How ‘NONE OF THIS IS REAL’ Defies Traditional Album Structure

Written by Seamus Flanagan

Graphic by Mikayla Buneta

Normally when people create an album, the songs flow linearly. Artists normally produce albums with the intention of the audience listening to the tracks in order, instead of shuffling the songs. Many tend to frown upon those who shuffle an album, especially on the first listen. Very rarely do artists create an album to break the linear staple. Me Rex, a British indie rock band, went against this grain. In 2021, they released their 52-song debut album "Megabear," which is meant to be listened to on shuffle. Seven years earlier, DJ Rozwell released the album “NONE OF THIS IS REAL.”

This album has a fictional origin story that is said to be “recovered from a series of dusty, unmarked Zip disks found in a condemned Massachusetts apartment building in 2001.” DJ Rozwell created this narrative for the album to create hype around it. This album is considered the first of its kind; a fantasy, hip-hop, and roguelike album. Considering it a “roguelike” album means that each play-through differs from the last; one person may experience the album differently than another. Adding to the mysterious nature of the music, the Bandcamp version of the album includes 55 tracks all titled “NONE OF THIS IS REAL,” making the listening experience that much more random, never knowing what song you're listening to. The first and only song with a direct title on Bandcamp is the track called “INSTRUCTIONS.”

This first song is played first to teach the listener how to listen through this album. A mysterious disembodied voice says, “Greetings, mortal. Thou hast stumbled upon a mysterious adventure of wonder and art magic. This journey will be different each time thou listen. To listen to this whole album properly, thou must play on shuffle mode in thy media player of choice with a crossfade of five or six seconds between tracks, or thou shalt be smited.” 

It then starts to cross-fade into the first of 34 songs, which is the amount included on streaming. It is a beautiful collage of music and sounds that mix together, creating a wonderful glitch-hop fantastical experience. On streaming services, the songs included in the album have titles. Some notable songs include “I’VE NOT SEEN SUCH BRAVERY,” a heavy beat meshed with a melodic bass. The added electric guitar sample makes this one of the most entrancing songs in the whole album. One of my personal favorites is the song titled “In the Dungeon” — an extremely heavy beat with a mystical synth behind it. 

Every song and filler track on this album has a nostalgic, fantastical aesthetic. If you love music and are willing to branch out into a new listening experience, I would highly recommend this album.