One thing was absolutely certain when I set out to make 2021's compilation; Lifelike was the opener.

This is not only the perfect intro for Nurture, but it's a perfect showcase of everything I was looking for and needed in 2021.

It's so beautfiul and hopeful, it speaks of brighter futures and fresh horizons.

It's very cozy-fantasy-anime-coded, but that's what makes it special. I wish I could put into words how I feel about this song, how it perfect and beautiful it is.

I wish I could tell you, dear reader, what Nurture means to me, and how this introductory track being the first thing I hear when listening to this record was how I knew it was all going to be ok.

If Lifelike is the introduction to the story, then Summit is absolutely the first step towards the destination.

The flow from Lifelike into this song feels so perfect to me, and I believe this was one of the few track position changes that I did not alter at some point during the finalization of this years compilation.

Phritz went on from this era of their music to really make a name for themselves, more recently being part of the PAS TASTA project, which is some of the best Japanese-produced hyper/weird-pop going.

Phritz was cool because they knew enough English and were able to navigate the English-side of the internet well enough to establish a name and a following within the Porter fan base, so that was how I found them, naturally.

They were also involved in an ARTBYFORM project at some point.

Phritz is very cool and this song builds from a really emotional, hopeful beginning to a "summit" of emotional realization that is unparalled. I honestly believe this is a masterwork from Phritz.

To this day, Musician never gets skipped.

This is a long-lasting highlight from the Nurture record for me, and interestingly it's one of the least altered tracks in the live shows too, but I digress.

I really love the messaging in this one - I think it's a story that a lot of creatives can relate to, my partner definitely did.

"well isn't it time that you grow up / get a job" into "I just can't stop, I'm sorry" is something that I think many of us have felt when leading projects and lives that our family may not understand.

"I burn up, burn out, I shouldn't do this to myself" is a line that I relate to a lot as well, I have a tendency to get extremely excited and hyper-fixated on projects which leads to bright burns and burn outs. I'm experiencing that as I create this website and this showcase!

Very very happy I got to hear Musician live in 2024. Fucking amazing song.

But sincerly, can't you feel what I'm feeling? I can see my life so clearly!

I shouldn't do this to myself - EVERYBODY FUCKING JUMP!!

My interest in REOL at this time was due almost entirely in thanks to the overlap with Giga-P's "No Title" project where there were two versions released, one with Vocaloids singing and one with Reol doing the singing.

Something that I really appreciate about artists these days is when they're always pipelining and trying something new.

If that's the sort of thing that interests you as well, dear reader, I implore you to check out Pasocom Music Club!

Every single one of their records is vastly different in tone and scope, while still using classic computer and synth sounds!

This track is really gorgeous and as you may guess from the cover art - it sounds like water!

This track leads into a beach, waves, and seagull sound transition which opens up into the next "disc" of this compilation.

I felt this was a really gorgeous song and it still sticks with me even today, and I've listened to it in the order of this particular compilation so often, I always expect it to go into the waves.

This is the first transition out of three on the record. It was an idea I had to make the different "discs" of the compilation have an audible or discernable transition period, rather than just being something that happens in metadata.

I think I just found some royalty free sounds for this one and edited the previous song, this, and the next one together in audacity and then rendered & split them into pieces.

I chose a beach because this year I was very nostalgic for my time spent on beaches as a child and young teenager, and so it reminded me of my families summer home.

Really really love the texture this idea added to both Locator and How Did I Get Here.

The picture that you see to the right is the rear cover for the compilation, and the text that is all blurred and shadowed into the background are lyrical excerpts from various songs on the compilation. You can see which ones underneath the track listing.

Beakfeet, now known as Little Faith, was someone I actually did know and hung out with over Discord during this year.

They posted music in servers that I inhabited and I found myself very impressed by how they were able to inject emotion and soundscapes into their music.

This was their introductory single for their freshman record "Rapture", which has a lot of themes about growing older and coming to terms with your mortality.

This song in particular shows those themes very well, with both lyrical style and musical style colliding to build a hopeful, but uncertain outlook.

In a lot of ways I still feel like this song really highlights how I felt then, and often how I feel even today - this is a very mature and emotionally honest song that will stick with me forever.

James Ivy was a breakout start this year, appearing at Secret Sky and really striking a chord with Porter Robinson and Wavedash fans.

Jimmy has since found their latest success having assisted with co-writing some of the songs on Porter Robinson's latest record "Smile! :D"

This song is one of the singles off of James Ivy's freshman record, and everything that James has written for that particular record is a car-karaoke-session belter.

I always find that their songs have really satisfying chord progression, driving beats, melodic structure in the vocals, and super satisfying and sticky hooks.

For someone who flies relatively under the radar, James Ivy is creating some seriously impressive and fleshed out music. Definitely one of my favourites even to this very day.

Little Visits fills the same sort of vein as Jimmy in this song, and while this group has not produced very much music, I stumbled upon this one in Bandcamp in 2021.

I liked this song so much - I actually bought a shirt for it! Still have it, too.

There's a bit of 90's style rock and pop revival in some musical circles, and I think that this song fits into that niche.

Great stuff! Doesn't look like they have published anything since this song.

Where did you go, Little Visits!?

If you know me, you'll know that I really enjoy Doom 2. It's been a staple game for me throughout my life and I constantly come back to it to check out new mods and map packs.

Nothing, and I really do mean nothing, dear reader, has impressed me quick like Emma Essex's "TIME TRIPPER" has.

It is quite a rare occassion that I stop while playing an action game to appreciate the music, but I do not lie to you when I stopped throughout multiple opportunities throughout my various goes at this particular level to enjoy its melodies and ticking clock beat.

Emma Essex themselves has been a long-standing favourite of mine, purely unintentionally as their music always seems to end up inhabiting spaces I occupy online, but wow. This one is one of their best.

Emma has a sequel to this game coming out soon called "END OF STARCHILD" that I am very much eagerly anticipating. I suggest you also eagerly anticipate that title!

I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say that Fishmonger by Underscores was extremely influential in hyperpop circles.

Something shifted when this album came out and I think the waves from the music that Underscores released with this project are still felt today.

Everybody was listening to this one; it was gigantic. This is my earliest "hyperpop" experience, and even though it's boundaries are pushed ever further with things like Daria-Core, this project rules.

It was hard to pick a favourite from what Underscores put out with Fishmonger, but Spoiled Little Brat fit the bill in this particular flow of music, I felt.

Underscores continues to make waves in the music scene which is incredbly fun to see, experience, and listen to!

You want the type you make me feel.

Echoing what I wrote about James Ivy above with Last Star.

That being said this song was on loop a lot for me in 2021.

I love the build up that this song has, I love the spoken word text-generation portions, the performance of this at Secret Sky was legendary.

This is just a damn good song, and really highlights how smart James can be with his music creation.

Another one that gets screamed from the top of my lungs whenever it comes on in the car.

The idea with this second intermission was to highlight a different kind of soundscape that I experienced a lot in 2021.

I spent a lot of that year outside. I was cutting out of work extremely early almost every single day, and I was reading for, most days, four to six hour stints when the sun was out.

I left the window open in my bedroom at the time, too - crickets in the summer in the suburb with sounds of a distant highway are very common in the area I live.

I should go outside more, in some ways the Pandemic was really good for me, and being outside a lot was one of them.

Off the backs of Fishmonger, we had a lot of really great hyper-pop/rap/rock hybrid music in 2021.

Patchymate had it mastered, perfect blend of sing-song-spoken-word portions, guitar licks, and blasted drums.

This whole record is a real treat- great work from Patchy mate!

This was a weird one to try and include - mostly because I don't think it had any sort of publicly released file or download? It was only uploaded via videos.

Because of this I had originally thought that it was a cover or something, but no it's a totally original song.

The music video for this song is very beautiful, and really highlights a lot of the themes you had in 2021 of life, death, mortatlity, and thinking about your future.

I really love the bitter-sweetness of the composition and the lyrical timbre.

This was a song that I stumbled upon totally by accident and ended up really sticking with me.

Feels very Vocaloid in may ways, as well - which I really love!

The emotional honest and integrity that this song shows is beyond emotional and captivating.

I think this is one of the sleeper hits from Nurture, and for me, it was an obvious inclusion in this compilation.

A moment that really strikes me is the synthesized voice with: I said "Mom, I'm so sorry." she smiled and said; (then it switches to normal Porter Voice) "Darling I don't want you to worry"

For those who do not know, Porter Robinson used the high-pitched synthesized voice to help him sing about difficult or emotionally taxing topics, but used the clean vocal processing when things were obvious or easy for him to say.

This only happens in a few select moments in this record and the moment it's done in Mother is really splendid, and it's a detail that I want more people to know about!

When you know about why some of the decisions were made with this music it adds so, so much to it.

"I'm on your side for the rest of your life, you'll never be alone, don't you worry my child."

It may shock you to hear this, dear viewer, but I did not enjoy this anime very much.

That being said, the opening song is incredibly beautiful, and you'll see that it's the only song to be included in two year-end compilations, well - if you count a self-cover as a separate version it's not really.

However, I will share a story about this song.

I watched this anime when I had my first round of covid booster immunization shots, I have kept up to date on them since as well, but on this first round, it really messed me up!

The thing that strangely gets me with these immunizations is I get back pain that is unbelievable!

I remember listening to this song hopped up on advil, laying flat on the floor and trying any and all back stretches that I found online to search for any sense of relief at all.

In the end, I just rode it out, but besides that this song ended up in regular rotation for me and I still really enjoy it!

I sing along to it a lot, too - even though I've never taken the time to digest the lyrical passages enough to understand their meaning.

Something that I know now about my musical taste, is that I really enjoy whimsy, and songs that have a lot of fun with themselves.

If there is a group that knows how to have fun with their music and themes, it's definitely Necry Talkie.

I love the musical makeup of this one, as well as the full stops, synths, and build to this "mountainous", hopeful climax with the chorus portions.

Maybe I should head north! Maybe I should sit on a train or a bus and look out the window.

Maybe I should go on an adventure!

Minecraft has been a nonstop staple for my gaming habits since Alpha v1.1.2_01.

Because of this, obviously I know about C418.

I had never heard the rest of their music before, but I do remember listening through the rest of their discography was gaming, and when I got to this one - I was simply blown away.

I love how simple, and evocative the instrumentation is in this one. Laura Shigihara sings the vocal selections in exactly the same sort of evocative and dreamy tone as the rest of the song and everything just blends together so well.

The intersection of japanes vocal singing and C418 was just too much to pass up.

I would very much like to hear more vocal music from C418 in the future - this song is just so beautiful.

Saamson is a small time indie artist from down under, and was able to captivate me with this song!

I've always enjoyed the themes of working to better yourself and your future.

This one really felt like a picture-perfect anime ending and really was able to capture me right away with those feelings.

Maybe we need a Rockstar anime ending MV!

This one was made together with Beakfeet, who is featured on this compilation with "How Did I Get Here?"

I mentioned it above, but we worked together on this one and used some large language model stuff at the time to come up with some random gibberish that we re-tooled into some lyrical passages.

I don't do really very much audio or music creaiton, so this was all done by Beakfeet.

Very very thankful that they made this one for this project, it's a huge highlight for me!

The photograph on the right is a picture of the right side of the bi-fold that that I never ended up getting printed.

Open the image in a new tab to check it out!

This is one that was a late addition to the compilation, but I really loved this projects visual design and musical design.

It's quite unlike anything I've seen, I love the combination of liminal space and y2k type style for the front cover art a whole whole lot.

The track also reflects that, I love the bit-crushed and minimal soundscapes and audio design that adorns this one from start to finish.

Just such an interesting and bespoke style of song that I've not heard in many other places.

Wylie Hopkins has released quite possibly one of my favourite records of all time with "On The Way Out".

Unfortunately, this album is only available on streaming. That being said, please dear reader - give it a listen!

Wylie has a really beatiful and smart combination of folk and electronic/pop adjacent music, with some very sticky lyrical writing.

Cut is one of the singles from that record, and it's no less that any other song featured there.

I love the psy-trance kick that's used to push this one forward, combined with that twangy acoustic guitar and accompanying licks.

Wylie should be up there with people like James Ivy, I hope they get the recognition they deserve some day, and I really would love to own "On The Way Out" physically someday.

I'm not a particularily huge Kiara fan, but I am a big fan of the producer - KIRA.

I knew KIRA from a few vocaloid-related projects so when this song came out as being produced by them, I jumped right on it.

It's more k-pop, but Kiara has a really great singing voice, and paired with KIRA's cleanly produced dance beats, this one never fails to get me excited!

I can't really place why, but the way this song moves into its main chorus sections is a lot of fun, and it's not often I enjoy a bridge - but the bridge in this tune is expertly crafted.

I think it's that little full stop during "gonna make it" and then exploding with the kick into "hot like a volcano!"

Don't stop, don't stop - just go your own way!

Nanobii (FantastixX is an alter ego) is the master of cheesy dance music - and I love them so much for it!

This project and Crown Town, which will be featured later, always put smiles on my face.

I don't have much to say about this one other than it always, ALWAYS, gets me moving and smiling - and I really love that so much!

This one is another late addition - but. Just. Holy crap.

The way that this song builds itself up, the depth in the sounds, the number of instruments, the way that the sound design has been meticulously fretted over with a fine-toothed comb...

This song features other-worldly levels of details and emotion that is packed into every single millisecond of its runtime.

Not only one of the most technically impressive songs I've heard, but the journey it takes you on and the emotions it conveys deserves whatever praise it can get.

Lifelike is the perfect opener, and Trying to Feel Alive is the perfect closing song.

There is no part of this song that I dislike.

This is Porter Robinson's best song.

It was such an incredible experience being able to hear this song live at the SMILE! :D 2024 tour in Toronto.

If you have not seen them, dear reader, please search out a recording of this song live from that show. It's amazing.

There's a lot of emotional integrity and honesty in these lyrics, and I the angelic chorus of Porters voice leading into the verses is just. wow.

I could write pages and pages about this song, but I think you should just listen to it with your eyes closed.

Sometimes you may struggle to work through your personal struggles, sometimes you may not know where your work and creative endeavors end up.

Sometimes you may struggle to find the person to complete you, or the way to live your life.

I think that, for all of us, if you continue to work hard, somebody, somewhere finds the warmth of summer in the songs you write.

These are some mood boards from planning the art with Integra.

These are some excel tables from when I was planning out the tracklist. Only year I've done this. Do not even remember doing this.

This is a bullet point list of lyrics from songs on the compilation that I gave to Integra to use on the rear cover.

These are all of the cover artworks for the front, rear, and bifold.