"Fairly Local" is a song written and recorded by American musical duo
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who both left in 2011. Since their departure, the line-up h ...
. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album ''
Blurryface
''Blurryface'' is the fourth studio album by the American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. It was released on May 17, 2015, through Fueled by Ramen. Lyrically, the album incorporates themes of mental health, insecurity, doubt, and religion. It con ...
'' (2015) on March 17, 2015, with its music video having been released the previous day.
The song was their first to chart on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 84, and has since been certified platinum in the United States.
Background
"Fairly Local" served as the lead single of ''Blurryface'', and was an introductory track to the titular character. Its two verses are written to contradict each other almost word for word, creating a duality in
Joseph
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
's personality between himself and the alter ego "Blurryface", represented in the second refrain through the use of a
vocoder
A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''vo''ice and en''coder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation.
The vocoder wa ...
, a reprise of the original refrain with deepened pitch.
The song describes and recounts Joseph's experiences with troubled fans while touring for ''
Vessel'', the third studio album, stating in an interview with
Paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...
:
"Fairly Local" makes references to mainstream radio play extensively. In an interview with
Radio.com, Joseph explained, "We understand that there's a certain type of song that is aerodynamic enough to be on the radio. A lot of people would say that that's a good song. I guess we thought, man, do we have to write a record that has a bunch of songs that fall into what would be considered a radio song? That was something that I was kind of working through. Now I understand all these rules cause we've been around it one time. Do I have to obey them completely or can I just continue writing the way that I've always written? So, no, we're not rebellious about it. We don't think that the radio sucks or whatever. It was just something that we had to get off our chest."
Within the song, the
fourth wall
The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
is broken as Joseph references the band's listeners, coining "the few, the proud, the emotional", later becoming a collective term for Twenty One Pilots fans.
Composition
"Fairly Local" is an
electronic rock
Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
and
drumstep
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre ...
song that runs for three minutes and twenty-seven seconds, featuring
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and
pop rap
Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, pop hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop with pop's preference for melodic vocals, catchy hooks, and positive lyrics on pop-like p ...
influences. The song alters between sparse verse instrumentation, electronic breakdowns in the choruses, and an ambient instrumental bridge. This gives "Fairly Local" a distinct sound described as intense and eerie.
According to the
sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...
published at Musicnotes.com by
Alfred Music
Alfred Music is an American music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
History
In New York Cit ...
, it is written in the
time signature
A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
of
common time
A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
at a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 115
beats per minute
Beat, beats, or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact
* Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact
* Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
.
"Fairly Local" is composed in the key of F♯ minor, while Joseph's vocal range spans two octaves, from a low
C♯3 to a high of
C♯ 5.
Music video
The music video for "Fairly Local" was uploaded on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
without prior notice one day before the song's release as a single, and was directed by Mark C. Eshleman of Reel Bear Media. The video is shot in a dark,
snow
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
filled and presumably abandoned building, with
Dun
Dun most commonly refers to:
*Dun gene, which produces a brownish-gray color (dun) in horses and other Equidae
* Dun (fortification), an ancient or medieval fort
Dun or DUN may also refer to:
Places
Scotland
* Dun, Angus, a civil parish in ...
playing the drums in a large room and Joseph singing in various rooms of the building throughout the video. "Fairly Local" introduces the black paint on Joseph's hands and neck, which symbolise the presence of ''Blurryface''.
As the video progresses, Joseph's movements become increasingly more frantic and erratic, while Dun's drums fly into the air and disappear, one by one.
Track listing
Personnel
Twenty One Pilots
* Tyler Joseph – lead vocals, keyboards,
programming
Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to:
Business and management
* Program m ...
, guitar, synthesizers, executive production
* Josh Dun – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
*
Ricky Reed
Eric Burton Frederic (born January 15, 1982), known professionally as Ricky Reed, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, and the founder of Nice Life Recording Company. In 2005, he formed the musical project Wallpaper., which las ...
– bass guitar,
programming
Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to:
Business and management
* Program m ...
, production
James Marriott version
Marriott
*
James Marriott – lead vocals, executive production
* Matt Gavin – guitars
* Jono Suter – keyboards, executive production
* Samuel Horsley – bass
Additional musicians
* Eeli Saolevenien – drums, percussion
Charts
Peak positions
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
*
{{authority control
2015 singles
Twenty One Pilots songs
2015 songs
Fueled by Ramen singles
Electronic rock songs
Electronica songs
American rock songs
American hip-hop songs
Song recordings produced by Greg Wells
Songs written by Tyler Joseph