Liverpool Producer Candidate Pushes Euphoric Club Energy Forward With ‘Midnight Dream’ On IN / ROTATION
- Undrtone Blog
- 6 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Liverpool has quietly become an important breeding ground for new UK club talent, and Candidate is one of its most focused exports. Since launching the project in 2023, he has built momentum through functional, groove led house records that prioritise movement and clarity over excess. His latest single, ‘Midnight Dream’, a collaboration with Saigon (UK), marks a confident step into a more euphoric, high energy space while keeping that discipline intact.
Out now on IN / ROTATION, Insomniac’s club-focused imprint, the release also signals Candidate’s debut on a major US-facing platform. But the creative shift behind the track was not strategic. It happened in the room.
“I don’t like to pigeonhole myself too much when going into the studio,” he explains. “Sometimes I’ll make something really uplifting and housey, and other times something a little deeper.” ‘Midnight Dream’ started life elsewhere entirely. “It originally started out in a completely different direction until we sampled some uplifting keys paired with that signature 90s style bass.” At that point, the energy flipped. “The track changed direction and came together quite quickly.”
That speed comes from familiarity. Candidate and Saigon have been building a shared language since 2024 through their shared studio in Liverpool. “Sometimes if one of us is struggling to make something individually, we’ll jump in together,” he says. “We have very similar taste in music and understand each other’s workflow really well.” Many of their strongest ideas come from those unplanned sessions.
The finished track stays hypnotic without leaning on oversized breakdowns. A spring-loaded drum groove carries glossy synth stabs, hip-house-leaning vocal loops, and subtle textural details, allowing momentum to build naturally. That restraint was instinctive rather than deliberate. “It wasn’t really a conscious decision,” Candidate admits. “I usually go with the flow and see what sounds good.” While he enjoys dramatic drops, this track asked for continuity. “We just felt it was right not to strip away too many elements.”
As ‘Midnight Dream’ unfolds, familiar club references surface. The piano led finale nods toward early rave energy, but without nostalgia doing the heavy lifting. Candidate keeps his filter simple. “I don’t really overthink it,” he says. “If a track sounds good, it sounds good.” Inspiration is open ended. “You can take ideas from any music you listen to, even if it’s not the genre you’re producing.”
Landing on IN / ROTATION feels significant at this point in his development. “I’m really enjoying releasing on some USA based labels at the minute,” he explains. “Sharing my music with a new audience who may not have heard my productions before.” The label provides reach, but the record still sounds rooted in UK club culture.
Moments of validation still stand out clearly. Candidate recalls one early turning point from 2023. “I sent some tracks to Jamie Jones on Trackstack and forgot about it,” he says. “Then I went to Ibiza and opened his Instagram story to see him playing my track at Circoloco.” The impact remains vivid. “I don’t think you can beat the high of that first one.”
Since then, growth has come steadily. Releases on Hottrax, Nexup, Three Six Zero and Belief, a Beatport number one with his ‘Bass Revolution’ EP, and increasing demand behind the decks at venues like Lab 11 in Birmingham and Depot Cardiff have reinforced his trajectory. Still, he stays realistic. “It only takes one track for people to start noticing,” he reflects. “But the scene changes quickly.” Consistency matters, but so does honesty. “The most important thing is to stay true to yourself and make music you genuinely like.”
That balance defines his studio approach. Early ideas remain instinctive. “I try not to overthink it when getting an idea together,” he says. Later, precision takes over. “When I’m finishing the track and mixing it down, I’m definitely adding elements with the dancefloor in mind.”
‘Midnight Dream’ feels less like a reinvention and more like a widening of scope. “I’ve got lots more releases planned that show both the deeper and more uplifting sides of my productions,” Candidate says. For now, this record captures a moment where collaboration, instinct and energy align, built for those points in the night when the room begins to lift.
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