nights? It’s a vision of the future—one that’s as thrilling as it is unsettling.
From the moment the first synths hum into existence, you’re dropped into a world where neon lights flicker through the rain, skyscrapers loom in the haze, and the city never sleeps—because it can’t afford to. This is the sound of movement, of bodies drifting through midnight streets, of a future that’s beautiful, but just slightly broken.
It’s the most unapologetically cyberpunk song on Horizons, and in many ways, the one that signals the album’s shift toward something darker. While Shahar-er Alo romanticized the energy of a city at night, Neon Nights exposes its underbelly.
So how did we create this dystopian landscape in sound? Let’s take a deep dive into the themes, production, and aesthetic that brought Neon Nights to life.
The World of Neon Nights
If Horizons is about longing and exploration, Neon Nights is about survival.
It’s the story of a city that never stops moving, where dreams are built in back alleys and lost in the glare of billboards. It’s about the thrill of the night—the feeling of being anonymous in a crowd, of running through glowing streets, of chasing something you can’t quite name. But underneath it all, there’s a sense of unease.
Michael: “The song captures that paradox—how cities can feel alive and electric, but also isolating. You’re surrounded by thousands of people, but at the same time, completely alone.”
Lyrically, Neon Nights hints at a world where people are chasing dreams that might already be out of reach. The city is a character in itself—both a seductress and a predator, drawing you in with its lights but never letting you rest.
The chorus is deliberately hypnotic, almost like a mantra for the lost:
Neon nights glow in sight
Heartbeats race, holding tight
Every step feels so right
In the neon night
There’s no mention of morning. No escape. Just an endless loop of movement and light.
The Sound: A Synthwave Noir
If Neon Nights were a movie, it would be lit in blues and purples, with reflections of neon streaking across rain-soaked streets. We wanted the production to reflect that same aesthetic—sleek, futuristic, but with a hint of decay.
1. The Deep, Pulsing Synths
The song is built on dark, pulsing bass synths, inspired by artists like Carpenter Brut, Kavinsky, and the Blade Runner soundtrack. These give the track its heartbeat, an ever-present throb that never quite lets up.
2. The Driving, Mechanical Beat
The percussion in Neon Nights is relentless—more machine than human. We layered electronic drum loops with industrial hits, creating something that feels like it belongs in a neon-lit alleyway, where the air hums with the sound of underground clubs and distant sirens.
Ayesha: “We wanted the beat to feel like a city in motion—like cars rushing past, like footsteps on wet pavement, like the static buzz of too many neon signs all blending together.”
3. The Dreamlike, Haunting Vocals
Ayesha’s vocals on Neon Nights don’t sound entirely real—and that’s intentional. We pitched, layered, and processed them to create something both intimate and distant, as if they’re coming from the other side of a screen, or being broadcast through the static of an old radio.
Michael: “It’s not meant to feel natural. It’s like hearing a voice through flickering lights—almost human, but not quite.”
4. The Cinematic Swells & Drops
There’s a reason this song feels like a chase scene. The synth pads rise and fall in waves, creating a feeling of momentum, tension, and release. We borrowed elements from film scores, using suspenseful buildups before hitting the chorus like a sudden burst of neon light.
The Aesthetic: A Cyberpunk Dream & Nightmare
The world of Neon Nights is equal parts fantasy and reality. It pulls from 80s retrofuturism, but also the hyper-modern chaos of real megacities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, and New York.
The imagery behind the song came from a mix of sources:
🚀 Blade Runner’s rainy streets and flickering signs
🔊 The cold, artificial beauty of Ghost in the Shell
🚦 The pulsing nightlife energy of Drive
💀 The dystopian capitalism of Akira
🔮 The strange, surreal loneliness of Lost in Translation
It’s the feeling of looking out over a city and knowing that every single window holds a different story. It’s both thrilling and haunting.
Ayesha: “We love playing with contrasts—romance and decay, beauty and danger. Neon Nights feels like a love letter to the future, but also a warning.”
Why Neon Nights Matters in Horizons
In many ways, Neon Nights is a turning point on the album. Up until this point, Horizons has been about hope, love, and longing—the dreamers staring up at the stars. But Neon Nights shifts the focus to what happens when you land on the ground, when you get lost in the glow of the city and can’t quite find your way back.
It’s still romantic, in its own way. But it’s also restless. Hungry.
And the city never sleeps.