Weekend Rewind: Porter Robinson – Unison (Original + Knife Party Remix)

by: Toby Reaper Feb 27, 2016

“Unison” is the second track on Porter Robinson‘s debut EP, Spitfire, which arrived September 2011 as OWSLA’s very first release. Spitfire quickly reached the number one spot on the iTunes Dance chart and the overall chart on Beatport, crashing the servers of Beatport and cementing Porter’s place in the upper echelons of dance music in the process.

Part of the popularity of Spitfire can be attributed to the profusion of talented artists who had remixes released as part of it. In particular, the remix of “Unison” by the then-newly-formed duo Knife Party drew huge amounts of attention with its ground-breaking, industrial-strength sound design that flawlessly complemented the driving melody and chord progression.

In a Reddit AMA, Porter stated that the melody in “Unison” was originally written for another track on the EP, “100% In The Bitch,” which was his first (and only) foray into moombahton. As it happens, with their remix, Knife Party brought the tempo down to moombahton levels, giving listeners an idea of what “100% In The Bitch” might have sounded like before the change.

Despite the success of the EP, more recently, Porter has expressed dissatisfaction with its supposed lack of artistic direction. In the same Reddit AMA, which was to promote his debut album, Worlds, he said, “My issue with Spitfire is that I was trying to be a jack-of-all-trades and trying to do several different genres… like I was trying to impress producers rather than write the best music I could.”

However, the catchy, uplifting melody and chord progression in “Unison” shows that his true sound was definitely not being fully suppressed in the name of production quality. In certain respects, it can be seen as the start of the more melodic style that he would go on to develop in his next single, “Language,” and that ultimately led to the distinct sound of Worlds.