Here’s an electronic record that you can’t really dance to.? There’s been a lot of buzz over “Sea of Buzz,” the first track from Porter Robinson’s forthcoming ‘Worlds’ album, because it is completely unexpected.? Just as Avicii incorporated country music into his recent album, Porter has moved away from the electrohouse he is known for (“Spitfire,” “Vandalism,” “Language”) and created a beautiful soundscape for listening while chilling out.? There are no banging beats, massive drops, or shouting “throw your hands in the air.”? The beautiful soundscape washes over you with strings and effected backing vocals until the lead comes in with a simple melody.? Whether the rest of his album will continue in this more BT/m83 direction is unknown, but it definitely does bring a few things to mind.? The banging big room electro/festival EDM sound seems to be starting to slow down with the rise of slower-tempoed nu-house in the UK and deep house across from Europe.? This kind of chilled-out soundscape might be part of that natural evolution.? Since electronic music has been so embraced by the current generation, it only makes sense that they will want to listen to it outside of the club, and let’s face it, the majority of banging EDM tracks just don’t make sense outside of the normal environment.? Chilled-out house and mellower tracks fit that bill much more readily.? “Sea of Voices” is not what you would expect from Porter Robinson, but it’s a sign that during his time off touring to produce his album that he explored some new ideas and might be on the cusp of a major transition in the electronic music world.
Image courtesy of Astralwerks.
Porter Robinson – Sea of Voices