Chet Porter Talks Electronic Music, Porter Robinson and New Debut Original [TMN Exclusive Interview]

Canadian producer Chet Porter just released his first ever original track titled “Awakening”, and it’s as amazing as it gets. Its one-of-a-kind song structure is definitely something we rarely come across, and the ears pleasing sound almost resembles a hybrid between Porter Robinson and Tennyson. We had a chance to chat with the talented producer and talked about the inspirations behind this track and his musical influences. Check out the exclusive interview below, and give “Awakening” a listen after the jump.

TMN: First of all, congrats on releasing your first original single on Big Beat! We’ve been following your music for quite some time, and we gotta say this record truly showcases your unique sound as a producer. Can you tell us a little bit about how you started making music, and where that passion came about?

CP: Thank you! I started making music in high school, I played guitar in a band and on the side I’d just mess around on my laptop. Once everyone in the band sort of went their separate ways I still wanted to make music, so I just started digging and teaching myself more about how to create on my own.

TMN: For “Awakening”, the story-telling style of the song is very refreshing and it really caught our attention. Can you tell us the inspirations behind “Awakening” and why you chose this particular approach?

CP: “Awakening” was like the first song I wrote as Chet Porter, it’s sort of weird that it came out so much later than all of these other songs that were written after it haha. My approach to it sort of came from frustration and exhaustion: I was tired of writing these like basic house songs with a simple structure and not much character in them, so like unintentionally came up with the idea to write something more interesting than just a song, even though it actually is just a song. I got to pour a lot of ideas into it that I felt like I wasn’t letting myself do before, and now I think about song writing from a totally different point of view.

TMN: To expand on that, electronic dance music is taking over the world as we speak. Now there’s a lot of controversy around music that sounds too “commercial” or “EDM”, what’s your take on this trend?

CP: I don’t think commercial EDM is necessarily a bad thing, not really for me though. But what I’m not really a fan of is how these trends start and then everybody tried to follow them sort of thing. I think everybody’s guilty of it to an extent, and sometimes it’s even unintentional, but overall if you’re being honest and making something you want to make then who cares.

TMN: Well said. We noticed that you humorously put “not Chet Faker and Porter Robinson’s side project” as your profile description for your social media, but does Porter Robinson’s music relate to you as well? Who are some of your musical influences?

CP: Haha I figured I would make the joke before everybody else did. Porter Robinson is definitely a huge influence on me, I think that shines through a lot at times, as for others I could literally list hundreds haha. There’s so many artists to love out there, friends too even. Here are some people I think are very inspiring: Grynpyret, Louis The Child, Manila Killa, Jai Wolf, Ryan Hemsworth, Hotel Garuda, RAC, Y2K, Cosmo’s Midnight, Nick Leng, Melvv, Kero Kero Bonito, etc.

TMN: Now let’s shift gears and talk about live performances. You have an upcoming show in Brooklyn alongside Manila Killa and AOBeats. How do you like DJing? You mentioned you were a guitarist before. Do you like performing or producing better?

CP: DJing is fun! I’m one of those kids who was a producer first and then had to learn after because I started getting show inquiries, so I’m not the best. I do a lot of planning ahead of time. I definitely like performing better, it’s how I started and I eventually want to turn my sets into more of a live performance as well. Hopefully that’s something I can do down the road.

TMN: Wow it would be awesome to see you incorporating live elements to your shows! Our last question is, what’s next for Chet Porter? Are we going to expect a tour coming anytime soon?

CP: I have a remix dropping in a pretty cool package in January I think, and aiming to release another original in February. As for tours, maybe in Feb/March! We’re talking about things. The whole visa thing has been a speed bump but hopefully we’ll be able to figure that stuff out in the near future.

’Chet Porter – Awakening’

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