“Worlds,” the debut album by American electronic producer Porter Robinson, first released in August 2014, and has since garnered a strong cult following. This album not only encompasses Robinson’s escape from the more conventional sounds of electronic dance, but creates an unforgettable landscape across its near-hour length. It serves as an emotional rollercoaster that appears robotic while sounding so human, painted by sounds of a nostalgic past that will seemingly never be recaptured.

Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, Robinson began his music career at a young age while performing as a DJ, getting opportunities to collaborate with notable electronic artists of the early 2010s such as Skrillex and Zedd, as well as getting to release his first EP, “Spitfire,” in 2011. 

Over time, Robinson became jaded and alienated due to his changing views of the EDM scene. He believed it sounded soulless. Wanting to produce more electronic music with an element of emotion, Robinson dropped the single, “Language,” in 2012 and would continue to evolve his sound going forward. 

Even if fans of Robinson are used to the constant change and evolution of his electronic style nowadays, it was rather shocking back then, as most listeners knew him just for the more conventional sounds of “Spitfire” and his DJ work. This would become most apparent when Robinson released his first single for “Worlds,” the track “Sea of Voices,” in March of 2014. This melodic and ethereal electropop track further strayed from tracks such as “Language,” and would serve as the vision for Robinson’s highly influential debut album.

The opening track “Divinity” starts the album off with a distorted, repeating vocal loop that is somewhat reminiscent of vocals you’d hear off of M83’s “Midnight City,” but much less clean and more glitchy in nature. The repeated vocal loop and heavy bass drums lead up to soft kalimba notes with vocals by Amy Millian, before a soul-grabbing drop, officially opening up the vast landscape of the album’s world.

The sheer weight behind the sounds “Worlds” paints scenes of gargantuan monuments in a far off distant future, and the sounds of artificial beings gaining sentience, recognizing the gripping emotions of the human experience. In a way, Robinson’s album visualizes the evolution of EDM music away from its stereotypes as nothing more than entertainment to be played at a midnight club, but as an avenue and medium within itself to explore ideas of nostalgia, escapism and human morality in the wake of world ending scenarios.

Further encapsulating the themes of nostalgia, Robinson takes heavy influence from the sounds of childhood movies, anime and video games that he grew up with, namely “Dance Dance Revolution” and “The Legend of Zelda” series. 

One of Robinson’s most beloved tracks “Sad Machine” paints the story of an individual who uncovers a robotic machine in a post-apocalyptic landscape, with the melodic buildup accompanied by a voice reminiscent of the music software Vocaloid. Followed up by the track “Years of War” which depicts a far gone future that was doomed by its leaders, leading to an electro pop, synth heavy breakdown.

The track “Flicker” combines elements of electronic and hip hop with its cut up samples of Japanese vocals, prominent during the heavy synths and bass drops that give the weight of the song an encapsulating, human element. The crushing synths grow even heavier, on the track “Fresh Static Snow” which is the perfect visual accompaniment to the desolate remains of a far off future, but also gives off similar vibes to “Aerodynamic” by Daft Punk, but with the aesthetic of a late 90s arcade game ported to the Nintendo 64. “Polygon Dust” feels like the blend of a more conventional pop chorus, but with the sounds that help it blend into the rest of the album.

Getting closer to the end is the track, “Fellow Feeling”, which starts with a harmonious violin lead in, but plays more with experimentation. This includes crushing breakdowns and chops between a female narration ultimately culminating in an incredible finish. The closer “Goodbye to a World” builds up one more escalating melody: the countdown to the end of an era, with a returning robotic voice to accompany the listener between two different crushing breakdowns. A synthy eight-bit tune also plays as the machines begin to fade from memory. 

For a debut album, Robinson’s “Worlds” breathes a new life into the EDM genre, symbolizing the beginning of something new. Even a full decade later, the album sounds like nothing out of the genre, fully representing a state of mind where the artist wanted to encapsulate something personal and wholly himself. As Robinson continued to evolve and elevate his distinct sounds over the years, the music of “Worlds” has never aged a day.