"Language" is a song by American

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

producer and DJ

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Robinson began producing electronic music during his adolescence. He sign ...

. The song was uploaded on YouTube by Porter Robinson on April 1, 2012. The song was released in the United States on Big Beat Records as a digital download on April 10, 2012. The song was later released in the United Kingdom in an EP package from the Ministry of Sound on August 12, 2012. It debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The song features uncredited vocals from

Heather Bright Heather Dawn Bright, also known by her stage name Bright Lights, is an American singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer. Early life Bright, whose father was a pastor during most of her childhood, began her music career singing in churches ...

. The song received remixes from producers

Kayzo Hayden Capuozzo (born October 8, 1991), better known by his stage name Kayzo, is an American DJ based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for remixing songs and incorporating trap and hardstyle genres into his remixes. His collaboratio ...

together with

Gammer Matthew Lee (born 1 October 1985), known professionally by his stage name Gammer, is an English music producer and DJ. He is best known for his association with UK hardcore, of which he is described as an icon. He is also the co-founder of the T ...

, and from

Jauz Samuel Reed Vogel (born September 2, 1993) also known by his stage name Jauz ( ), is an American DJ and electronic music producer. He founded his own record label, Bite This, in 2017. Early life Vogel grew up in Mill Valley, California. He be ...

Background

In 2010,

released his first hit, "Say My Name", which topped

Beatport Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards disk jockey, DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that ...

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including ...

charts. After capturing Skrillex's interest with the track, Robinson signed with Skrillex's then-new label,

Owsla Owsla (stylized in all caps) is an American record label and creative collective. It was founded by Skrillex, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was ...

, in the summer of 2011. Robinson's debut EP, ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

'' was released on September 13 as the label's first release. After Skrillex and

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

tweeted a link to it, Beatport crashed. Robinson later toured North America in support of the EP. While Robinson was initially known for his "aggressive" electro and

complextro Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including B ...

music, with Robinson describing his initial sound as "very heavy" and "bass-aggressive", "Language" was his first song to have a greater emphasis on melody. Tatiana Cirisano of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said that "Robinson takes a detour toward a more delicate,

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

-like sound", with the song presenting "piercing vocals" followed by "pumping fists to lush synths, a thumping bass kick and euphoric chords".

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Language" was first released 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 ...

on August 1, 2012, with a total length of three minutes and thirty-three seconds.Porter Robinson - Language (Official Video) (Ministry of Sound TV)

The music video portrays a young woman (Susannah Hart Jones) running away from wolf-like creatures and befriending a giant-like creature. As of July 2017, the video has over 10.2 million views.

Reception

Although the song was a departure from his earlier sound, "Language" was accepted by audiences, surprising Robinson. In 2017, Tatiana Cirisano of ''

'' chose "Language" as the best track in Robinson's discography at the time, writing: "It's no surprise 'Language' is one of the best-known Porter Robinson songs — and our most-loved". "Language" was how he first conceived the idea for his 2014 debut studio album '' Worlds''.

In popular media

* "Language" was included as part of the soundtrack to the game ''

Forza Horizon ''Forza Horizon'' is a 2012 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 on 23 October 2012. The game is the first installment of the ''Forza'' series, having originally spin-off from Turn ...

'', and is heard in the main menu of the game. The song was also added in ''

Forza Horizon 5 ''Forza Horizon 5'' is a 2021 racing game developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the fifth ''Forza Horizon'' title and twelfth main instalment in the ''Forza'' series. The game is set in a fictionalised represen ...

's'' Horizon Mixtape radio station as part of its 10th anniversary update.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs Porter Robinson songs Big Beat Records (American record label) singles Ministry of Sound singles Song recordings produced by Porter Robinson Songs written by Heather Bright Songs written by Porter Robinson UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles