It was released as the lead single from his debut studio album, Endtroducing....., on September 2, 1996.

Featuring a soulful vocal line and a slow drum beat,[3][4] "Midnight in a Perfect World" is based around mournful piano sampled from the 1969 song "The Human Abstract" by David Axelrod.

[5] Aside from the Axelrod sample, the track also samples "Sower of Seeds" by Baraka,[6] "The Madness Subsides" by Pekka Pohjola,[6] "Releasing Hypnotical Gases" by Organized Konfusion,[7] "Dolmen Music" by Meredith Monk,[4] and "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw.

[10] In January 1997, the song was released to American college and modern rock radio stations.

[12] The photograph was taken by B Plus,[12] who also directed a music video for the song that was also released and gained much airplay on the MTV program Amp.