Music


Midnight Paradise

Midnight Paradise 

This album, and the songs on it, were created and recorded by Michael Diestra in a home studio out of San Diego California. The 8 songs on the album are:


  1. Intro
  2. Insurance Kisses
  3.  Friday
  4. I Think I've Fallen In Love
  5. Midnight Paradise
  6.  Sunset Sea
  7. Tonight
  8. Whiskey and Menthols

You can listen to the album on here, or click each song title.

Intro

The intro was created when Michael first bought a 7 string LTD guitar. The riff played well in an empty apartment and remained full on its own. 

Insurance Kisses

The same set of chords are used in the next song "Insurance Kisses". The chorus to this song was made in about 30 minutes, and was inspired by The Arctic Monkeys. It's meant to be upbeat and make the audience move and shake. The lyrics were written by Eric Arteaga, Michael's roommate in 2018. The song tells about the last night spent with an ex-girlfriend. Insurance kisses are kisses given to someone who you know you will not see again. 

Friday

Friday was written for a girlfriend of Michael's in 2017. It was his first attempt to write a jazzy song, that was still upbeat and full of improv guitar. The song makes an impression of many listeners and is most enjoyed while driving down the highway in sunny San Diego. There is both a music video and play-through for this song on Youtube: 


I Think I've Fallen In Love

This song was created in Michael's head while on a 10-day meditation retreat. The catchy guitar riff right after the chorus was all Michael had to start with. He kept that riff for 6 months before adding the rest of the song around it. The song is dedicated to Natalie Link, whom he later fell in love with.

Midnight Paradise

This song was titled "Unnamed Idea" for over a year before it was re-recorded and re-named "Midnight Paradise". The title came out of a necessity to create an album title and then later to depict the paradise that is Michael's imagination. 

Sunset Sea

This song is inspired by the music of Covet, an instrumental rock band from the U.S. The playful guitar is inspired by Yvette Young. This song has two versions, one that you hear on the album and another that you hear in the video play-through which can be found on Youtube:

Tonight

Tonight is a song written by both Eric and Michael. They both decided to head to a bar and write a song. Michael wrote the first line, then Eric wrote the second, and so on. A spit-ball of ideas produced the lyrics to this song that ultimately talk about a girl who has a partner but is out with the main character anyway. They get into some trouble together and have a guilt-free night out. 

Whiskey and Menthols

This song was written by both Eric and Michael as well. The title came by Eric while drinking outside a pub one night alone, enjoying both a glass of whiskey and a cigarette. The story tells of a man who falls for a woman the first night they go out. This love was not planned to happen but he cannot resist her.

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Imperfect

Produced on a Saturday morning, this song was inspired by my friend David. He called me up one day and said he was coming to San Diego to visit me. He told me that he wanted to produce content and to have something prepared before he showed up. So I got to work on this song and produced in 5 minutes before he showed up that morning. Later on that day, we filmed this music video.