Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • You Oughta Know
  • Glasto 2025 - how to watch, who's on?
  • Wrecking Crew
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

Lawrence Hart
Artists Watch UK electronic artist Lawrence Hart build a track from scratch in his hardware-stuffed studio
Riva Starr
Artists “I have an original 909 – every time I use it I feel like I’m ruining it”: Riva Starr's studio essentials
lone
Computers Lone on how he creates his technicolour, rave-adjacent electronica
eats everything in his studio
Tech “Entrance Song is a massive 808 sub and a 909 kick. Those two shouldn’t work together - I’m not sure they were even in key”: Eats Everything on his ever-changing approach to production and DJing
Coldplay, Porter Robinson and Radiohead
Artists "I was like, 'Wow'": Porter Robinson only recently discovered that Coldplay used to sound a bit like Radiohead
Vaughn Oliver
Producers & Engineers “I probably have that on more records than anything else”: Take a peek inside Vaughn Oliver’s studio
Nadia Struiwigh
Artists Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
  1. Artists
  2. Djs

Me in my studio: Porter Robinson

News
By Chris Barker published 13 January 2012

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Intro

Intro

“I’m Porter Robinson. I’m nineteen years old and I’ve been a touring DJ for about a year. Before that, I spent my entire adolescence in my bedroom writing music.

"My studio was lo-fi by necessity; I was fourteen with no reliable income. I was monitoring my music using $100 Logitech speakers, and I only used software. My room was completely untreated and as a result I’m unconvinced by the 'supreme analogue hardware' mythology that is needed to achieve a good musical result.

"What's more important than having a hyper-accurate system, perfect room, and obscure soviet synths that can't stay in-fucking-tune, is knowing your system and working hard. As you'll see, my studio hasn't changed much...”

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
The studio

The studio

"This is my complete setup. It consists of a computer monitor, some software, the lowest-end M-Audio soundcard and some KRK Rokit6's.

"This setup is actually more hi-fi than what i produced my EP Spitfire on. For that record, I used my computer's onboard soundcard and those $100 logitech consumer speakers from best buy I mentioned earlier. Again: no hardware"

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Sergio Flores

Sergio Flores

"Now that I've covered everything I use, these are the next most important things in my studio, two, framed pictures.

"The first is of sergio flores, the acclaimed sexy sax man, and the other is of my dog. They're posted proudly on my mantle right above my computer monitor. They might seem superfluous but trust me, I've tried producing without them and the result is unspeakable."

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
The bed

The bed

"What kind of self-congratulatory bedroom producer would I be without a bed? It too, is understated: it's a mattress on the floor.

"i couldn't find my comforter when I took this picture, either!"

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Scented candles

Scented candles

"When I'm making sentimental trancey fluffiness, I like to have some equally saccharine aromas filling the room.

"Yes, that second one is called 'christmas cookie' and yeah it's my favourite one."

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Espesso machine

Espesso machine

"This is my espresso machine. Writing music while caffeinated produces some interesting results. The stimulation basically amplifies my music-production-dependent bi-polarity.

"When I'm writing good music and I'm caffeinated, I attribute all my success to the coffee, get really sentimental about the EDM scene and tweet a lot. When I'm caffeinated and I'm writing shit music, the world sucks and so does everyone. Don't talk to me."

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Roland JP-8000

Roland JP-8000

"Did I say I don't have any hardware? Sorry, I meant I don't use any hardware. This is my Roland JP-8000, it's good for collecting dust and making retro super-saws.

"I have never once used the JP-8000 in a recorded production. It's not necessary! A healthy collection of sample packs for drum sounds and my favorite softsynths Sytrus, Massive, Sylenth1 and 3xOSC have met my needs thus far and all on a budget suitable for a fourteen year old!"

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Chris Barker
Read more
Lawrence Hart
Watch UK electronic artist Lawrence Hart build a track from scratch in his hardware-stuffed studio
Riva Starr
“I have an original 909 – every time I use it I feel like I’m ruining it”: Riva Starr's studio essentials
lone
Lone on how he creates his technicolour, rave-adjacent electronica
eats everything in his studio
“Entrance Song is a massive 808 sub and a 909 kick. Those two shouldn’t work together - I’m not sure they were even in key”: Eats Everything on his ever-changing approach to production and DJing
Coldplay, Porter Robinson and Radiohead
"I was like, 'Wow'": Porter Robinson only recently discovered that Coldplay used to sound a bit like Radiohead
Vaughn Oliver
“I probably have that on more records than anything else”: Take a peek inside Vaughn Oliver’s studio
Latest in Djs
Nadia Struiwigh
Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
 Deadmau5 Performs At The Seaport District's Pier 17 Rooftop on September 8, 2018 in New York City
“Your passport to deep vibes and low-altitude cruising”: Deadmau5 launches his own 24/7 Youtube stream
Daft Punk
“We are the inventors of electro”: Emmanuel Macron wants French house to be added to UNESCO heritage list
The Prodigy
How a novelty sample almost derailed the career of one of the greatest electronic acts of all time
Richie Hawtin
“All my equipment kind of glowed and then shut down”: The weather event that shaped a Richie Hawtin classic
Menendez Brothers social post
Have you seen this woman? The Menendez Brothers are searching for the thief who stole their record bag from Fabric
Latest in News
Lorde
Lorde on the Frank Ocean collaborator who helped to humanise the synths on her new album, Virgin
synth one j6
"In a blind test of 100 musicians, it beat the $200 plugin 3-to-1. Not bad for a free app": AudioKit releases Synth One J6, a free Juno-inspired synth for iOS
Neil Young
BBC confirm that they won’t be showing his Glastonbury set “at the artist’s request”
Nadia Struiwigh
Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
Sam Ryder on a train
“The energy on there was unreal”: Sam Ryder performs an impromptu set for passengers on a Glastonbury-bound train
velvet sundown
"There's not a shred of evidence on the internet that this band has ever existed": This apparently AI-generated artist is racking up hundreds of thousands of Spotify streams

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...