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Ninajirachi and Porter Robinson Unleash Their Infectious Track 'WannaCry'

‘WannaCry’ is the song fans feared they’d never get.


Back in April during her debut Coachella set weekend one, Australian electronic artist Ninajirachi surprised her fans by bringing out a world-class, influential EDM artist and her childhood idol, Porter Robinson, to premiere their new collaborative track ‘WannaCry’. 


After this performance, the deafening radio silence from both Ninajirachi or Robinson regarding the song's release seemed to haunt fans, who quickly started to make assumptions that ‘WannaCry’ was going to be lost in the hard drives, only available to be heard through SoundCloud repostings and YouTube links. Patience was key, however, as vague posts began to hit the timeline and Ninajirachi started to tease the track across her multiple live appearances. Finally, on a random Tuesday in July, ‘WannaCry’ hit streaming after the Australian radio station, Triple-J, offered an ‘exclusive first listen’. 



‘WannaCry’ is more than this punchy, synth-driven dance track. It marks the creative kinship of two of EDM's most brilliant and trailblazing minds not only within electronic subgenres, but in the world of music generally. 


You could say that Ninajirachi and Porter Robinson are cut from the same cloth, as they’ve both built names for themselves by boundary-pushing within their genres, changing the game for everyone around them. For Porter Robinson, he did this first through his 2014 electro-house debut Worlds, an extraordinarily beloved project and an album that is widely credited for bringing Vocaloid into Western music spaces. Ninajirachi’s rise to fame came practically a decade later, with her debut album I Love My Computer, which tugged on the chords of ‘raised on the internet’ nostalgia and used that to form a connection with listeners. Both of these albums changed their respective artists' lives, establishing them as legends in the making.


However, their groundbreaking music skills are not the only similarity between the duo. Both Ninajirachi and Porter Robinson have this profound connection to internet culture and online spaces, leading them to encompass these thematic landscapes into their bodies of work. This shared interest paved the way for ‘WannaCry’s existence as the track is named after, and sung from the perspective of, the notorious 2017 global ransomware virus. The visual elements of this virus were incorporated into the roll-out for the single, just with a little twist to show off their own personal branding. Notably, prior to her Coachella performance, Ninajirachi teased Robinson’s guest appearance via a website page that looked wildly similar to the original virus. Alongside this, the track's presave page was coated with various pop-up ads you had to weed through before revealing your desired links.


[WannaCry Coachella Teaser]
[WannaCry Coachella Teaser]

While both Ninajirachi and Porter Robinson are no strangers to elaborate marketing, with Ninajirachi even going as far as to create an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) to promote her music, it’s yet another example of how strong both artists' creative identities are, even when it’s only a single track on the line. It’s a reflection of their fearless and bold approach to music generally, giving you no doubt why their careers skyrocketed in the way that they did.


‘WannaCry’ is bound to be cited as a benchmark track in the future of electronic music, serving as a perfect example of not just the synergy that can be created between two uniquely talented musicians, but the endless possibilities still left out there in the world of EDM. There are pockets left to explore in every subgenre of the sound, with sonic landscapes hidden around every corner which are yours to discover- unless, of course, Ninajirachi and Porter Robinson find them first.


STREAM 'WANNACRY' HERE.



FOLLOW NINAJIRACHI ONLINE:


FOLLOW PORTER ROBINSON ONLINE:


Ultraviolet Magazine

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