Porter Robinson (2024)

One Liner: Critically acclaimed electronic stuff straddling the line between EDM and indie

Wikipedia Genre:  Electro house, synth-pop, indie pop

Home: Chapel Hill, NC

Poster Position: 4
Weekend One Only.
Friday at 7:10.

Miller Lite Stage.

Thoughts: This dude was here in 2016, but billed as Porter Robinson and Madeon.  It is more EDM stuff that sounds just like the last EDM stuff you listened to.  The nice thing is that his top track is also featuring Madeon, so it's like they never split up at all!  Back in 2016, this had 2.5 million streams, but now it is racked up to 214.3 million streams.  This is "Shelter."

Listening to that track - I'd have difficulty saying which artist is which, to be honest. Both Also known as Virtual Self, DJ Not Porter Robinson, Ekowraith, Antigon Moore, Bloodsphere, Audiomission, and  Air2Earth.  Which are painful.

This is his real name, and he was born in Atlanta in 1992.  He signed to Skrillex's label when he was still a teenager and began making EDM action for the world.  He currently resides in Chapel Hill, NC.  I think that is dope, to be a big shot techno dude living in a decidedly non-big shot place.  But he is entirely self-taught, which is also pretty cool.

I actually listened to a Porter Robinson album many moons ago (Nov. 2014, and no, I have zero independent recollection of that) and wrote that it was indie electronics, kind of like Passion Pit.  Not my favorite tunes, but I'll let you check it out.  Listening more now and I am also hearing that Owl City guy.  The most popular track from that old 2014 album (Worlds) is called "Sad Machine," and has 90.7 million streams.

Still sounds like Passion Pit to me, if Passion Pit made the music for old school Nintendo games and then added lyrics.  And look, his bio says that he was influenced by the sounds of video games such as Dance Dance Revolution.  His bio also says that, when he released his first EP, "The level of demand crashed the server of a prominent online retailer."  So mysterious!  Who is it?  I must know!  Thanks to Wikipedia now I do!  Was it iTunes?  Amazon?  Beats Music?  Google Play? (I think that is the sum total list of who I would name as a "prominent online retailer" for music downloads)  The answer is something called "Beatport," so maybe that is why the bio is being coy.  If you use that name, then everyone will know that the word "prominent" doesn't really apply.

According to Wikipedia (and how could I doubt them?!?!), that Worlds album went to #1 on the Dance/Electronic albums chart, and "is considered to be a major influence on the broader sound of EDM following its release."  Fascinating.  So maybe the reason it sounds so generic to me is because everyone after that copied the dude?

Since then, he has done a remix album in 2015, and then a new album called Nurture in 2021.  A couple very bad singles since then (looking at you "Knock Yourself Out XD" and "Cheerleader") but some of the stuff on Nurture is kind of nice.  It is still generic electronic, but intersperses into some of it is something a little more organic and pretty.  Not just a beat seeking missile of techno drops.  The top track there is "Something Comforting" with 36.4 million streams.

It starts out in a totally different way before the techno dance freakout logs on.  Which is interesting, even if I do not enjoy it.  Hearing that Owl City guy again.  And Postal Service.  The Fader called this the best album of 2021.  Which is fascinating.  

No thanks.  I'm sure it is fun stuff to jam out to while you are high and thinking about Japanese video game theme songs, but not my thing.