Unfold (song)

"Unfold" is a song by American record producer Porter Robinson and British singer-songwriter and producer Orlando Higginbottom, known professionally as Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. It is the sixth and final single from Robinson's second album Nurture, released on April 22, 2021, one day before the rest of the album. This song is the only listed collaboration on Nurture [note 1] and Robinson has stated that this was a contributing factor in making the song a callback to his first album Worlds (2014).

For the De La Soul song, see And the Anonymous Nobody....
"Unfold"
Single by Porter Robinson and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
from the album Nurture
ReleasedApril 22, 2021 (2021-04-22)
RecordedOctober 1, 2018–January 21, 2020
Genre
Length4:45
LabelMom + Pop
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Porter Robinson
  • Orlando Higginbottom
Porter Robinson singles chronology
"Musician"
(2021)		 "Unfold"
(2021)		 "Everything Goes On"
(2022)
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs singles chronology
"Heartbreak / 6000 Ft."
(2020)		 "Unfold"
(2021)		 "The Distance"
(2021)
Music video
"Unfold" on YouTube

Background and composition
See also: Nurture § Background

I remember a moment with TEED where I was just like, "Dude, I don't know about this. It's cool, I think we can come up with something a little more special." It was like if you're a little bit drunk and somebody hits you with ice water in the face. They're like, "Dude, sober up." He was like, "This is really great. Just sit down on the chair and keep producing for another hour and see what happens." And I've carried that voice with me to the studio so much for the ensuing couple of years.

—Porter Robinson[6]

Being a longtime admirer of Higginbottom's music, Robinson decided to collaborate with him for a song on Nurture. During the writing process, Higginbottom expressed his appreciation for "Sea of Voices", a song from Robinson's previous album, Worlds. This led Robinson to write the instrumentation in a similar style to his older music, while still retaining some distinctive elements of his newer works. Most prominently among the distinctive sounds of Nurture is Robinson's own singing voice – sometimes processed to sound more feminine.[7] As a result of "Unfold" now talking on a more maximalist tone, Robinson made the decision to move it towards the conclusion of the record, as he felt it to be "an end-of-album moment."[4] According to Dancing Astronaut's David Klemow, "Unfold" also represents Robinson's struggles with depression and his fear of being unable to live up to the standard of Worlds.[8]

The song is set in B♭ major at 133 BPM.[9]

Critical reception

Pitchfork's Colin Joyce labeled "Unfold" as "blissed-out digital shoegaze",[1] whilst Sophie Walker of The Line of Best Fit wrote that the track "[felt] somewhat anticlimactic thirteen tracks deep [into Nurture]."[10]

Calling it "soaring, cheery, and blissful", Magnetic Mag's Ryan Middleton stated that "Unfold" was the album's "crown jewel". Middleton favorably compared it to Robinson's two previous collaborations, "Easy" (with Mat Zo) and "Shelter" (with Madeon).[11]

Triple J writer Sose Fuamoli thought "the team up [of Robinson and Higginbottom] [had given] way to punching beats, emphatic drum patterns and vocals that only grow stronger with their persistent energy."[12]

Lyric video

The lyric video for "Unfold" was released on YouTube on May 19, 2021. The video was made by Eric Ko with creative direction by Robinson and Samuel Burgess-Johnson, who has collaborated with Robinson on other music videos.[13]

Charts
Chart performance for "Unfold"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[14] 19

Notes
  1. Though they are not listed as collaborators on the songs, Robinson has stated that "Musician" features samples taken from an unreleased song he made in collaboration with Kero Kero Bonito,[3] some instruments on "Wind Tempos" were performed by Masakatsu Takagi,[4] and that the guitar part on "Look at the Sky" was performed by Yvette Young.[5] Additionally, the Japan-only release of Nurture features a bonus track titled "Fullmoon Lullaby", a collaboration with Wednesday Campanella.

References
  1. Joyce, Colin (April 29, 2021). "Porter Robinson: Nurture Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  2. Moen, Matt (August 24, 2021). "Let Porter Robinson 'Nurture' You". Paper. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  3. Robinson, Porter [@porterrobinson] (March 11, 2021). "'musician' is actually built from a sample of an unreleased collaboration i started with @kerokerobonito - here's a visualization of how i chopped it up" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. "Nurture by Porter Robinson on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  5. Robinson, Porter [@porterrobinson] (April 23, 2021). "the guitar in this part is played by one of my musical heroes yvette young !! @youyve #nurture" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. Darville, Jordan (April 22, 2021). "Porter Robinson shares 'Unfold' featuring Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs". The Fader. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  7. Meadow, Matthew (April 22, 2021). "Porter Robinson Releases One Last Single, With TEED, Before Album Release Tomorrow". YourEDM. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  8. Klemow, David (April 22, 2021). "Ahead of Nurture release, Porter Robinson shares 'Unfold' with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  9. "Unfold from Mom+Pop on Beatport". Beatport. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  10. Walker, Sophie (April 19, 2021). "Collecting the fragments of an identity shattered, Nurture sees Porter Robinson rebuilding himself". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  11. Middleton, Ryan (April 23, 2021). "Album Review: Porter Robinson – Nurture". Magnetic Mag. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  12. Fuamoli, Sose (April 29, 2021). "Porter Robinson's Nurture is an album that found light in the dark". Triple J. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  13. "Unfold (Official Lyric Video)". Porter Robinson. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021 – via YouTube.
  14. "Porter Robinson Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
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