Background
During an interview with Radio.com on August 13, 2013, Steve Aoki said:
"In like a week or two, I’m going to perform with this band, one of my favorite bands ever, growing up. We’ve been writing like four or five songs together.
They’re literally one of the biggest bands in the world, at least for me. They’re like, literally one of the top 10 biggest bands in the world. I swear to God. Working with them is incredible. At least like, as far as influence in their culture, they’re to me like the Rage Against the Machine of their sound. Rage Against the Machine is my favorite band, so…"
The band turned out to be Linkin Park. Mike and Chester joined Steve Aoki during his set at Summer Sonic's Midnight Sonic event in Tokyo, Japan, to debut "A Light That Never Comes", a brand new song they had recorded together.
It's hard to tell when exactly the song was started since Mike was very inconsistent during his interviews that month. He went on to say "Steve and I met up like a year ago, maybe more", but later said "The beginnings of this song was probably six months to a year ago", and then "We started working on the song like... probably about... no less than a half a year ago."
The studio version of "A Light That Never Comes" was unlocked via the Facebook game LP Recharge, developed by kuuluu Interactive Entertainment AG in partnership with Linkin Park. Once the single was unleashed, the audio was sent to radio stations and streamed on demand for 14 days on Xbox Music. Mike said, "I think this song and release show where we're at right now. Making the song with Steve, premiering it through the Recharge Facebook game, and debuting it via Microsoft's Xbox Music -- I think it's all indicative of our band's commitment to experimentation and pushing boundaries."
About the collaboration, Joe Hahn told Rolling Stone on October 01, 2013: "Mike [Shinoda] has been on this EDM kick for the last year and he's been hanging out with different EDM guys, like he did a day with Avicii, and he's been sending stuff back and forth with Aoki. This is the one that really stuck. He fleshed it out, brought it to the guys and we were into it. And it coincided with the game and also the album we're putting out, which is remixes of Living Things."
The song was also released as part of the Recharged remix album on October 29, 2013.
In an interview with Do Androids Dance?, Mike was questioned if he was aware of Steve's work before the collaboration, to which he answered, "I was absolutely aware of Steve and had heard of him for a long time. I knew that he was very active making remixes and stuff like that. As well, I’d see him on all of those “Most Powerful DJs in the World”-type of lists. When I became more interested, I heard his collaborations with artists like Lil Jon and Iggy Azalea, and was impressed. Just like Linkin Park, he can reach into different genres and styles of music with his sounds. As far as the collaboration, we reached out to each other during an unrelated conversation on Twitter, so it all happened organically. We exchanged DMs back and forth, which led to emails, and then the song."
In an interview with KROQ, Steve revealed the band had originally asked him to remix a song: "Twitter was like our way of communicating at first and then we started sending e-mails. I've known Mike for a long time, you know. He asked me to do a remix for Linkin Park and it just didn't work out timing wise and then that time I was just writing new music and I was in that perfect zone to start writting as well. And I got a cabin in Mammoth Mountain and I just focused on my new album coming out."
Mike and Steve spoke to Billboard on August 20, 2013 about working on the track. Steve started, "It was about building this bridge between our two worlds and doing it in an organic way. We’ve stayed true to both our elements. Our fans in the EDM space and the Linkin Park space can gravitate towards it naturally." Then Mike continued, "There was a balance aspect. In my process writing a song, I tend to add a lot of elements and sounds, remove them, then add more, until I get the vibe I like. On this, I don’t want to trample on some of the work Steve did. We found that out on our first two records. There are actually a lot of keyboard and sample-based sounds on “Hybrid Theory” and “Meteora,” but in the mix they got drowned out by the guitars. Since then, I think we’ve paid more attention to balance as we go through the whole process, from the writing to the engineering." And Steve added, "I always add a lot. Mike’s the one to say, let’s take some layers out to make this work. For me, it was a major learning process. It’s hard for me to gauge certain things when I just work with other dance producers. Working with the band allowed this different color palette to come out that I would’ve never heard before. I took this one much differently than I would on any other record."
Mike also talked to EDMSauce on October 22, 2013, about "A Light That Never Comes", saying, "The track really surprised us. Brad and I had structured the song, but then with Steve there we had to structure the song differently."
A second collaboration between Steve Aoki and Linkin Park, titled "Darker Than Blood", was released in 2015, on Aoki's Neon Future II. The song was started during the same sessions as "A Light That Never Comes".
Remix
Rick Rubin Reboot
On June 30, 2013, Mike Shinoda posted on his Instagram account a picture of Rick Rubin's Shangri La Studios in Malibu, CA, with the following message: "Worked with Rick Rubin at his place this week. This was where they worked on the Kanye / Yeezus record; it also was the birthplace of dozens of legendary songs we all love. The room doesn't feel like any particular kind of music to me. Just has a nice vibe and feels like a fine place to create new things."
This led fans to believe Rick Rubin would be producing the follow up album to Living Things. A few days later, Mike posted a response on Twitter, "Actually, Rick wasn't "producing" the track; we were writing together. 1st time we've done it, surprisingly. An experiment."
The track turned out to be a remix of Linkin Park's first collaboration with Steve Aoki, "A Light That Never Comes". The remix was released on October 29, 2013 as part of the Recharged remix album.
About the track, Mike said, "Rick’s remix is “breakbeaty,” almost disco-ish. It definitely sounds more old school, but not in an 808 or 909 sort of way. It’s influenced by stuff that he has listened to recently. He broke out no drum machines when he put it together, though."
Remix Contest and Remix EP
On October 29, 2013, Linkin Park announced a remix competition for "A Light That Never Comes" with Indaba. It was sponsored by Microsoft's Surface2 Remix Project and ran until November 21st. The grand prize was to be featured on an upcoming Linkin Park EP, $2,500, a Surface Pro 2 with Surface Music Kit by Microsoft, and their remix will be premiered on Xbox Music.[1] Winners were announced on December 16, 2013.[2]
The A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) EP was released on January 21, 2014 containing two new remixes by Angger Dimas and twoloud, the winner of the "A Light That Never Comes" remix contest (Brian Yates), the Vicetone remix (which had been on his SoundCloud page since November 2013) as well as a dub version of his remix, an extended version of the Coone remix which was uploaded to his SoundCloud page earlier that month, and the Rick Rubin remix from Recharged.
The Coone remix samples "In Stereo" by Fort Minor.
Chester Forever
After vocalist Chester Bennington passed away, Steve Aoki created a remix tribute using elements of "A Light That Never Comes" and "Darker Than Blood". The track was debuted on September 7, 2017 at 7+10pm ET on SiriusXM Electro Ch51 with Liquid Todd[3] and released the following day. Net proceeds went to Music For Relief's One More Light Fund in Chester's name.[4] An one-minute tribute video was also put together by Steve Aoki and posted to his social media accounts.[5][6] An updated version of the remix was released on September 26, replacing the original release on all digital platforms. Steve Aoki described it as having an overall better mix. He adjusted some levels and a synth layer in the first drop and wrote an arp part in the second breakdown.[7]
Tracklist
CD Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Light That Never Comes | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 3:49 |
| 2 | Until It Breaks (Datsik Remix) | Linkin Park | 6:00 |
Remix EP
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Light That Never Comes (Rick Rubin Reboot) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 4:40 |
| 2 | A Light That Never Comes (Vicetone Remix) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 3:53 |
| 3 | A Light That Never Comes (Angger Dimas Remix) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 4:53 |
| 4 | A Light That Never Comes (twoloud Remix) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 5:40 |
| 5 | A Light That Never Comes (Coone Remix) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 5:45 |
| 6 | A Light That Never Comes (Vicetone Remix Dub) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 4:57 |
| 7 | A Light That Never Comes (Brian Yates Remix) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 4:00 |
Tribute Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darker Than The Light That Never Bleeds (Chester Forever Steve Aoki Remix) | Linkin Park, Steve Aoki | 4:03 |
Music Video
Artist Name: Linkin Park
Song Name: A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES
Featured Artists: Steve Aoki
Director: Joe Hahn
Production Company: Swartz/Boyd Productions
Producers: Bill Boyd
Video Commissioner: Devin Sarno
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
Visual Effects: Ghosttown Media
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
Studio
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Light That Never Comes | LP Recharge
A Light That Never Comes |
3:51 | 2013 | September 16, 2013 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes | A Light That Never Comes (FR Radio CD) | 2:59 | 2013 | 2013 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes | 4:56 | 2013 | December 9, 2013 |
|
Remix
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Light That Never Comes (Rick Rubin Reboot) | Recharged
A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) |
4:40 | 2013 | October 29, 2013 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes (Vicetone Remix) | A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) | 3:51 | 2013 | November 27, 2013 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes (Vicetone Remix Dub) | A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) | 4:57 | 2013 | January 21, 2014 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes (Angger Dimas Remix Remix) | A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) | 4:53 | 2013 | January 21, 2014 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes (twoloud Remix) | A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) | 5:40 | 2013 | January 21, 2014 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes (Coone Remix) | A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) | 5:45 | 2013 | January 21, 2014 |
|
| A Light That Never Comes (Coone Remix) | 4:23 | 2013 | January 14, 2014 |
| |
| A Light That Never Comes (Brian Yates Remix) | A Light That Never Comes (Remixes) | 4:00 | 2013 | January 21, 2014 |
|
| Darker Than The Light That Never Bleeds (Chester Forever Steve Aoki Remix) | Darker Than The Light That Never Bleeds (Chester Forever Steve Aoki Remix) | 4:03 | 2017 | September 8, 2017 |
|
| "Darker Than The Light That Never Bleeds (Chester Forever Steve Aoki Remix)" | Darker Than The Light That Never Bleeds (Chester Forever Steve Aoki Remix) | 4:03 | 2017 | September 26, 2017 |
|
Live
"A Light That Never Comes" was debuted during Steve Aoki's set at the 2013 Summer Sonic festival, with Mike and Chester making an appearance to perform the song. Since then, "A Light That Never Comes" was only performed a handful of times with Steve Aoki. At the Los Angeles stop on Steve Aoki's "Aokify America" tour, Mike, Chester, and Travis Barker from the band Blink-182 performed the song with Steve. Mike, Chester, and Steve also performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel.
"A Light That Never Comes" was performed in full by Linkin Park at a secret show in Las Vegas. The song was initially going to be played at the following two shows, the latter of which was to be streamed live, but was cut due to Chester being sick. Once the band embarked on their tour in support of The Hunting Party, a shortened version of "A Light That Never Comes" was played in the encore directly after "Until It's Gone", with the second verse, second chorus, and bridge being cut. Steve Aoki came out and danced to the song during the band's set at Rock In Rio, but did not perform since the band and Steve didn't have time to plan a real collaboration. After the short European tour was finished, the song was only performed at the shortened The Hunting Party release show before being dropped.
Mike rapped the first verse of the "A Light That Never Comes" over the new outro of "Castle Of Glass" at the band's show in Krakow. The full song was later performed at the memorial show dedicated to Chester Bennington, making it the second time ever the full song was played. Bebe Rexha, Steve Aoki, Frank Zummo from Sum 41, and Marc Vangool (Mike's guitar tech) joined the band for the song.
Throughout 2014 and 2015, Steve Aoki performed Arthur White's mash-up of "A Light That Never Comes (twoloud Remix)" and Bassjackers' "Crackin (Merzo Edit)" at his shows.
Variations
Last Updated: September 6, 2016
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative | Shortened (No Second Verse, Second Chorus, or Bridge) | May 24, 2014 | June 18, 2014 |
Live Guests
Last Updated: July 18, 2018
- Bebe Rexha
- Frank Zummo (Sum 41)
- Marc Vangool
- Steve Aoki
- Travis Barker (Blink-182)
Promotion
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | International Dance Music Awards | Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track | Nominated |
| 2014 | World Music Awards | World's Best Song | Nominated |
| 2014 | World Music Awards | World's Best Video | Nominated |
Personnel
Lyrics
Nah, you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop much less control me
When it rains, it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care when it breaks your door
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
'Cause I know what it's like to test fate (Oh, oh)
Had my shoulders pressed with that weight
Stood up strong in spite of that hate
The night gets darkest right before dawn (Oh, oh)
What don't kill you makes you more strong
And I been waiting for it so long
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
When I was young, they told me, they said
Make your bed, you lie in that bed
A king can only reign 'till instead
There comes that day it's off with his head
The night gets darkest right before dawn (Oh, oh)
What don't kill you makes you more strong
You'll have my mercy then when you're gone
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for the light that never comes
And I told them,
Nah, you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop much less control me
When it rains, it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care when it breaks your door
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for the light that never comes
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for the light that never comes
Nah, you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop much less control me
'Cause I know what it's like to test fate (Oh, oh)
Had my shoulders pressed with that weight
Stood up strong in spite of that hate
The night gets darkest right before dawn (Oh, oh)
What don't kill you makes you more strong
And I been waiting for it so long
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
When I was young, they told me, they said
Make your bed, you lie in that bed
A king can only reign 'till instead
There comes that day it's off with his head
The night gets darkest right before dawn (Oh, oh)
What don't kill you makes you more strong
You'll have my mercy then when you're gone
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for the light that never comes
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for the light that never comes
Nah you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop, much less control me
When it rains it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care when it breaks your door
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
When I was young they told me, they said
Make your bed you lie in that bed
A king can only reign 'till instead
It comes that day, it's off with his head
The night gets darkest right before dawn
What don't kill you makes you more strong
You'll have my mercy then when you're gone
Cause I know what it's like to test fate
Had my shoulders pressed with that weight
Stood up strong in spite of that hate
The night gets darkest right before dawn
What don't kill you makes you more strong
You'll have my mercy then when you're gone
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah
Oh, oh, oh, woah
Oh, oh, oh, woah
Waiting for a light that never comes
And I told them, nah you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop, much less control me
When it rains it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care when it breaks your door
Say it's all you can take, better take some more
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah
Oh, oh, oh, woah
Oh, oh, oh, woah
Waiting for a light that never comes
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes (Take some more)
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Template:Collapse bottom Template:Collapse top
Don't you hold your breath
'Cause I'm not coming down
The battlefields have left me only scars
And floating in the dark
I'm swimming in the sound
Of voices that should never been apart
Darker than the blood (Darker than the blood)
Higher than the sun (Higher than the sun)
This is not the end (This is not the end)
You are not the only one (You are not the only one)
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for the light that never comes
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh, oh, oh
Waiting for a light that never comes
Keep your heads together
Keep your heads together
Gallery
-
Single
-
A Light That Never Comes (Remixes)
-
Darker Than The Light That Never Bleeds
-
Artwork created by Vicetone for their remix
-
Artwork created by Coone for his remix
In Other Media
- "A Light That Never Comes" is featured in the 2014 film The Raid 2.
- A remix of "A Light That Never Comes" by Rick Rubin is featured in the 2000 film The Expendables 3.
- "A Light That Never Comes" is featured in Linkin Park's 2013 videogame LP Recharge.
External Links
- A Light That Never Comes (Official Lyric Video): LPTV | Steve's YouTube
- A Light That Never Comes (Music Video): LPTV | WMT | MTV
- A Light That Never Comes (Vicetone Remix): Vicetone's YouTube
- A Light That Never Comes (Coone Remix): Coone's YouTube
- Steve Aoki - A Light That Never Comes w/ Chester & Mike (The Shrine 2013) Steve Aoki
- Darker Than The Light That Never Bleeds (Chester Forever Steve Aoki Remix): Steve's YouTube
References
- http://radio.com/2013/08/13/steve-aoki-on-linkin-park-collab-theyre-the-rage-against-the-machine-of-their-sound/
- https://twitter.com/mikeshinoda/status/366212064294875136
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRXjGhOybbE
- http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/linkin-park-and-steve-aokis-worlds-collide-on-new-single-a-light-that-never-comes-1830083.htm
- http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/linkin-park-keep-busy-with-new-remix-album-video-game-20131001
- http://kroq.cbslocal.com/steve-aoki-discusses-touring-throwing-cakes-at-fans-drug-use-in-edm-working-with-linkin-park-more/
- http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/code/5657824/linkin-park-steve-aokis-a-light-that-never-comes-teaser-and-exclusive
- http://www.edmsauce.com/2013/10/22/4-things-about-mike-shinoda-linkin-park/
- https://www.instagram.com/p/bNnIg8jmdS/
- http://lplive.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9972
- https://twitter.com/mikeshinoda/status/352920083963723776
- http://www.complex.com/music/2013/09/mike-shinoda-interview
- http://web.archive.org/web/20140211053424/http://chesterbnetwork.com/2013/10/
- ↑ LPAssociation: A Light That Never Comes Remix Project, October 29, 2013
- ↑ LPAssociation: A Light That Never Comes Remix Competition Winners Announced, December 16, 2013
- ↑ Kolony Out Now no Twitter: "Tonight! Tune in 7+10pm ET to hear something I did for Chester w/ @liquidtodd on @sxmElectro Ch51 #bpmdebut #ChesterForever" ., September 07, 2017
- ↑ Steve Aoki (@steveaoki) on Instagram: “Net proceeds of my remix will go to Music For Relief's One More Light Fund in Chester's name 🖤 Link…”, September 08, 2017
- ↑ Steve Aoki - My tribute to Chester Bennington...., September 08, 2017
- ↑ Steve Aoki (@steveaoki) on Instagram: “My tribute to @chesterbe out now 🖤 #ChesterForever 🔗 in bio. @linkinpark…”, September 08, 2017
- ↑ Kolony Out Now on Twitter: "A little behind the scenes... The updated #ChesterForever Remix of @LinkinPark #darkerthanthelightthatneverbleeds is now live everywhere!!! https://t.co/ZievfwRJo7" ., September 26, 2017