Only 21 years of age, and this guy is taking the dance music world by storm! Read on… and get inspired.
While some people take a lifetime to achieve their dreams, 21-year-old Porter Robinson is already rocking mainstages at the largest electronic music festivals! Less than a year ago, he had only a fraction of the fame and fan following he has today.
It all began when his fascination for Dance Dance Revolution (yeah, the arcade game!) led him to search the web for ‘DJ software’ and the 13-year-old Porter began playing around with basic production, never realizing making music could be a full-time job for anyone. The electronic music score in DDR got him inclined towards this genre and he actually went and bought the soundtrack on CD. At that time, everyone around him shrugged it off as some weird hobby he had.
Porter hails from Chapel Hill in North Carolina and was only 17 when he started creating his first tracks. At that time, he had never seen a DJ nor set foot in a club. The only exposure he had was the few DJ sets he had downloaded off the internet.
It’s quite ironic that Porter didn’t attend college but played with the superstar Tiesto during his ‘College Invasion Tour’. When he finished high school, he tried getting into the same college as his parents – University of North Carolina, and even received the acceptance letter. But as they say, life is all about timing – and it was at that time that his single ‘Say My Name’ went on to become the #1 track on Beatport. Although his dad was conservative, he encouraged Porter to grab the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Although Porter’s debut single ‘Say My Name’ topped the iTunes and Beatport charts, his favorite track that he’s ever worked on is the world-dominating ‘Language’ (it’s our favorite too!). The delicate and beautiful track tugs at your heartstrings with its plucky trance breakdowns and melodic climax accompanied by the ethereal vocals of Heather Bright.
The buck did not stop there. The young prodigy was also part of this year’s line-up of Coachella and Lollapalooza. Porter Robinson’s talent far outweighs his age.
Although Porter has been listening to electronic music all his life, he really digs the artists that fall under the ‘soul beat’ category of hip-hop such as Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco and Childish Gambino.
Porter also happens to be a big fan of Mat Zo. (It’s actually quite amazing how these young guns take inspiration from one another!) After the release of ‘Rebound’, Porter tweeted to Mat Zo, expressing his love for the track, and that’s where it took off. At that time, Mat was working on ‘Easy’ and Porter requested if he could remix it, which is when Mat asked if he wanted to work on it as a collaboration (and that was indeed what Porter wished to do).
Fun facts about Porter:
1. His childhood nickname was ‘Porter Potty’.
2. He adores animals and is more of a dog-person.
3. Porter used to be a vegetarian but has now started eating meat again, and is obsessed with bacon. Like Zedd.
4. He prefers to splurge on clothes, food and his shows rather than cars.
5. The calm and collected Porter is always well-dressed.
6. Sebastian Ingrosso was inspired by the video of Porter Robinson’s Language for his own single Reload.
7. Porter began producing music at the age of 13 using Sony ACID Pro.
8. Porter’s high school made a film documenting a day of his life.
9. His smash debut ‘Say My Name’ grabbed the #1 position on Beatport even before he stepped foot in a club.
10. The first time Porter went to a dance music concert was when he was performing!
11. The young US producer also made a cameo appearance in an Apple commercial that was released earlier this year. At 0:33 you can see him jumping alongside a Macbook.
