How Illenium engineered the album Awake (An ILLENIUM Deep Dive)

💿 The Basics

Artist: Illenium (Nicholas Miller)

Album: Awake (His second studio album)

Release Date: September 21, 2017

Labels: Seeking Blue / Kasaya Records

Genres: Melodic Dubstep & Future Bass

Runtime: 13 tracks | 47 minutes, 7 seconds

🚀 Background & Evolution

The Sound Shift: Illenium described Awake as having more organic, recorded elements and stronger vocal melodies compared to his debut album, Ashes. He called it a perfect split between vocal-heavy tracks and chill instrumentals.

The Rollout: The album was preceded by five massive singles: "Fractures", "Feel Good", "Sound of Walking Away", "Crawl Outta Love", and "Leaving".

Fun Fact: He casually announced the official album release date directly to one of his online fan communities in August 2017, just a day after dropping "Crawl Outta Love".

🎼 Key Collaborations & Highlights

"Feel Good" – A massive team-up with Gryffin and singer Daya.

"Where'd U Go" – A standout co-production with longtime collaborator Said the Sky.

"Leaving" – Features uncredited vocals from electronic artist Eden.

Other Featured Vocalists: Dia Frampton ("Needed You"), Annika Wells ("Crawl Outta Love"), Nevve ("Fractures"), and MAX ("Beautiful Creatures").

📊 Commercial Impact

Dance Charts: Peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums.

Mainstream Position: Reached No. 106 on the Billboard 200.

Staying Power: Proved its longevity by ranking at No. 15 in the 2018 year-end dance charts, and remaining at No. 20 for the 2019 year-end charts.

💬 Talking Points for the Mic

How Awake solidified Illenium's signature sound—taking emotional acoustic elements and crashing them into massive melodic dubstep drops.

The incredible roster of vocalists on this project. Who had the standout performance? (Annika Wells on "Crawl Outta Love" vs. Nevve on "Fractures").

Analyzing the transition from Ashes to Awake, and how this era set the stage for his massive 2019 follow-up, Ascend.