How Porter Robinson Created His Own World Separate From The EDM Scene

If you haven't heard of Porter Robinson, that's probably a good thing. I'll tell you why: the reality is Porter Robinson has been a big-name electronic music producer and DJ for several years (see "Language" and "Unison"). He's performed at big festivals and mega clubs and hangs in the circles of now popular artists Zedd and Skrillex.

So, how is Porter Robinson supposed to launch his newest album Worlds without being sucked into the polarizing EDM bubble criticized for commercializing the scene and diluting the music? He creates his own world. And, his world has brilliant marketers. 

To avoid being associated with the garbage in mainstream EDM, you basically have to avoid it all. Robinson skipped this summer's festival season and is, instead, headlining his own North America tour. Rather than having Billboard or Dancing Astronaut leak his album, he had a 'First Listen' on NPR music. And of all places to attract a new niche audience, he had an interview with vogue.com. It's not to say his team isn't doing any mass marketing, such as Youtube pre-roll ads and companion banners, they've just chosen to be strategic with its targeting.

Of everything I've seen for the promotion of Worlds, I was most impressed by Robinson's choice to livestream his entire album and himself answering fans questions on Twitch.tv, a platform typically used by videogamers. Robinson sources video games as a big inspiration for his album: "For the Twitch stream, I'm going to wander around a few of my favorite virtual environments while streaming the record. I'm hoping it'll give people a sense of what inspired the album."

Additionally, his own site porterrobinson.com is smartly designed to keep users engaged with large video player and running playlist of music videos and his social streams.  

While Robinson tells Vogue that his "new music isn’t a reaction or an intentional subversion of EDM,” you can't deny that he's paving his own path away from the bubble. At 22 years-old, Robinson's approach to his album, attention to the details and restraint in selling out sets him apart as an artist. Especially when many artists today choose antics and gimmicks for stardom (Miley Cyrus?). I admire his hard work and hopefully can experience how Worlds comes to life on his tour.

These TomorrowWorld Pics Cost Me $25

1 disposable camera ($12) + developing the disposable camera ($13) = 20 discernible photos (priceless)

There's something so satisfying about disposable cameras. That click! sound after you take a photo and the winding of the film until its taut. The need to ration your 27-shot camera across the course of 3 days, limiting you to roughly a photo an hour. But nothing beats the anticipation of receiving your photos weeks later in those paper envelopes, only to find out a third of your photos are just all-black because you didn't understand or forgot how to use the manual flash. Nostalgia is what the soft grainy quality of my glossy 4x6 photos feels like, and the imperfections of my TomorrowWorld photos is something no Instagram filter can replicate.

My Full Recap of TomorrowWorld 2013 [PHOTOS]

My final moment on the Chattahoochee Hills grounds in Atlanta, Georgia perfectly sums up my four-day TomorrowWorld festival experience: It was early the morning after, the sun not yet out in full view and the grass and car windshields still moist with dew drops. Our bus driver starts driving the coach to the airport nestled with quiet, half-asleep, worn out festival goers, first backing out of the dirt parking lot. Sitting in the front seat next to Sean, I could still see the festival grounds--the large inflatable rainbow entrance, the cotton candy colored carnival tent and staggered white cone shapes sitting peacefully on the lush rolling hills against a purple-tinted sky. My eyes took one last mental picture of the majestic view when my ears heard the soft sounds:

If I should stay, 

I would only be in your way. 

So I'll go, but I know 

I'll think of you every step of the way. 

And I will always love you. 

I will always love you... 

Wait, is that Whitney Houston I'm hearing? It is Whitney Houston. The entire bus breaks out chuckling over how fitting the lyrics are as we say one last good bye to one of the most unique experiences we'll encounter in our lives. Plus, after four days of womp womp, utz utz and electronic sounds, the soothing R&B tune of the late and great Whitney Houston was a stark contrast but a welcomed treat to our ears. And, this moment on the bus was the cherry on top of the most magnificent festival 140,000 revelers and I shared. Each and every detail, song, laser, smile, sun ray felt purposefully perfect and I thank the planners of TomorrowWorld for pulling out all the stops to deliver on the first TomorrowWorld festival.

TomorrowWorld has restored some hope in me that the American electronic dance music scene is not doomed. Reflecting back on my Electric Zoo post, I realize I was being a bit dramatic and was generalizing an entire scene on just the tristate area crowd. TomorrowWorld, thankfully, did not report any deaths or major concerns. And in all honesty, none of the annoying nastiness I felt at EZOO was at TomorrowWorld but the fratty-ness still remained. I mean it's Americuh.

Sean and I arriving at DreamVille on our first day

Our easy tent camp grounds, we lived in Madrid!

TomorrowWorld ca$h money (each token was about $2, cheapest beer cost 3 tokens)

As for music, I wasn't dissatisfied by the variety but was a bit disappointed in how many DJs played the same six songs: Animals, Booyah, Boneless, If I Lose Myself, Reload, Tsunami. No joke, I could check off this list for every set but I still went nuts every time. I guess the joke is on me. My favorite sets were Tiësto (redeemed himself from EZOO), Dillon Francis, Gregori Klosman, Kill Paris, Fehrplay and The Chainsmokers. My least favorite or most "meh" set was Hardwell.

Main Stage

 Trap Stage or what I called the Buddha Stage

Kitsuné stage

 The Gathering, Fool's Gold and Mad Decent Stage

 OWSLA Stage

Smash the House vs. Dirty Dutch Stage

Sean and I ate most of our meals on the festival grounds and at the DreamVille marketplace since we weren't able to pack a ton of food in our luggage. My favorite was the fried chicken and ribs dinner plates which came with slaw and baked beans or a biscuit. Breakfast was usually at the Australian bakery for meat pies, breakfast pies or Ned Kelly pie (seen in pic).

One of my favorite parts of the festival was the Breckenridge Brewery Craft Beer stand that sold four types of craft beer, one which was a Belgian brew specific for TomorrowWorld.

The International crowd made for a fun atmosphere. I met people from Germany, Japan and Mexico and less foreign places like Chicago, North Carolina, Alaska and Ohio. One thing I noticed and confirmed is that electronic music festivals in America skew heavily male. Based on the bathroom lines, I want to say it was 70/30 male to female ratio, which I also felt was the case at EZOO. I'm not complaining, but where my ladies at?!

My absolutely favorite part and the part I will miss the most is the scenery. Chattahoochee Hills is breathtakingly gorgeous from dusk till dawn. The lakes, trees, hills and sky enhanced the fantasy feel of the otherwise cheesy Disneyland-esque sets.

And last but not least, it's not an electronic music festival with out ELECTRICITY AND LASERS! So many lasers and fireworks. 

Sean and I bought our tickets back in April when they first went on sale because we always wanted to go to TomorrowLand in Belgium but it was just too expensive. After we bought our tickets, I had this terrible feeling and low expectations that TomorrowWorld wasn't going to live up to the hype. Now that it's over, I can say that it did, and I think it did it in a way that was uniquely American in the best sense possible. While you can't ignore the bro-iness of the American "EDM" scene, I think foreigners quite enjoyed playing flip cup and everyone was free of judgement to enjoy the festival however they liked--raging up front or chilling back on the hill. 

In the words of whatever mythical TomorrowWorld wise man: "Yesterday is history. Today is a gift. Tomorrow is mystery." Oooooo, I love mystery. Can't wait to see what next year has in store.

My Rant on the Electric Zoo Cancellation, 2 Deaths and the Use of MDMA

I woke up this morning in bed to discover through my Facebook newsfeed that the third day of Electric Zoo Music Festival has been cancelled due to two drug-related deaths, the dead were ages 20 and 24. Sadly, for the two the last part of "eat sleep rave repeat" won't be happening again.

Exactly a year ago after Electric Zoo 2012, I asked myself: Is there a way to save America's EDM culture? I got my answer today, and that is "no."

I tried really hard this year to embrace what positive vibes I could get from my fellow Animals--the stranger on the bus that offered me purple glitter, the old couple getting down to Dog Blood, the influx of Canadians that looked like maple leaf presents, the boy in a wifebeater and bandana randomly picking up bottles and cups telling the crowd to "keep it clean", the Long Island college kid in head-to-toe day glow telling us how he wanted to sneak in a slip n slide on the subway--these were the moments I desperately tried to remember to remind myself the festival wasn't all lost.

But my vibe has been officially been killed. For the first time in the three years I have attended Electric Zoo, drug use has consumed the experience. I was approached several times by strangers asking "Do you have M?" or "Do you have Molly?". I'd answer no and these individuals would stumble to the next person asking the same question. I witnessed a security guard pounce on a suspected dealer who looked like every other bro in a jersey tank with kandi bracelets and pinned the boy to the ground while he waited for backup. MADE Event officials interrupted two sets around 3pm yesterday, while I was at Dyro and Oliver, warning the crowd that if people do not drink water or take care of themselves and each other, the event would be cancelled. This is the bullshit I want nothing of. I don't do drugs. I don't need drugs, and I'm starting to think people like me who get excited over the music and revel in the dancing don't have a place at festivals.

Death in any circumstance is death. It is unfortunate that such sad news has to be made an example of, and I'm disappointed to see dance music grow and evolve in such a negative direction in the US.

This will be the first time I'm uncertain if I will return to EZOO next year.

Going to #Sensation Saturday? Here's a Few Things to Know Before Heading to Barclays Tonight

For Saturday Sensation goers, here's a few things to know:

• There's a capacity on the floor, so if you want to be on the floor for the opening, which you do, arrive early or on time and head straight down to the bottom.
• There ARE bathrooms on the floor. The line may look insane but moves quicker than you'd expect. You want to wait in the left side because that is the "in" entrance while the other is for people to come out.
• There are NO bars on the floor but occasionally a man with a chest of beer will be walking around 
• Bring cash because the beer boys and bars in the deluxe/VIP sections near the floor don't take credit cards   
• Drinks are expensive (duh.):
• Bud Light Platinums is $10
• Red Bull Vodka is $18
• Food stands are open the entire time. You know you'll get hungry from all that dancing.
• The show and sound from the seats is actually pretty awesome. If you need to take a break from the floor its worth sitting up on the seats because the show looks entirely different from up there. 

Dressing up is also half the fun so make sure you look nice in white!

When Bad Commercials Happen to Good Songs

An unfortunate thing happened today, Kia Motors managed to ruin a once favorite song of mine "In My Mind" by Ivan Gough and Feenixpawl featuring Georgi Kay and mixed by Swedish House Mafia member Axwell. I watched in pain as a Marie Antoinette look-a-like slaughtered the song, only to allow urban-dressed hamsters to breakdance through the carnage. Alright fine, the dancing hamsters worked for LMFAO's "Party Rock", but I'm sorry Kia, this loose interpretation of electronic dance culture in an 18th century opera house makes no sense to me and I find the hamsters fashion choices offensive.

Not to mention, did the ad agency just use this Cosmic Opera teaser as their creative brief? Seriously, the song "In My Mind" was used to promote Axwell as the headliner of the theatrical EDM show at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. I took photos from the event here. 

I don't think the general public agrees with my sentiment about the commercial, as the spot received 9x more likes than dislikes, but this doesn't change my deep disappointment. A mistake a lot of brands make is centering a campaign around a single song--often a song that has little relevance to the brand or product--and forcing it into every campaign execution. What happens is the campaign becomes less about the brand and product and relies heavily on the popularity of the track.

For example, this "In My Mind" user-generated music video contest doesn't make me think about the Kia car featured in the spot but instead wonder if Katy Perry was in charge of the design:

In my mind, maybe I'm just bitter that corporate brands are taking decent music tracks at will and plugging them into mindless, meaningless, terrible ads (I'm talking about you Buick!). However, Kia isn't the only brand to recently make a song the focal point of its commercial. I also can't stand those Internet Explorer commercials using Alex Clare's "Too Close" and Samsung Galaxy Note's "Moves Like Jagger" to emphasize that really important looking pie graph.

I'm not trying to blame Apple for this music trend, but I am going to. Apple was able to highlight product aesthetics and functionality with music in a way that complement both visual and sound where the music wasn't detracting from the product but helped to make the commercial memorable. Now somehow, brands have taken that to mean crowd surfing hamsters.

Why I Love and Hate What the EDM Scene Has Become

This Labor Day weekend, I attended Electric Zoo, New York's electronic music festival on Randall's Island. Last year was my first year, and I went to see Tiësto, Rusko, Benny Benassi, Gareth Emery, MSTRKRFT and Felguk. Needless to say, after that, I couldn't wait for this year's Electric Zoo.

Electric Zoo 2011

This year, I bought Saturday and Sunday tickets along with a Sunday after party to see my DJ crushes Knife Party, Bingo Players, Rusko (again!), Tiësto (again again!), Hardwell, Porter Robinson and Dada Life. My love for electronic dance music began four years ago when I studied abroad in London and had my first taste of jungle and dubstep in the Brick Lane warehouse clubs and saw Justice at superclub matter at the O2 arena--I even titled one of my London Facebook albums "I'll admit it, I love house, electro and techno."

Justice at matter London, Oct 2008

In four short years, the love for EDM has hit mainstream America and as much as I'm thankful for the festivals and big names playing in the states--not all of the American EDM scene makes me jump with joy. NY Mag touched upon it early this year, calling the American EDM scene 'brostep' and how frat boy nature has sucked the soul out of the music.

It's true. While the DJs delivered mindblowing performances at Electric Zoo this year, the seemingly younger crowd (they look 17) in their highlighter "Party with Sluts" t-shirts, "Faded" hats and pacifiers slightly tarnished the festival experience for me. I have no issues with the rave scene that stands for 'Peace, Unity, Love and Respect', but good vibes were spoiled when a fight broke out during Tiësto, couples screaming at each other and messed up girls being carried out by medics. I start to worry that this is where EDM in America is headed--a scene that has the intelligence level and consideration of the Jersey Shore cast. Hopefully festival goers will remember why they bought tickets in the first place, which is for the music and not about how many studs or jewels you can fit on a bra.

Is there a way to save America's EDM culture? I don't know, maybe parents should know if their 14 year-old daughter is dressed like a hooker, has a beer gut, is doing drugs and wears a cap with the label "slut"? While I'm reminded about things that are wrong in the world, there is still so much that is right and positive about electronic dance music and its power to move and unite people. There's nothing like a jam-packed stage or tent of people just enjoying, dancing and loving every second of a DJ set. The energy, the sound and lights at Electric Zoo remind me why I fell in love with this genre of music in the first place.

Here are some pictures from this weekend:

Artists top to bottom: Dash Berlin, Bingo Players, DallasK, Bingo Players, Sander Van Doorn, Dada Life, Wolfgang Gartner, Adventure Club, Krewella, Knife Party, Tiësto, Skrillex, Porter Robinson + Zedd, Hardwell