Oblivion (M83 Song)
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"Oblivion" is a song by French
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 ...
band M83 featuring lead vocals from Norwegian singer
Susanne Sundfør Susanne Aartun Sundfør ( (local Haugesund dialect; Help:IPA/Norwegian, ʉˈsɑ̀nːə ˈɔ̀ʈːʉːn ˈsʉ̀nføːrin Urban East ("standard") Norwegian); born 19 March 1986) is a Norwegians, Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer. ...
. It was released as part of the film soundtrack album '' Oblivion: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' to accompany the film of the same name. It was composed by Anthony Gonzalez. The song peaked at number 114 in France.


Composition

"Oblivion" has been classified as a "soaring ballad" that features "interstellar synths and cloud-surfing lead vocals" amidst a mixture of "M83's
dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...
ndmore traditional string and horn arrangements." ''
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'' observed that the song is "capped with a jazzy instrumental section, just like M83's 2011 hit ' Midnight City'", while it reminded ''
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'' of "
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's scores from the '80s". Featuring Sundfør's "booming vocals," the song's choir repeats "In the night, you'll hear me calling" over a "bombastic synth swell."


Release and reception

"Oblivion" was released as a single on 26 March 2013, and later as part of the film soundtrack '' Oblivion: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' on 9 April. On the French
SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...
singles chart, the song debuted at number 114 on the week of 20 April 2013 and lasted on the chart for three weeks. M83 and Susanne Sundfør performed the song live on 17 April 2013 on ''
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'', making it Sundfør's television debut in the United States. Along with M83 and Sundfør, it featured a drummer, bassist and string section. The performance was well received. ''
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'' encouraged viewers of '' Oblivion'' to "stick around for the credits that are set to M83's brilliant title song."
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's Drew Taylor opined that it "might be the best theme song since "
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". ''
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'' compared it to the songs of
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, while
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's Tom Breihan called it a "slow, stately, and gorgeous" collaboration. Mark Hogan of ''
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'' magazine commented that the best part of the song was its outro, as it included "contemplative piano reminiscent of the ''
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'' theme." Russ Fischer of
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was more critical of the song, explaining that "this one doesn't do as much for me, as has the tenor of a lot of end credit songs that are tailored to be broadly appealing. Your mileage may vary, however... it'll send a lot of people dancing out of the theater, at the very least, and Sundfør's voice is quite pretty."


Charts


References

{{Susanne Sundfør M83 (band) songs 2013 singles Synth-pop ballads Back Lot Music singles 2010s ballads