Virtual Self

American EDM figure Porter Robinson channels hyperactive, fantasy-themed electronic music through the Virtual Self persona. Late-'90s and early-2000s epic trance, together with video game soundtracks and especially the long-running Japanese dance series Dance Dance Revolution, shape the project’s core sound. Its tracks balance ecstatic energy with intricate detail, layering luminous, surging chords and pounding breakbeats beneath an enigmatic atmosphere steeped in sci-fi imagery. Virtual Self emerged publicly in 2017, three years after Robinson issued his first studio album. The project launched via the singles “EON BREAK” and “Ghost Voices,” followed by the appearance of the Virtual Self EP at the close of November. Shortly thereafter Virtual Self staged its inaugural live performance in Brooklyn, where Robinson mixed selections from his catalog with DDR material amid an elaborate lighting production.