Alison Wonderland Makes Dreams A Reality With “Awake”

As a pioneer in electronic music for being one of the highest billed women in the game, Alison Wonderland must be doing many things right. The Sydney, Australia born artist has been on a steady incline of success since 2012 when she first emerged in the dance music scene. Two albums, countless singles and remixes, two nominations and an award later, Alison is back with her newest release “Awake”. The artist claims this is her realest work yet, a true embodiment of who she claims to be as a musician and very simply a human. After listening we tend to agree.

”Awake” consists of 14 original tracks, most of which are true and raw Alison material. A few feature some pretty prominent co-stars like Trippie Redd and Chief Keef, but all seem to carry a similar theme; how self-doubt, self-reflection and eventually hope, if channeled correctly can sometimes propel us into even greater happiness than we’ve imagined. 

The album begins with “Good Enough”, an intro piece created with the intention of portraying Alison’s fairly common (although in our opinion unwarranted) self-doubt with the art that she creates. The track features the artist playing the cello, the first instrument that brought her into the musical realm. After an exciting build it drops into a substantial trap drop in true AW style. 

The next piece is “No”, which seems to reference an unhealthy relationship. The lyrics are powerful, catchy and relatable. The drop is an upbeat future-sounding bounce which is sure to more than please the artist’s fan base and beyond. 

“Okay” comes next, bringing a sort of angsty vibe to the album. The lyrics very literally question whether Alison and her significant other could be okay without the struggle of game-playing and uncertainty. The drop is powerful and hits heavy, as do these questions when it comes to love. 

“Easy” is about a very real experience that Alison had involving severe depression. While in such a low place she pushed away the people that are closest to her and cried out “Why don’t you find someone easy?”. The lyrics are deep and beautiful, and the drop is airy and seems to flow ‘easily’ with the rest of the track. Alison claims this may be her favorite and we can see why. 

The next on the album is “High” featuring Trippie Redd, a single that has been out since mid-March. Her goal with the track was to create the sensation of being ‘high’ while listening, whatever that may mean for each individual listener, and to generally embody a heightened sense of life. Trippie Redd adds a contrasting and colorful element to the track that differs from the rest of the album splendidly. The drop is experimental and intriguing; and as a whole the song has already been met with wide approval from fans. 

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“Here For You” featuring BLESSUS is an absolute banger that Alison claims to have had in the works for awhile. The track was created in true AW style, including the talented producer playing the keyboard with no timer, adding a rowdy and reckless element that is straight fire. 

“Church” is next, which us at Exron Music had the pleasure of hearing live this past March at Buku Music + Art Project. The track is dynamic, and is sure to make Alison even more of an icon in this industry. It is the first song she began for the album and the last one she finished. The beat is extremely catchy and fun, but the meaning behind it is even more valuable. ‘Church’ is about knowing your self-worth and realizing that you should always be treated superbly. 

The next track is “Cry” (featuring Buddy), a true love song. The lyrics are a very real representation of how AW wants a significant lover to feel when they are emotionally involved with her. The drop is a bit tropical and has a bouncy swing.

“Happy Place” follows, but this track isn’t news to the electronic music community. AW released this piece last fall, with the intention of showing everyone that her most beloved ‘Happy Place’ is musical escape. The song is already a huge hit, with the Alison Wonderland trademark statement of ‘Fuck Me Up On A Spiritual Level’ taking the world by storm. 

“Good Girls Bad Boys” was originally meant to be an instrumental but ended up being a full filthy track that immediately makes you want to get up and dance. The build is quirky which makes it even more alluring. 

Next is “Dreamy Dragon” featuring Chief Keef, which is amazing side project by AW that breaks any boundaries that one might naturally align with the producer. This track proves the versatility that Alison possesses as an artist with a broken beat and house-y feel. Chief Keef adds flavor with his infectious lyrics, and the drop just perfects this all around profoundly unique track. 

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“Hope” (Interlude) is a track that, fascinatingly enough, Alison created about 5 years ago. The artist says it has resonated with her all this time, and it seems continuously relevant to her life to this day. The track features vocals and music from Lido, who seems to be a close friend and musical confidant with Alison. The song is bright and also fleeting, which is representative of the aspired theme that hope can be ‘dainty’ and sometimes unhealthy.

“Sometimes Love” was made in collaboration with SlumberJack, an up and coming duo also from Australia that show incredible promise. The track has an excellent trap drop that we feel adds an extra fun element to the album.

Last but certainly not least is the album’s namesake, “Awake”. This track has ethereally beautiful lyrics and vocals from Alison that are emotional and almost heart-wrenching. The music is phenomenal and is the perfect representation of the album as a whole. 

After only 2 days of release “Awake” already has over 2 million plays on Spotify. If this doesn’t speak for Alison Wonderland’s success as an artist, let us. This incredibly talented producer has dedicated her life to making excellent music and we are insanely proud of her efforts thus far. She is not only a talented vocalist, producer, performer, and musician, but also an exceptional role model for women everywhere. Don’t sleep on “Awake” and get your fill of your favorite Australian DJ and her newest album out everywhere now.

Kylie Parham

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