music / Electronic
Hear Porter Robinson's first song in six years, "Get Your Wish"
His sophomore album Nurture is coming later this year.
By Salvatore Maicki
Porter Robinson is finally back. Today, the enigmatic producer returned with "Get Your Wish," a skittish glimmer of a track that climbs its way up to total euphoria. It's the first offering from Robinson's forthcoming album Nurture, which he teased on Twitter yesterday. The project will mark his first full-length solo album in six years.
It's not as though Robinson has been completely off the radar in that interim — back in 2018, he spoke with us about his Virtual Self project. But in a new statement, he outlines a creative block that impeded the years following the release of his 2014 breakout LP Worlds. "For the first time in my life, I was struggling to make anything at all. I was desperate to make something I was proud of, but the more I struggled, the worse the problem became."
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"Get Your Wish" marks the end of that struggle. "I realized I shouldn't write music with the expectation that productivity or achievement will fix my problems, but instead with the hope that my honest expression will move people the way music moves me," he writes. The gorgeous Chris Muir-directed video visualizes that moment by having Robinson walk on water as fireworks explode in the background.
Watch the clip for "Get Your Wish," and read Robinson's full personal statement behind the track, below. Nurture is due out later this year via Mom + Pop.
"'Get Your Wish' is about finding a reason to keep moving forward, even if it's not for your own sake. I was doing really badly in 2015, 2016 and 2017. My entire life revolved around making music, but for the first time in my life, I was struggling to make anything at all. I was desperate to make something I was proud of, but the more I struggled, the worse the problem became. I was very seriously depressed and genuinely thought my life as I knew it was over.
It was about three years of trying to write music, failing, and being crushed by it every single day. There were times when I wondered if it was pointless for me to keep trying. I didn't even know what I was hoping for. If I had come this far and I was still dissatisfied and unhappy, then it was impossible not to ask, 'Even if I do finish new music, what am I hoping is gonna happen? What is it I want that I don't currently have? Am I gonna be happy then? Why am I not happy now?"'
I felt like I had no options - because while the prospect of struggling indefinitely was terrifying, the thought of quitting music was much worse. For a very long time, I didn't know what the answer was. I knew that no level of achievement was going to make me happy, but I still felt a life-definingly strong urge to keep doing creative work. But gradually, I came to realize what the point is for me.
You know how every once in a while, when you're driving or something, the music you're listening to just moves you in this amazing, transcendent way? It's this sublime experience that can't really be described, but for me it's like this: I feel like the world is beautiful and filled with possibility, and that I want to cherish every second that I have to be alive. That description doesn't quite capture it, but it's as close as I can get.
I have this experience every once in a while when I'm listening to my favorite artists. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude that they do what they do. I think being able to give people that experience through sincere songwriting is what makes it worthwhile.
I realized I shouldn't write music with the expectation that productivity or achievement will fix my problems, but instead with the hope that my honest expression will move people the way music moves me. So when I was really struggling to write and it seemed impossible, instead of thinking, "You're struggling because you're a fraud, you're clearly not cut out for this," I began to tell myself, 'yeah, this is what you sacrifice.' 'Get Your Wish' is about that breakthrough, which was one of many that helped me through those years. Making music started to make me happy again."
Electronic, Porter Robinson