Porter Robinson was inspired to make electronic music by Dance Dance Revolution: “It really changed my life”

Everyone has a reason why they started making music, but it’s perhaps a sign of the times that, in the case of producer Porter Robinson, that reason was, at least in part, a video game.

When asked by British GQ what made him want to become a professional musician, the 28-year-old electronic tunesmith said: “The beautiful, simple answer would maybe be the first time I heard electronic music, which was from playing video games, in particular playing Dance Dance Revolution.

“When I was 12, my older brother brought home a copy of the game that was designed to be played at homes, not at an arcade. A lot of that super-happy Japanese electronic music that was in this game was the first music I ever really loved. It really changed my life.”

Quizzed about the first record that he bought, Robinson said that it was either Daft Punk’s Discovery or Vanessa Carlton’s Be Not Nobody.

The producer, who prior to this year hadn’t released any solo music since 2015 due to suffering with depression, is in the process of coming back, with a new and seemingly more introspective album, Nurture, on the way. Three tracks from it - Get Your Wish, Something Comforting and Mirror - have already been released.