2014 has truly been a banner year for Porter Robinson. He had the phenomenally successful Worlds tour from the beautiful album of the same name, managed to ruffle a few feathers with some comments regarding his show and raves, and ended the year with one of his songs featured in Google’s Year in Search video. Recently, 22 year-old Porter got to share his thoughts in a keynote discussion at Australia’s Electronic Music Conference (EMC) and it was incredibly cool to see his humble intelligence and authenticity.
“Hi guys. I’m Porter, I am 22-years-old, I think, and I do like electronic music obviously.And yeah, the last couple of years have been kind of weird for me.”
Porter had thoughts to share on a variety of issues, but the main theme that came out of his discussion from Nick Thayer was authenticity. Whether it’s his authenticity and the incredible album (Worlds) that we got as a result of him allowing himself to write the way he wanted, or his thoughts on those who try to jump on the bandwagon we were enthralled by his words. He doesn’t seek to be a game changer nor does he get excited by those who claim to be a game changer, rather he seeks out artists like Flume who do their own thing because they enjoy making music over seeking fame.
“To me changing the game is something that… in the best way that it happens inadvertently. I think it happens, uh, with artists who come out… and do something that’s rather sincere and authentic. And I think the more effortful you are about changing the game the less likely it is to happen. “
Hearing Porter’s approach to songwriting now compared to where it used to be was fascinating. He told us that he used to focus entirely on the production, spending hundreds of hours on a track to get it just right. Now with Worlds he was able to be authentic with himself, and dig deep to find the music that was stirring inside of himself. This meant going back to his roots and looking at Super Nintendo games, some beloved anime art, and taking that inspiration and running with it while avoiding falling into a nostalgia trap. This was apparent on Sad Machine where the midi controller is featured and yet sounds like something that is so current. Clearly the results were fantastic, but we are of course a little biased.
“For the first time in half a decade I felt like I was in love with writing music again… It was the best feeling in the world.”
Porter spent quite a chunk of the interview talking about channeling what he loved, and how he enjoys artists that do the same thing. This also carried into his Worlds tour, where he spoke of the frustration he feels when he goes to see an artist perform and they don’t play their own music. He wanted to make his live show the ultimate experience for people to whom his discography is important. Since the live show is only originals, it also means he was able to have a great amount of control over the art direction and visuals.
We could carry on and on and geek out about the interview as much as the content on which Porter geeked out in the interview, and yet we feel you will enjoy it so much more if we leave some to Porter to still tell. From talking about some of the amazing talent that’s been coming out of Australia to his talks on producing both for himself and with his colleagues, there is 40 minutes of glorious discussion with Porter that you really don’t want to miss.
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