Porter Robinson and Madeon are arguably two of dance music’s most innovative artists. In their adolescent days, they met each other through online forums for aspiring musicians and years later, they have blossomed their friendship into an incredible bond that they share both onstage and off. With the recent success of their Shelter tour, the duo spoke with inthemix about collaborating together through the years, how they feel about the current state of dance music, and more.
So when you were working on your own albums, were you sending each other music to listen to for feedback?
Madeon: Absolutely. That was a huge part of making those albums, I think. Porter sent me some demos very early on that he had for his album. He already had such clear vision and I tried to provide as much encouragement and excitement as I could, because I was really sold on what he was trying to achieve. When I was making my album, I also got some very relevant and helpful feedback. Porter identified things that were good before I did and it was something that I really relied on.
Porter Robinson: Yeah and likewise. I think if either of us tend to go astray or lose sight of what’s making our music great, we have a tendency to bring out the best in each other. That always happens. It’s so easy when you’re writing music to lose sight of what makes something great, having that respected and external point of view we have in each other is really valuable.
Does electronic music still excite you as much as it did back in the production forum days?
Porter: Hugo you want to go first? I don’t know if our answers to this would be the same.
Madeon: I don’t think they will. Dance music has a format, and it’s not something that’s very exciting to me personally anymore. I don’t think it ever truly was, but electronic music and electronic production is still exciting. What I care most about lately is songs and pop music, ultimately, so the format of DJ music is not something that I’m very attached to anymore.
But I feel optimistic about the future because I’ve seen this pattern before and I think right when things grow still, a lot of producers are inspired to do something new and do something awesome. I think that part of what will be important in the future is for producers to have a certain level of care when it comes to new ideas and new sounds to try to be as unique as possible with they’re in the studio. I think sometimes people have a tendency to take advantage of what they see is the next big sound, which often times is damaging.
Madeon: What you made me realise Porter, with the way you described the cyclical nature of new ideas in the next music, is that I think I care the least about dance music when it’s at this almost stagnant point. As soon as new ideas emerge then I’m all back in and I’m all fascinated again. I’m looking forward to that too. I’m always going to love dance music in some capacity, but I do find the most level excitement in novelty, and I do find the most amount of novelty in genres that are slightly isolated from stylistic norms of dance music.
Porter Robinson: I think right now, electronic music had a period where what was exciting about the underground really resonated with the mainstream. There’s kind of an identity crisis going on right now where there’s this conflation. That’s all I’m saying. I’m excited to do the next things that I’m going to do. I still have faith in electronic music as a whole. There’s a lot left to be said in this format.
So are new albums in the works for both of you at the moment?
Madeon: Yeah.
Porter Robinson: I can’t really confirm a new album for me necessarily. I just know that I’m working on a lot of music and I don’t know how it’s going to be presented or what form it’s going to take, but that’s where I’m at. I’m not making an album at this minute, or anything like that.
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