To older fans of Porter Robinson, what do you think about Virtual Self?

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I don’t know if I’m who you want to answer the question, I got into PR through Unison, that’s before Worlds but I certainly never cared for his earlier stuff. I listened to it but found it too kitschy to keep listening to it.

But thank you for asking this question. I knew he had a new album coming out but I thought the album was going to be called Virtual Self, not that he’d literally changed his artistic name. Sigh, I wish the artistic world would figure this crap out. Do you really want to segment your fanbase like that?

So I’ve just downloaded it and I’m listening and reading the Wikipedia page. My impression is that this kind of throwback has to be really really really good in order for me to want to keep listening to it, and what I’m hearing so far, well this isn’t it. Porter’s got my five bucks, but I’d be surprised if even one of these tracks survives to earn a permanent place on my rotation. (edit: Well, color me surprised, but I really liked Key. EON BREAK isn’t terrible, but there’s just not enough there to make me want to listen to it more)

It’s not bad, it’s just not as good as it needs to be. If I wanted this kind of music all the time, I’d go back to 90s video game soundtracks and get some tracks there. Those old Japanese guys really knew how to set a mood and theme. This stuff just isn’t coherent enough to compete. What made Worlds really awesome was that the artwork and the music tied into one another to make something that sounded bigger than just an album. There’s hints of a story, and a developing mythos. This, this is just retro.

I guess I can see why he chose to release this under an alias. He wants to eventually produce the successor to Worlds but wants to dive down this rabbit hole for awhile. If this was his next release people who wanted more Worlds would be turned off.

Man, I thought of an even harsher criticism to make. If I were playing an actual video game and listening to this music, I wouldn’t hate it. But I wouldn’t remember it either. Porter’s not exactly phoning it in here, but this clearly isn’t his best work.