Smiling for the Team: Porter Robinson’s journey through Electric Pop

Porter Robinson Soundcheck via Flickr (Creative Commons Licence)

As both professionals and fans across the music industry continue to evolve in the uncertainty of a changing world, Porter Robinson’s Smile:D serves as a masterful return to form for the popular electronic artist. Dripping in the nonchalant charisma of pop-punk and early 2000s influences, his rise from a niche artist to an unforgettable trendsetter has closely mirrored the rising desire for ‘something different’ felt amongst the masses in recent years.

Robinson’s debut on the scene was with his 2014 album Worlds, which cemented his metamorphosis from an electronic dance artist to a uniquely emotional and contemplative pop star. Later releasing the 2017 EP Virtual Self under an eponymous alias, his mixture of trance and eurodance genres alongside nostalgic visual elements further reinforced his unique niche as an artist. Combining familiar aspects of anime, film and 1990s technology, he has continued to tow the line between thoughtful storytelling and an innovative electronic style.

Later releasing his second studio album Nurture several years after the initial commercial success of Worlds, Robinson’s struggles with mental illness and writers block culminated to shape a record that signified a personal shift. Choosing to do away with the older electronic attitude of his previous works, Nurture instead captivated a now older audience, with its emphasis on dreamy acoustics and personal lyrics weaving the story of Robinson’s life and growing pains.

In particular, the tracks 'Get Your Wish' and 'Mirror' serve as strong examples of Robinson’s personal and professional transformation. His musicality shifts from an electronic dance to a much more personal edge, being achieved through less synthesised vocals and sound production. With these changes, Robinson shifts away from the professional expectations placed on him by his peers at the start of his career, in order to reinforce the album’s themes of escapism, careful contemplation and the shattering of the social image.

For many of his loyal fans, this journey of self-discovery and a personal connection with life and the natural world is one shared experience. Many critical audiences feel a reinvigorated motivation to simply exist in the world, surpassing their personal difficulties through the album’s simple appreciation for a slower lifestyle. In contrast, Robinson’s recent 2024 album Smile:D is a vastly different body of work, serving as a more confident and self-aware return to form, thus demonstrating the birth of a new, more purposeful social identity after his struggles to establish himself as shown through Worlds and Nurture.

In many ways, Robinson's newest album represents a playful and fun-loving approach to engaging with the difficulties surrounding mental health, celebrity stardom and the idea of reputation in the modern world. He does this with a sense of personal autonomy and open honesty sorely missing in the majority of contemporary pop artists today.

With his recent work continuing to become increasingly popular amongst mainstream audiences, this has sparked a world tour, as well as multiple successful promotion campaigns across the American consumer market and beyond. His daring sense of style shown across the tracks 'Russian Roulette', 'Cheerleader' and 'KNOCK YOURSELF OUT XD' continue to invite audiences to relate, engage, immerse themselves whilst finding themselves along the way.

As his career continues to reach record highs under the steadfast support of the residents of the internet, I suspect we shall see Porter Robinson’s meteoric success continue to grow for many more years.

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Edited by Julia Curry - Music Editor