Porter Robinson has taken a complete twist with his producing with his latest tracks, shifting his style from electro bangers to atmospheric, midtempo dub or lovestep. His new album, “Worlds,” will be officially released through Astralwerks on August 12. He dropped a few of his unreleased tunes last week on his BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, and now these hit singles like “Sad Machine,” “Lion Hearted,” and “Sea of Voices” can be listened to on his Soundcloud. Although many are supportive of Porter Robinson‘s ambitious new style, there will always be those listeners who fear the change of one of their favorite producers. Those people will be especially happy with these new “Worlds” remixes that Porter has just released.
“Sad Machine” is Porter Robinson's vocal debut and a clear example of the new direction he is taking. For this song, he got Anamanaguchi for the remix. This Chiptune rock band from NYC took this mellow song for a more upbeat and funky twist. Their signature use of video game hardware is evident in this track. Surprisingly, this pop video game style meshes perfectly with Robinson's new indie tune.
“Lion Hearted” featured Urban Cone, the Swedish Indie Pop Band, proving once again, that Robinson is preferring a more live approach to producing his music. Using his own vocals “Sad Machine” and now recruiting Urban Cone for this track. The remix by Russian Progressive House/Trance DJ Arty, gives former Porter Robinson fans what they have been missing: that trancey build up and the anticipated electro drop. Although Robinson is not currently producing songs that have this level of electro excitement to them, he proves that he can create tracks that can be perfectly remixed, when paired with a proper DJ like Arty.
The “Sea of Voices” remix is my favorite of the set. The original is a beautiful song, when you listen to it, you can picture a sun rising, lovers running towards each other through a vast meadow, or a long battle finally being won. This ambient and mellow song is epic, in the true sense of the word. You can appreciate Porter Robinson for showing us his diversity. However, the only dancing you can really imagine happening to this song is people holding each other, swaying back and forth, holding their lighters (or nowadays, cell phones) up in the air. And, let's be honest, we all want to dance more. So, thankfully there is the RAC remix. RAC is infamous for truly recreating songs, while sticking to the original vibe of the track. Their incarnation of “Sea of Voices” adds a nice little pop-like beat and hypnotizing indie vocals, and also gives us something we can move to.
I fully support the new direction Porter Robinson is going towards. Not only is he proving to us that he is a skilled musician and can create more than one type of music, but he is also showing us how utterly confident he is. It's not an easy thing, completely changing your style in the midst of your career. But, I believe this risk is worth taking, it only makes me respect him more. Plus, offering these perfect remixes to his fans shows that his taste and love for upbeat music is still existent.
So go ahead, and give these tracks, and their originals a listen. Don't be afraid of change! It's really the only constant in our lives.
