From: Chapel Hill, US
DJ style: Electro.

Shortly before DJ Mag went to print for this Top 100 issue, Porter Robinson was touring the live show that he debuted last year, this time to audiences in middle America in a joint tour with French artist Madeon. It was taking in cities like Denver that were once written off as unconquerable by dance culture luminaries, which illustrates the power of the movement he’s helped spearhead in his country.

Beyond his collaboration with his buddy Madeon, ‘Shelter’ that accompanied their touring adventures together, it’s been an otherwise quiet year for Robinson in terms of releases. It's been a chance to breathe, perhaps, after the cyclone of inertia over the past few years that saw him release a quick succession of anthems like 'Language', which proved utterly definitive for the time and place, as well as his debut album 'Worlds' that followed.

It was a period that saw him take his place alongside the likes of Skrillex as part of a new generation of young US producers who have risen alongside the concurrent explosion of EDM culture across the country, developing a sound altogether fresher and more innovative than the imported European sounds that have dominated the main stage and its crossover radio hits.

“I see enthusiasm and inspiration as the most important currency you can have when you’re making music,” Porter said this year, prior to the release of ‘Shelter’ in cahoots with Madeon. “It’s this weird sensation of being drunk on your own confidence and excitement that leads to so many creative breakthroughs. That effect was really exaggerated when we were working together.” 

WORDS: ANGUS PATERSON