Porter Robinson Talks ‘Everything Goes On,’ Working In A Flow State And Advice For Young Producers

For many within the dance music space, Porter Robinson is the man who needs no introduction. The iconic Grammy nominated artist, songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist once again reminds listeners why he reigns in the dance music space with his latest release, “Everything Goes On,” created in collaboration with Riot Games and Star Guardian.

Star Guardian is Riot Games’ tribute to the magical girl, an anime genre that empowers young women, shows the importance of good friends and celebrates authentic representations of one’s self. The music video for “Everything Goes On” chronicles the story of two Star Guardians, Kai’Sa and Xayah, who each independently come to terms with their recent loss and finding the will to move on with their new comrades. “Everything Goes On” adds to the sense of melancholy and longing that the two characters have. “I think a really big motif of Star Guardian is just this idea of hope,” Robinson says. “That is something that runs through a lot of my music. I think this song is very much about hope in the face of personal sacrifice.”

According to Robinson, he believes that most of Riot Games’ past collaborations have featured epic and battle-themed music, a contrast from his sound which he describes as emotional, sensitive and heartfelt. The legendary artist finds the bridge between music and animation fascinating, so he uses “Everything Goes On” as a broader song for the animation. “It could be something that was more kind of bittersweet, emotional, kind of sad and something that takes all of the beauty, pain and sadness of life, and all those things altogether are sort of projected onto these characters.”

The big breakthrough the heavyweight artist had on the track was when he wrote the second lyric of the chorus: “Don’t look for me; I’m just a story you’ve been told.” For Robinson, he felt there was immense amounts of pain wrapped up in that line, making him fall in love with the chord immediately and enter a “flow state.”

“Whenever I’m in a real flow state with music, I sort of get these images that pop up in my head, and it’s not me thinking about what the visuals are going to be. It’s not me thinking about the music video,” he says. “[It’s] like these images just naturally pop up in a sort of synesthetic way when I’m working on music. I remember when I wrote that line, I vividly saw a sunset in my head, and that’s just when I reflect on writing this song, I remember that moment.”

Given his ability to visualize scenarios when writing, Robinson was asked if he is the type of person who thinks in words or in objects: “I speak all the languages in that sense, I guess, because I do hear a voice in my head when I think, but I also can definitely see a lot of images passively come to me.”

“When I’m in a flow state, like when I’m working on music, sitting at my computer, composing for hours and hours and hours when I’m really in the flow and when the music is coming to me naturally, I will picture random places I’ve been in my life and not even realize I’m doing it,” he says, adding that he tends to visualize roads when working.

While the acclaimed vocalist, songwriter and producer typically creates music on his own—arranging songs, producing them, singing on them and more—he worked with Brendan Williams of Riot Games on “Everything Goes On.” Despite this being a different approach for Robinson, he says it was helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off of and get feedback.

When asked for the piece of advice he would give young producers: “Try not to be overcome by cynicism. Try to remain passionate about what you’re doing instead of thinking, ‘I need to make this type of music because it’s on trend.’ You should instead try to make the exact kind of song that you’d want to hear, like a combination of your five favorite artists and figure out what that center would be,” he says. “My advice usually is to try to make your own favorite music and forget everyone else.”