ILLENIUM is one of the most successful crossover electronic artists today. Hailed by Billboard as one of the Top Dance/Electronic Artists of the 2010s and recognized as part of Forbes‘ 2020 30 Under 30 class, the Denver-based producer/DJ born Nick Miller has topped the U.S. charts, garnered more than 4 billion collective streams, and headlined world-class festivals—all within a few short years.
Fresh off a string of singles and recording the largest dance music event held by one headliner in North America (thanks to his iconic Trilogy set at the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium), it’s safe to say Nick Miller is on top of the dance music world. With all the momentum on his side, fans eagerly await the arrival of ILLENIUM’s fourth album “Fallen Embers.” A culmination of all his career achievements and then some, this album is packed with raw emotion and fiery soundscapes. With all that being said, what better way to pinpoint the significance of this album than to hear it from the artist himself. Hear the story of how he put this all together in the track-by-track breakdown below.
Blame Myself (ft. Tori Kelly)
“We got this track from Emily Warren who is an artist & writer and was the vocalist on it about 2 years ago. It was a very dancey version and I decided to tweak it and I really wanted to put Tori Kelly on it because I’m a huge fan of her voice and Emily totally agreed to that. Tori fell in love with it and cut the vocals in 2 days and I just felt like this was the perfect song to open up the theme for the Fallen Embers album.” – ILLENIUM
Sideways (ft. Valerie Broussard and Nurko)
“This song was written by Valerie about her roommate going through an incredibly difficult time during the middle of the pandemic. When we got the track it was a really simple demo with just vocals and acoustic guitar. There was something really special about her voice-over that track and the strength that she has in the delivery in helping to convey that sense of unconditional love and support. Nurko and I went back and forth with it probably 4-5 times working on getting the build sequencing right. I remember when Valerie heard it she said that she never expected it to turn into something so epic and huge sounding but that she had chills and fell in love with how the song turned out. It gave a pretty simple song base a whole new life. This track came in halfway through the album-making process. It was the quickest one to finish and the quickest one to release.” – ILLENIUM
First Time (ft. Iann Dior)
“I’ve been singing ‘First Time’ in my head ever since I first started working on it. I knew I wanted to put someone really awesome on it and I thought of iann dior. I’m such a huge fan of iann and this tune is such a dope blend of my favorite sounds right now. When he agreed, he cut the track so fast but then we had to decide when to release it. We’re both so busy releasing music that we finally found a date that works which was in March. We finally got to meet when we filmed the video and he’s just such an awesome person.” – ILLENIUM
U & Me (ft. Sasha Sloane)
“I love Sasha Sloane and we’ve worked on things in the past but nothing really came together for a long time.. We finally got on a facetime session during the pandemic and made this song from scratch both working on the lyrics. I love it because it’s about escaping from all the bad and being surrounded by beauty.. Hawaii is one of my favorite places to travel and I just imagined being there during quarantine when I physically couldn’t be and that’s what was in my head when I was writing this song.” – ILLENIUM
Crazy Times (ft. Said The Sky)
“Said the Sky & I worked a lot with Rock Mafia, and we’re always getting super creative. So we put Tim from Rock Mafia’s vocals on it and pitched them way up so you can understand the lyrics. I want people to listen and create their own lyrics around it. There are songs that are really personal to me, and this is one of them. It doesn’t feel like it’s coming from the writer’s point of view but your interpretation.” – ILLENIUM
Heavenly Side (ft. Matt Maeson)
“The song felt like it was meant to be on the Fallen Embers album. My A&R Ryan got this song from Matt who sent it to me because he knew I’d love the lyrics. This was one of the earliest tracks we worked on and it took a while for me to complete it because the lyrics had such a deep meaning for me. In bringing my trilogy albums to a close, I was looking forward to the thought of new beginnings but it can be really scary facing something new when what you have built has brought so many unreal things into your life. Diving into something new because you know it’s the right thing and facing the criticism that can come with that is necessary to evolve or in my case, be reborn into this new light.” – ILLENIUM
Nightlight (ft. Annika Wells)
“Annika and I have known each other for years, she was on the Ascend tour and we actually worked on this track in person prior to everything shutting down last year. It kind of paved the way for this world that I created in Fallen Embers. A nightlight isn’t THAT bright, but it’s enough to help guide you when you’re otherwise in total darkness and to help you get through. I think of my close friends, my mom, my girlfriend, really core team, and the people who have always shown up for me.” – ILLENIUM
Hearts on Fire with Dabin (Ft. Lights)
“I was so stoked on the opening guitar riff on this one.. I love to play the guitar. A really talented friend of mine and Dabin, Taylor Dearman, helped us write out the guitar parts that give the track a lot of its structure. And I was a huge fan of Lights and we sent her the track and she recorded it and I just love the way it came out.” – ILLENIUM
Lay It Down with Slander and Krewella
“So Krewella sent me this track a while ago and it initially sounded so different. It was really kind of an alt/pop vibe and I was looking for a record like this to work on. And I’ve been wanting to collaborate with Slander so I brought them in. The lyrics to this song are so important to me.. “I’ve been trying to cure my head of the toxins. I don’t want to drag you down when I’m finished.. But I don’t want to lose you now..” I’ve had to work through a lot myself to get to a point where I could fully be my true self.. To be open, accepting and let someone in. So I love this track and I’m so glad it’s on the album.” – ILLENIUM
Losing Patience (ft. Nothing, Nowhere)
“I was in contact with Nothing Nowhere for a while. I knew I wanted to work with him and we basically built this track together over some time.” – ILLENIUM
