Introduction

The All Nighter series (commonly abbreviated to ANV#) is a music challenge hosted by underground music collective and label FORM.

The series has been host to a number of budding small artists over its now 4-year run (2018-2022), and 7 album discography. The challenge is quite simple: 24 hours to create a song and submit it to the judges to be reviewed. The tracks are listened to, final choices are made, and the selected tracks are put into a compilation album, with all proceeds going to a charity chosen and announced beforehand. Volume 7 was released just recently, in support of COPE, a charity dedicated to the health and well-being of the Navajo nation.

In this writeup I intend to sell you on a number of songs spanning the entirety of the series (with the exception of Volume 1, which I still have not listened to). If any of these songs interests you enough to check the rest of the album out, then I have done my job -- even more so if buying the album in question goes to support a cause you support.

So, without further ado...

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All Nighter, Vol. 2 (supporting BGCA, a charity for low income families and children)

underscores, Circuit Hour, knapsack, & NotActuallyRobin - NO MONEY!!!

NO MONEY!!! is really simple. Combining the talents of bitbird star underscores and alternative popstar knapsack (both of whom would become serious names in popular music by the start of the 2020s, with underscores' debut album fishmonger becoming a surprise breakout, and bolstering gabby start in the process who would release his debut EP luca soon after) with the stellar verse work from Circuit Hour and Robin, it's a sequel to their first song together, NO PARENTS!!!, and is followed up in Vol. 3 with NO REGRETS!!!. The vocal quality difference between each artist is interesting in and of itself -- underscores, for example, their voice is very deep and whispery, almost unintelligible over the utter deep tone of the bass drum (played on a good speaker, it almost completely drowns each vocalist out), while gabby's voice is clearer, higher-pitched, as he rambles on at the end of his section about how his taking a financial literacy class in high school has not worked out for him. It's been 3 years since this song came out... I hope he's made a little money since!

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dossyx - Sleep Deprived

The All Nighter debut of Bilbao-based transgender electronic music producer and singer dossyx. One of my personal favorite tracks on the album, and for very good reason; dossyx's choice of simply talking into the mic rather than singing gives the track a unique quality all on its own. It becomes very personal, even as they repeat the verse over and over again. The song starts very simply; a piano melody that soon adds layers upon layers of synthesizer, reverb, and bass; dossyx's vocals being a welcome intrusion to the composition. It builds slowly, but when it hits the climax and explodes, you don't really expect it. It turns into an electronic, glittery, and sharp synthesizer combo, filled with dubstep influences, and then builds further, adding drums into the mix for just a few short seconds before dropping out just as quickly as they arrived. dossyx returns to the vocals, though here they sound different, more hopeful. She changes the last verse right at the end of the track, giving it an optimistic twist in a way only she can. You might find that, as a general theme throughout a lot of ANV songs, the lack of sleep becomes a major point of discussion. This song is up there as one of my all-time favorite expressions of that.

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Fair Dawn, Lysk, & i'd rather not - Puppy Love (feat. gyrofield)

This is an absolutely talented piece of music here. A violin slowly paints the world before us, deepening its quality with a drum hit. A harmonious, heavenly vocal enters the fray, making the rest of the song feel light as air, before dropping away to simple piano arpeggios. The drums build all of a sudden, a fast-paced yet steady 4/4 beat keeps time and groove, switching just as fast into a more hip-hop/trap-flavored drum pattern, then zipping away and letting the music rest for a second. The vocalist suddenly appears, sounding distant and distorted as if through a walkie-talkie of sorts:

"Play on the fields that you've created for us / Together we'll be safe / Don't need to fear, don't think too much / Cause all we've got is puppy love"
then ascending to an almost entirely new plane of existence. No element stays in the fray for long, and a sampled, bit-crushed breakbeat frantically paces the second build and drop before it turns into the ever-popular future bass genre. Despite the frantic and rushed pace I've just described, you'd be surprised to find this is the 3rd longest track on the compilation, coming in at just under 5min. And every second is absolutely worth the listen if you ask me.

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Sakuraburst - Mother Tree (feat. Former Hero)

This track is by far the most popular All Nighter track of all time, earning it callbacks in other songs on Volume 3 and even a separate remix EP for it and NO MONEY!!!. The song is a positive premonition for both artists, however -- Sakuraburst would release her stellar sophomore album Harpsinger just a few months later, while Former Hero would blossom into a rave mastermind, combining fast and funky house/techno-inspired beats with pop and rock songwriting, vocals, aesthetics, and emotion to create something entirely new and beautiful (as shown on his debut album footpaths.) Sakuraburst's heartfelt electronic percussion, as much cold and technical as it is warm and full of life, mixed with Former Hero's soft and fragile vocal delivery:

"Mother tree, ten acres deep / A forest green, at peace / Endlessly, a wordless dream / Fall asleep with you"
It's a very addicting combination, and it's not hard to see why the song is one of the most popular out of all the All Nighter submissions.

Honorable Mentions:

Circuit Hour - Deoxyribonucleic Disaster

unknowndreamuser - Memories of the XIII

Nebita - Sleeping on the Floor

Akeos & shibuya. - circulate

(NAME TBA) - TRACTOR

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All Nighter, Vol. 3 (in support of NRDC, an environmental charity)

Soba - Miss You

This song is one of my all-time favorite tracks from All Nighter. It shows a marked change in direction for Soba, who was originally known for electro house and glitch hop stuff. Soon after this track was released, Soba went on a hiatus and began releasing more pop and rock-influenced music under the name saamson. Here, he takes on a very laidback, chill, and yet sad quality, melancholy and contemplative in his lyrical content:

"But nothing else is working / And we're drifting all apart as if we should"
and becoming even deeper in its emotion in the very last verse
"Counting all the days / Don't know where you'll go / Hoping that it's not too far from my home"
So far, no word on whether Soba will make a full return, and the saamson Twitter account has been pretty quiet as a general trend (though I hear he's much more active on Instagram, so I could very well be wrong). But believe me, if I was to go off this song alone, I'd recommend all of Soba and saamson's work.

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FORMHAMPTON - 3

This track is just... chaotic. It's kind of a gimmicky track and loses its appeal with enough runtimes (especially if, like me, you're not in the know on many of the references or who the vocalists are), but it's worth mentioning for just how goofy it is to listen to. The FORMHAMPTON project is the entirety of the FORM admin team, including visual artists EMTA and major bean, Vintroxx, and more (I don't know every single vocalist on the track, but EMTA and Vintroxx name themselves in their verses and bean is the only British person on the FORM admin). There isn't much else I can say about the song beyond it being kinda stupid, but it is definitely worth the listen. Very catchy, if you consider that a positive quality.

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adri - a stranger's quiet hymn

I can't even begin to formulate how big my adoration of this song is. It was my introduction to adri, a trans artist whose repertoire focuses on soft, warm, acoustic music that, rather than open up new exciting worlds in your mind and take you on a journey, sits you down in a quaint, sunny little garden and speaks softly and quietly to you about love and how life is all about loving and being loved. Its composition is quite simple, but the emotions it invokes in me as a listener are profound and complex; I feel relaxed and at ease, staring out the window at the sunlight hitting the trees outside. It practically radiates love in every ukelele strum, every piano key, every word sung in adri's husky, whisper-soft voice:

"You still don't know me, but let me help you rest your head..."
Perfectly composed, and full of emotion. Can't recommend this one enough, especially when out in nature.

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Can of Bliss - The Storm (And The Calm That Followed)

In a wild change-up from the adri cut, Can of Bliss hits you with this drug-fueled punk-rock-influenced rapid-fire drum & bass track, detailing a very bad drug trip:

"The walls are moving / Like there’s people in it / And you try to feel good / But you feel like shit"
occasionally being interrupted by a slower, distorted rock section. Can of Bliss has perfected the usage of momentum to create dramatic pauses for their voice to filter in unaccompanied, and you're caught up in the chaos of the storm:
"Don't dissociate / Just move your legs a bit / Put your hand on your chest / But you don’t feel shit"
But, just as suddenly as you are rocked around in this hurricane, suddenly the clouds break and the waters calm. The remaining half of the track is a droning synth piece accompanied by the sound of birds and nature. Occasionally it soars into the sky, the sun illuminating every chord and tone, and it even clashes with itself in a dissonant moment right before the track ends, fading away into a serene, tired peace. And all you want to do after is sleep, mind cleared and perfectly balanced. It's almost... like heaven.

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Brock Wilson & Tearhands - parabolic

Oh wow, I almost forgot about this one. It's been a while since I've listened to it, but it was a huge favorite of mine a year or two ago. It's future garage heaven, as groovy and twitchy as it is airy and atmospheric. The breakbeat fades out into simple percussion halfway through the song's runtime, letting the bass throb and the synths extend, as a mysterious melody plays behind it. Then the beat returns full-force, 4/4 now; driving deeper into its house influences and turning the energy up even higher with this absolute earworm of a hi-hat. The song itself only lasts about 3 1/2 minutes, but its dark, wavy tones and sound design is indicative of both artists' later growth -- especially Brock Wilson, who would later release his debut EP blue! on MAD ZOO, well-known in the electronic music world for being one of the biggest purveyors of experimental club music.

Honorable Mentions:

Foxsky - RAPTOR STRIKE

oneji - i love mcdonald's cheese sticks and hash browns

Knoir, eliderp, & Dylan Tallchief - Spitfire

Knyvez - tape

Syrge - Resting Sanctuary

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All Nighter, Vol. 4 (in support of CDP Global Recovery Fund)

Honestly, as a whole, I think this album was the least impressive of all the AN albums. There is one track that stands out really well though:

Mizu - Brave New World

This is a flat-out cinematic pop song. It's literally Disney music, but because it's not actually made by Disney it's actually way better. Mizu cuts his teeth as a jack-of-all-trades kind of artist -- he lists among his influences famed Japanese composer Masakatsu Takagi, the feel-good Owl City, the abrasive pop duo 100 gecs, and dubstep's wildest name Moore Kismet -- but he is best known for this song. Here, he paints himself as a doting father taking care of his child, wondering what their future will be:

"Wondering who you’ll be / A lover of sand and sea / Just like your mother does now / Will you be more like me? / Talented musically / Singing your lungs out"
and swearing he'll always be there:
"When days get harder / And worries grow larger / Know I’ll be by your side"
The music swells, the drums cascade like a waterfall, and the whole song just sparkles like the cleanest water.

Honorable Mentions:

Zhook - fill()

torr - MIGRAINES

THREESIXTY - Dissonance

i'd rather not & dobi - avoiding the hallways

Jodastt & faux ivvy - live life large

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You might notice that the further along we go, the less EDM influence we see, and the more artists begin to experiment. I mean, come on! Brave New World was just a flat-out Disney-inspired orchestral pop song. And my ANV3 recs ranged wildly from frantic thrash punk to warm and cozy acoustic guitar. The rabbit hole only gets crazier from here...

All Nighter, Vol. 5 (in support of Doctors Without Borders)

synce - timeskip

timeskip holds a pretty special spot in my heart just for its unique sound design. Swerving and diving laser cuts dip into the fray, supported by a clean, almost robotic drum & bass beat. It's a frantic song, one that begets a sense of anxiety, as if frantic action is just around the corner. This is music for SUPERHOT if you've ever played that game. The song's literally called timeskip!! It fits perfectly. (Also, synce was homeless just a while ago. Not gonna guilt-trip you into listening to this, but if you're interested in supporting them and/or you like their music, you should stream the shit out of their music.)

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DOVVE - For when times are gone

It's always a pleasant surprise to hear this song whenever it comes up. It's warm, it's bright, and it reminds me of my first time hearing Duskus or Former Hero. That effortless transfusion of ethereal shoegaze/hazy pop with electronic club music is one of my favorite things. The influence that San Holo, album1, and bitbird have had on electronic music is frankly astounding, and we're still seeing it today with songs like this. DOVVE legitimately knocked it out of the park here; even with a vocal section that leaves a bit to be desired, it still warms my heart listening to it.

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Winamp Boys - If

It's Winamp Boys! The first sighting of a supergroup among the All Nighter roster; consisting of Acaer, AIKA, Airuei, anemoi, Kotori, Polarr, Similar Outskirts, Slappy, Soba, Synthion, Tenkitsune, & Trifect -- all big members of a rising underground dubstep scene, and a good majority of them Asian-Americans. In particular; AIKA, Kotori, Similar Outskirts, Synthion & Tenkitsune have gained a fair amount of notoriety in the scene. With Soba's vocals driving the music forward, and a heavy, distorted, and thumping hardcore section near the end, hearing the incredible sound this mega-group of emotional electronic music composers can create is really something to behold.

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Honorable Mentions:

torr - eviction notice

Demon Of Waves & Flavio - Aight, Done!

Volant - TAPEOTRONIC

adri - as if

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All Nighter, Vol. 6 (in support of Prevent Child Abuse America)

webcage - LITTLECRUSH

How do I even begin to explain the craziness of this song? This song brought people together -- literally. webcage is an Internet band; 27 distinct music acts, ranging from names we've already covered here like torr, Nebita, dossyx, and gabby start to smaller names like dynastic, tetra, and scooter boi, and even former Monstercat artist soupandreas, who had a bit of exposure to a big audience in his early days making deep EDM music. LITTLECRUSH has 11 vocalists, 9 songwriters, and 9 producers credited on the album. I knew someone on Discord who went to school with soupandreas, and was in a band with them. I met one of the producers of LITTLECRUSH, evie atarax after I posted on a music Discord that it had become my most streamed song on Spotify last year. And the song itself fucking slaps. gabby gives us the first verse with an, uh... interesting little tidbit of lore regarding its writing:

"Eat ass / Buy your drugs off of the deep web"
then tetra chimes in with a softer vocal and luscious arpeggios over warm lyrics:
"When I think of you I can't help but to smile / But I can't tell, so I'll wait here, I suppose"
To Oscar handles the next verse with a higher-tuned voice with a sad lyrical twinge:
"It's gone and now / I've gotta do this again / And it's getting dark / Wish I could talk to my friends"
The chorus is handled by ubi, who knows just how to get to my heart honestly:
"Staring at you from across the room / I got a feeling that things will click here soon / I'm wishing we could stare up at the moon"
But my favorite verses have to be the next three because the instrumental starts to intensify. First, quickslvr (now wishlane) starts with another comical twist:
"Got myself a PBJ but I got no time / For an inaction or reactions but I still take flight"
The song explodes, turning into a rock piece fronted by the rockstar dynastic themselves:
"I didn't even need to drink all of this caffeine / Cause I'm not falling asleep / Or is it all in my dreams?"
bh joins forces with torr and daywaiter right at the end of this segment to deliver the final blow, and then it fades back into the dark... ...until Nebita takes the mic with a verse that has a little bit of special meaning to him:
"Thinking 'bout all of the songs I'm gonna write you / They won't mean nothing if I can't end up beside you"
But of course, there's still one more surprise waiting in the form of Can of Bliss's destructive, thrash metal outro. FUNNY GANG!

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six impala - 6FINGERDEATHPUNCH

Can I just say that six impala is one of my favorite Internet music collectives? I really could go on and on about how both WFLYTD and RUBBER are some of my favorite albums of all time, but I digress. They surprised their fans with this release on ANV6, a thumping, chugging house track fronted by their vocaloid star NEUTRA, filled with distorted punching sound effects, and a percussion line that's just so addicting. NEUTRA's voice weaves in and out of the pre-drop:

"I want to punch you in your face / Want to punch you in your gut / Want to punch you in your throat"

It's a change of pace for six impala, especially after their second album WFLYTD, which was intense, bright, sugary, and had a smile filled with just a few teeth too many. But this track is almost a combination of RUBBER and WFLYTD, charging the dark, industrial-techno-infused dystopian vibe of the former with the bright, bombastic, and clinically insane robotic vocals of the latter. It makes for an addicting combination, even if it does only last for less than 3min.

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MATT BARRI & Licon - Into the Stars!

MATT BARRI and Licon take me all the way back to 2016 in this track, in a good way. Combining a number of influences from electro house, that weird hybrid genre of dubstep and glitch-hop everyone was obsessed with in 2015, pop and rock music songwriting, and a galaxy aesthetic that is not unlike an older Similar Outskirts song, it's the perfect concatenation of everything I loved when I first dove into electronic music almost 6 years ago. I mean, look at these lyrics:

"I've been waiting a long time to feel this way / Take my hand and we'll travel the world we made / I've been searching for you for so long / At the speed of light, into the stars!"
God, it just brings me back. To me, it's like hearing this song again for the first time. It was my first ever exposure to something Porter Robinson started with Worlds: that there could be true beauty and emotion in these new gritty, distorted dance tracks and genres.

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luminism - i should grow up

luminism is a jazz-rock trio consisting of guitarists Burke and Coleman, and vocalist McCall (who has found prior fame providing vocals for Monstercat artists such as KUURO, Grant, and Just A Gent). The lyrics are a humorous treatise on identity:

"Didn't realize I hated my hometown until you said it / Wear fake tattoos, the real ones feel like too big a commitment"
filled with groovin' guitar lines, a spastic, frantic breakbeat, and McCall's soulful voice pushing the song further all the way to its limit. It jumps and twitches, keeps its audience on its toes, and overall makes for a helluva song to listen to.

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Jane Remover (formerly dltzk), kmoe, & juno - back off!!!

Amidst a sea of mastermind electronic producers lies the talents of Jane Remover and kmoe -- artists who have been pioneers of a new, abrasive, destructive, addictive style of music taking influence from breakcore, dubstep, Jersey club, and pop music to create hits like this. kmoe's high-pitched, airy voice handles the chorus:

"Back off, you know it ain't worth it / I'm the one running the circus / My words don't have any purpose / Stop now, before you get nervous"
while juno handles the verse with a bravado only someone on the edge can provide:
"Had to let some friends go, they were getting in the way / I wish I could make you proud, you want me to go away"
all over a slow, grinding beat that suddenly speeds up into a Jersey club breakbeat right at the end. The production style of a Jane and kmoe collaboration is already a massive wild card, and the addition of juno to provide the extra verse just adds a crazy cool twist to an already insane track.

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driftcat - heal

One of my favorite surprises on ANV6 was the discovery of this track and this band. driftcat is an Asian rock trio (Azriel, Duc, & Nila) who create this intense, 8-bit power rock ballad music not unlike an Anamanaguchi track. Its lyrical content is heartfelt and warm, owing to not just the writing itself but Nila's sonorous voice:
"We share the same wounds, the same blood / I'll make sure that we both heal together"
It lets up near the end, letting the song swirl around you before diving back into the fray, swords swinging and arrows flying. This feels like music for a battle AMV. It feels powerful and introspective (and there are few things more powerful that reflecting upon yourself).

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wishlane & aaron kusnier - nowhere fast

If there's one lyrical convention I enjoy, it's when lyrics are extremely interpretative and full of imagery. It's why EDEN is one of my all-time favorite artists, and it's why wishlane and Aaron Kusnier join the list of ever-growing songs and artists who do this. nowhere fast is very simple yet beautiful, with wishlane painting a picture in our heads:
"And we turn the page at the underline / Crossfire, white lies, and a blinding light / And now the moon doesn't chase us through the night sky"
while Aaron brings out a chorus that stings with a melancholy longing:
"I'm sinking through the painting / I gotta go / Your light will never hit my eyes / I've got to grow"
Peeling back the layers even further, Lane finally asks the listener the big question:
"Our skin wrinkles as we lean back / For only fools believe their life to be a paragraph / They try their best to prove their worth / But can I ask you what you think you've been running from?"
Are we really all that we chalk ourselves up to be? And just as fast as Lane posits the question, he finishes up, and the song dives into a more introspective, rock-driven instrumental, light and airy as if the listener is walking on clouds. Lane and Aaron have pushed this new vein of introspective, imagery-laden poetry in pop music that I am just dying to see more of. This is an all-time favorite for me.

Honorable Mentions:

DA FLIP ZONE - Growing Pains

Knoir, eliderp, JoeB, Zeneth, & Mr. Bill - Wet Alvin

pirate boyz - storm shanty (feat. scurvy dawg)

adri - salamander festival

nox - indigo

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And, finally:

All Nighter, Vol. 7 (in support of COPE, a charity for Navajo well-being)

I'm gonna be honest, I haven't even finished this album yet. But I can recommend literally almost all the songs I've heard so far.

Can of Bliss - nicotine

What more proof do you need that Can of Bliss is one of the most talented producers and singers/songwriters? On nicotine, they merge grungy synthpop with alternative dance and surprise hardcore 909s/screamo to create a song of desperate addiction:

"I follow like a dog / Your words are my demise / I've sunken in too deep could have stopped it if I were wise"
It's a dark attraction turned fatal:
"Because you know I would fucking die for you / Yeah I might fucking die for you"
And right at the end of the song, the instrumental falls apart into a distorted, broken cacophony of drums and screeches, ending with Sean cursing out whatever happened to the song. It's classic Can of Bliss, meshing fast-paced, frantic, almost lightspeed-pace grunge rock, breakcore, jungle, hardcore, punk rock, and a vocal quality to match. And they nail it so damn well! I even got my sister to really like the song, which considering where her music taste lies, is pretty cool.

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Cheap Thrill - YOU KNOW, LIKE THOSE 1970s CIA EXPERIMENTS ON CIVILIANS (feat. fearozzles)

Having this song come right after nicotine is such an intense whiplash. As far as I am aware, this is the first truly metal track on any All Nighter album. And by God, it's good. Cheap Thrill, a smaller dubstep artist, takes to the dark and distorted world of angry, thrashing reclamation of self, enlisting the talents of vocalist fearozzles (who I think sounds really like Laura Les on their verse, in a good way). I always love listening to the chorus:

"I gave you every part of me / My bones are black blue / Just take and gut me out for what you want"
It thrashes unapologetically and means to hurt someone with a steel chair. Cheap Thrill's writing is amazing:
"Always motherfuckers like me / Running into a piece of shit like you / Never taking time to think of what you put me through"
and while ozzles' part doesn't line up so well with the prior intensity, it's still really good and interesting in its own way:
"Bitches mad because we take it all home yea / Cheap thrillin', we stealing all your crowns yea / I got the fame cause I know I'm gold-hearted / So tell me why that your life is always haunted?"
The song breaks down at the end with some of the craziest imagery in the whole album:
"Your soul will turn to swine / Cursed with terminal bedroom eyes"
with Cheap Thrill's voice getting deeper, impossibly so by the end. It's a thrilling (heh) conclusion to one of the craziest songs I've ever heard. And with an even crazier title to boot!

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Lizdek - Oblivion

I am normally intensely picky with dubstep music. After a couple years of listening, I have noticed that today it all seems to really sound the same. The biggest offender in this regard is Subsidia Records, started by the current biggest name in dubstep, Excision -- the majority of songs released on that label largely tend to follow the same format, and it seems to be (according to his fans) a way to promote smaller dubstep artists in the scene (without, apparently, giving any heed to the quality of said artists' music).

So hearing Oblivion here is the cure I needed. This is the name dubstep needs right now. He's a bit of a jack-of-all-trades -- sharing collaborations with pop songwriters like joss lockwood, melodic-focused producers like Bendel and skygate, and fellow dubstep names like NAZAAR and _chris elrik. He's had a bit of experience in the scene and can boast releases on some of the bigger labels such as RL Grime's Sable Valley and Alter/Ego. So you can tell with how long it takes for Oblivion to reach its first peak that it's going to be a big one. It's a very quiet and dark song, preferring to let the atmosphere take you in like a cloud before showing you the madness underneath. And it does it well, reminding me of similar songs that have impressed me. Its second peak ups the distortion and grime before sliding back into its subtle, smooth bass sound. Just google "dubstep face" and you'll have a good impression of how I looked while listening to this.

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Direct & Kazukii - Falling Down

The solo output of both Joseph Lyncheski (Direct) and Christian Byrd (Kazukii) are ethereal, airy, beautiful in so many ways, and take influences from ambient and experimental just as much as they do dubstep, house, and garage music. So a collaboration like Falling Down hits every high in its twitchy, minimalist breakbeat and its light, pleasant, airy pads. At the end of the song, it fades into a brand new atmosphere, backed by heart-wrenching vocals:

"Falling down / Maybe if I pick the pieces up now / Hardly a joke for me now / All that's left is gone / I'm feeling like I'm lost"
and it soars and spirals upwards into the sky in so many places, a perfect song for late-night excursions and watching the city lights blur and distort as you pass them by.

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Bungalo - SPICE

SPICE just radiates this infectious energy, and filled with incredible imagery in its lyrics. A collective of vocalists coming together to throw some verses out and have fun, there are some key standouts throughout, such as the second rapper:

"Oohh I don't care / Do what you want / Why you put me there? / Cool like dude / Lookin stupid staring out clueless / Man stop whining / I'm on something else right now"
whose higher-pitched, sinister style is immediately trampled by the hardcore screamo vocalist:
"I wouldn't mind if the rain just rocked / It's all kind of the same icons / Face of mocking / IBM child / I be them blinds"
The whiplash doesn't even stop there, as the next vocalist is gravelly and deep, and the instrumental gets more energetic:
"Mop in the pool / Woke mind in the cooler / Hide in the gruel / Fuck live on the stream / Don't lie to the fool"
Each vocalist has a unique flow that just makes each moment feel cooler than the last. And the verse that I'm tentatively calling the bridge is sung very nicely:
"Rotten to the core / How we grew where there was no sun / Leave us out to dry / We go raisin til the morning"
While the ending doesn't quite live up to the heat that the other verses brought to the table, it still is a really stellar track.

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Chiwon - HUM4NV1BES

This song is just one of my all-time favorite electronic tracks, hands-down. No competition, just pure intensity. Chiwon, who may be better known as KAJI, is a member of the extremely talented SARUKANI beatbox crew, vice-world champions at Grand Beatbox Battle 2021. The song itself, combining bit-crushed samples with perfectly mastered beatbox drums, just as quickly launches into one of the most intense beats I've ever heard. Hardcore meets beatbox meets distorted breakbeats. It is a total wave of noise after noise after noise, inspired in part by the new wave of hardcore being pioneered by Lil Texas. Each section of distorted 909s feels more sped-up and crazy than the last, Chiwon not being afraid to pile them on top of each other in his frenetic breakcore spitballing. Such an intense combo makes for a really, really, really good track.

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N33T, phritz, Marcix, & Kosakii - plea for forgiveness

Alright, we're at the end! Finally! This took forever for me to write. So let's begin. This is a pretty big collaboration between a few artists I've been keeping watch on recently; N33T and Marcix, who have been curating a space at the edge of popularity, along with Kosakii (who I continue to remain unfamiliar with beyond this track) and phritz, whose combination of house-y electronic music, jazz compositions, violin, and willingness to experiment has made him an artist to watch (in my opinion). Its lyrics are a poetic, pointed barb that is short and succinct in what it wants to say:

"So you say you’re gonna “save me”? / Go to the light and help me be seen? / But I never wanted you to fix me / Cause this was more for you / Not what I wanted to do"
You can hear the phritz influence in the violin he plays himself, the beautiful classically-inclined composition mixed with an intense buildup near the end of the track that makes for such an incredibly moving song, genuine and full of emotion. The song ends with a clip about what forgiveness really means:
Episodic bursts of kindness and charity don’t free one from culpability / Forgiveness is not owed / Forgiveness is earned
It doesn't surprise me that this is, like, my favorite song off the album. I love every other track I've listed on the album, but they certainly don't do what this song does. And this song does it veeeeeery well.

Honorable Mentions:

wtrclr - Felis

To Oscar, Zhook, & bh - IT'S GOTTA BE LIGHTNING!

Dubstep 2 - Emotional Clap

THREESIXTY - Wander

Convexity & Kinectra - Wrong Idea!

Aaron Shirk & Speechrezz - Secrets

Midlex - Hydropunk

Self Discovery & Alaska Sargent - farsight

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So that's All Nighter! Funny, it took me all night almost 3 months to write this. I hope you enjoy at least one of these tracks as much as I did. I especially hope it opens your eyes to the stellar underground talent that often gets hidden under other, more popular artists in the scene!

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