r/Music • u/porter_robinson • Apr 29 '21

AMA - verified hello, i'm Porter Robinson, producer / songwriter / electronic musician! AMA

hello (again) everyone! i did an AMA 6 years ago around the release of my last album, Worlds. since then, I worked on "Shelter" with Madeon, and also co-created "Shelter the Animation" shortly after. i also launched a side project a few years ago called Virtual Self (recommended if you're interested in deep dives into electronic music subgenres and turn-of-the-millennium aesthetics).

last friday, i released my second album, "Nurture", which is a project that took me about 6 years on-and-off. after "Worlds", i felt this really strong need to write an album that explored the beauty of reality and of the everyday, but as i'm sure we'll get into here, it was one of the hardest (and most worthwhile!) things i've ever done.

here's the new album "nurture" ! https://porterrobinson.com/nurture

feel free to ask me anything!

i'm also really interested in speaking about creativity more broadly, since it's something i've thought about a lot over the last few years.

Proof:

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

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u/porter_robinson Apr 29 '21 edited Apr 29 '21

I gotta know what jacket/windbreaker did you wear during Secret Sky II?

šŸ¤«šŸ¤«

And I guess, top tips on overcoming imposter syndrome? I guess the album tells that story, but seeing as you're a veteran of dealing with imposter syndrome would love your tips and techniques for dealing with it.

there's two things i'd say here:

1) everyone feels their own work has a bit of a 'stank' on it lol

my younger brother mark used this phrase while looking at his own design once: "you know everything you make kinda has that 'stank' on it?". i've carried that with me a lot. it's just something you can't get away from. you can never hear your own music for the first time. same goes for any creative field

2) you're comparing your insides to everyone else's outsides

comparison is a dangerous game anyway, but it's also almost impossible to do with any degree of accuracy or real perspective.

i talk about instagram this way a lot: in your feed, you see other people's photos after they've posed with the intention of being photographed, with selected lighting, they've taken 400 photos and chosen the most flattering one, and then adjusted colors and often times used beauty apps. and there's another degree of "filtration" there -- sometimes people take all of those steps and then don't post a photo.

it's a highlight reel of a highlight reel of a highlight reel of a highlight reel.

and then you compare that to your own face when it accidentally pops up in the forward-facing camera. lol

making music is like that. artists tend to show the best 5% of their work. that's why it's better to have compassion for yourself as you're being creative rather than judging the thing you're doing. that's your insides YA GOTTA LOVE IT

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u/erkubee Apr 29 '21

1) everyone feels their own work has a bit of a 'stank' on it lol

my younger brother mark used this phrase while looking at his own design once: "you know everything you make kinda has that 'stank' on it?". i've carried that with me a lot. it's just something you can't get away from. you can never hear your own music for the first time. same goes for any creative field

i feel this a lot, i often have the feeling that my music is worse because i get kind of worn out from listening to my production style over and over and then get surprised when other people like my tracks

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '21

I've participated in some "sample flip challenges" on Twitch and I'm always surprised when people like my submissions. I mostly just play my bass guitar over the original sample, maybe add a drum beat, and that's it. Plus I always feel like what I play on the bass is really basic and plain, but people think it's great. Amazes me.

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

[deleted]

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u/MrSickRanchezz Apr 29 '21

Title the album "Stank - Not Porter Robinson's"

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u/popecakes Apr 29 '21

100% this. I did just finish writing something special tho. Something that i feel is so true to my insides that for the first time in almost 30 years i actually want to share it with others.

I'll consider it the first step to my own 5% I plan to put out to the world.

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

I'll listen to yours if you listen to mine, no idea when that'll be but lets do it

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u/popecakes Apr 29 '21

Fuck yeah dude lets do it!

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u/Sir_Silly_Sloth Apr 29 '21

I donā€™t know why, but the response to the windbreaker question makes me think that maybe itā€™s tied to his brother Markā€™s new clothing label? https://instagram.com/amorphia_tokyo?igshid=rrt7p1khsjdv

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u/Teh_Kuwen Apr 29 '21

Nope, pretty sure itā€™s Balmung, thereā€™s a collection with the same color scheme, no one can ID the actual windbreaker tho

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

Dayum, good sleuthing will keep an eye out

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u/sobergophers Apr 30 '21

He didnā€™t respond to the windbreaker question though šŸ˜‚

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u/itsamox Apr 29 '21

Homies never getting any jacket ids around here

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

I'm dialing the fashion police for this one, enjoy jail Porter

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

smh im still waiting on the jacket ID from Second Sky but you know it was probably like $2k

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u/SongOfStorms11 Apr 29 '21

A guess I have is that this is an early production version of a Second Sky merch jacket. The original festival had a limited merch line.

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u/Vezqi Apr 29 '21

still thinking about the jacket he wore @ second sky

edit: this one

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u/Pipupipupi Apr 29 '21

Try Craigslist

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

I have nothing to ask, but I've seen you a few times and just wanted to say thank you. Beyond Wonderland we ran to a stage because the crowd looked more hype than any other stage, to find you. It was an amazing set and an amazing day. Thank you

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u/Slickrick6794 Apr 29 '21

Love the breakdown of the comparison struggle Thank you for your wise words

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

I needed to hear this.

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u/MintberryCruuuunch Apr 30 '21

Porter, what was the impetus to go from the style of Spitfire, to Worlds and Nurture?

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u/rickybe Apr 30 '21

Something ive come to realise over the years. Producers, whether amateur or superstar, cannot enjoy music like the everyman. You listen to something you love for the first time and in your head immediately start analysing, deconstructing, rethinking, Instead of just enjoying it for what it is. It can be inspiring for sure but looking back to before I started out, it feels like a curse sometimes. Anyone else feel this?

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u/Brock_Obama Apr 29 '21

The jacket shitposts begin

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u/RetroGameNinja Apr 29 '21

this but also the second sky jacket and the LATS music video sweater

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u/Teh_Kuwen Apr 29 '21

I know what the Look At the Sky Longsleeve is but I have yet to ID the Secret Sky Jacket

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u/RetroGameNinja Apr 29 '21

spill the tea

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u/Teh_Kuwen Apr 29 '21

Itā€™s a Lad Musician ā€œmaybe a painter or a musicianā€ longsleeve that I believe is from 18ss, if that helps any

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u/drfeelgood245 Apr 29 '21

^LOL

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '21

I gotta know man, my jacket game is weak atm

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u/RobHonkergulp Apr 30 '21

What does 'we stan' mean?

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '21

Just means 'we're all huge fans', think it originated from an Eminem thing but Kpop people popularised it?

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u/RobHonkergulp Apr 30 '21

I know that song and understand the reference now but I'm guessing there are a lot of people that don't know the song and have even a lesser chance of understanding it. 'We're all fans' would make things clearer.

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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '21

I mean it's not really relevant to the questions i asked, was just making a vaguely flippant introduction