Stargate – “1Night” (Feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR, 21 Savage, & Murda Beatz)
Even if you don’t think you know Stargate, you definitely know Stargate. Tor Erik Hermanse and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, the Norwegian-born, Los Angeles-based songwriting and production duo who go by Stargate, have been behind a whole bunch of American pop hits since breaking into the industry in the early 2000s — Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable,” Rihanna’s “Rude Boy,” Wiz Khalifa’s “Black And Yellow,” and Katy Perry’s “Firework,” to a name a few big ones, plus songs by Ne-Yo, Lionel Richie, Trey Songz, Mariah Carey, Lindsey Lohan, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Rowland, Selena Gomez, Iggy Azalea, Charli XCX, Fifth Harmony, Coldplay, Shakira, Sam Smith, Tinashe, and more. So yeah … they’re kind of a big deal.
After a couple of failed singles in 2001 and 2002, they abandoned their career as lead artists to focus on their behind-the-scenes machinations. But last year, with a decade-plus of high-profile collaborations and hits under their belts, they came back with a new single under their own name, “Waterfall,” which featured Pink and Sia and had co-writing credits by Sia, Diplo, and German dancehall producer Jr. Blender. And now they’re back with another new single.
Like everything they do, “1Night” is a highly collaborative affair. It’s a trap-inflected celebration of one-night stands, and it has three featured guests: OVO-affiliated R&B singer PARTYNEXTDOOR, cold-blooded Atlanta rap star 21 Savage, and Canadian trap producer Murda Beatz. “We’re so excited to put this record out,” Stargate’s Tor Erik Hermanse told Zane Lowe in an interview on Beats 1 yesterday. “The whole reason we came to America in the first place was because we’ve always loved hip-hop. We grew up loving hip-hop, listening to hip-hop in Norway … So now to be able to, you know, years later come here and make the records that we really always wanted to make is really a full circle moment and a dream come true.” Listen below.
Stargate are working on their debut full-length, and they reportedly have 6-8 songs finished already.