Intro
“I’m Porter Robinson. I’m nineteen years old and I’ve been a touring DJ for about a year. Before that, I spent my entire adolescence in my bedroom writing music.
"My studio was lo-fi by necessity; I was fourteen with no reliable income. I was monitoring my music using $100 Logitech speakers, and I only used software. My room was completely untreated and as a result I’m unconvinced by the 'supreme analogue hardware' mythology that is needed to achieve a good musical result.
"What's more important than having a hyper-accurate system, perfect room, and obscure soviet synths that can't stay in-fucking-tune, is knowing your system and working hard. As you'll see, my studio hasn't changed much...”
The studio
"This is my complete setup. It consists of a computer monitor, some software, the lowest-end M-Audio soundcard and some KRK Rokit6's.
"This setup is actually more hi-fi than what i produced my EP Spitfire on. For that record, I used my computer's onboard soundcard and those $100 logitech consumer speakers from best buy I mentioned earlier. Again: no hardware"
Sergio Flores
"Now that I've covered everything I use, these are the next most important things in my studio, two, framed pictures.
"The first is of sergio flores, the acclaimed sexy sax man, and the other is of my dog. They're posted proudly on my mantle right above my computer monitor. They might seem superfluous but trust me, I've tried producing without them and the result is unspeakable."
The bed
"What kind of self-congratulatory bedroom producer would I be without a bed? It too, is understated: it's a mattress on the floor.
"i couldn't find my comforter when I took this picture, either!"
Scented candles
"When I'm making sentimental trancey fluffiness, I like to have some equally saccharine aromas filling the room.
"Yes, that second one is called 'christmas cookie' and yeah it's my favourite one."
Espesso machine
"This is my espresso machine. Writing music while caffeinated produces some interesting results. The stimulation basically amplifies my music-production-dependent bi-polarity.
"When I'm writing good music and I'm caffeinated, I attribute all my success to the coffee, get really sentimental about the EDM scene and tweet a lot. When I'm caffeinated and I'm writing shit music, the world sucks and so does everyone. Don't talk to me."
Roland JP-8000
"Did I say I don't have any hardware? Sorry, I meant I don't use any hardware. This is my Roland JP-8000, it's good for collecting dust and making retro super-saws.
"I have never once used the JP-8000 in a recorded production. It's not necessary! A healthy collection of sample packs for drum sounds and my favorite softsynths Sytrus, Massive, Sylenth1 and 3xOSC have met my needs thus far and all on a budget suitable for a fourteen year old!"
“Michael Stipe said it was his favourite dance album – he used to put it on and then write his lyrics for REM to it”: Rave icons Utah Saints on their legacy, sampling Kate Bush, and the challenges of making their debut album
“They're French. I would say it's a kind of techno prog band”: Elvis Costello reckons that the Brooklyn warehouse gig he saw Justice play was “one of the great shows I've ever been to”
“Michael Stipe said it was his favourite dance album – he used to put it on and then write his lyrics for REM to it”: Rave icons Utah Saints on their legacy, sampling Kate Bush, and the challenges of making their debut album
“They're French. I would say it's a kind of techno prog band”: Elvis Costello reckons that the Brooklyn warehouse gig he saw Justice play was “one of the great shows I've ever been to”
