Coachella Band Preview: Porter Robinson

It always makes me laugh when I type out the title of these previews when I’m previewing EDM or pop artists. When I first started previewing Coachella acts, it was in anticipation of the first Coachella I attended. There were so many bands I was stoked to see because the lineup use to contain plenty of bands I listened to. Since then, the lineup has changed and so have my music interests, slightly at least. I definitely like more electronic music now. This week brings electronic artist, Porter Robinson, who I listened to for the first time in 2020, while participating in Couchella. I watched Porter Robinson’s 2017 set with Madeon as part of my at home double weekend celebration of the Coachella that never came to be. This year Porter Robinson is back at Coachella for the first time since his 2017 set, but he’s playing solo.

Porter Robinson began his electronic music career as a pre-teen and then signed to Skrillex’s label Owsla at the ripe age of 18. He released his first EP Spitfire in 2011 under his new label, followed by his first big single “Language” in 2012. His debut album Worlds came in 2014, which called for a world tour, including festival stops at Ultra, EDC, and Coachella. In 2016, he released his most popular single to date, “Shelter,” which is a collaboration with long time friend and artist Madeon. The electronic artists toured together worldwide following the release. The tour culminated in a final performance at Coachella 2017.

In 2017, Robinson began releasing music under the alias Virtual Self, which lead to a 2019 Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording for the 2017 single “Ghost Voices.” Robinson also curated his own festival in 2019, Second Sky Festival, with the help of Coachella promoter Goldenvoice. In the beginning of 2020 Robinson began promoting his second album, Nuture, which continued through 2020 and into 2021, before the April 2021 release.

Porter Robinson’s music is a mix of electro pop, house, indie pop, and synth pop. It has such a light, airy sound. His style creates a dreamy feeling very similar to Madeon’s and also draws similarities to 2022 Coachella artist Lane 8.

Porter Robinson plays Sunday at Coachella. It’s a toss up at this point whether he plays Sahara or a bigger stage like Main Stage or Outdoor Theatre. I’d expect a late day, early evening set from the 2-time Coachella alumni. I usually love a Coachella sunset set but I feel like a Porter Robinson set right as darkness falls is the mood we need for the final night. If you’re in the mood for a fun electronic set at Coachella, here’s the Porter Robinson songs you want check out:

1. Shelter
2. Look At the Sky
3. Language
4. Something Comforting
5. Everything Goes On
6. Sad Machine
7. Goodbye to a World
8. Get Your Wish
9. Divinity
10. Flicker

Coachella Band Preview: Jai Wolf

Greetings again from Mexico! I’m back for the second leg of the events I’m a part of here. However just because I’m here doesn’t mean the Coachella preparations have ceased. April is quickly approaching and it’s time to check out another artist playing the festival this year. This week it’s electronic artist Jai Wolf.

Jai Wolf, or Sajeeb Saha, is an electronic artist from Long Island, New York. He first started making tracks in 2011, but adopted the name Jai Wolf in 2014 to create a new sound from what he had been creating. The result earned him opportunities to remix artists such as Odesza and Alesso. He also created a remix of Skrillex’s “Ease My Mind”. Jai Wolf released his debut single “Indian Summer” in 2015. He released a follow-up single “Drive” in May of 2016, shortly before his debut EP Kindred Spirits was released in November. He finally released his debut album The Cure to Loneliness last year after years of touring and dropping singles.

Jai Wolf’s style of electronic music has a very dreamy sound. It combines electronica, pop, dance and indie music. His sound draws a lot of comparison to Odesza. It makes sense that the artists have toured together. I first found out about Jai Wolf in the summer of 2017 when a girl I had a crush on introduced me to him. I’ve been a casual listener ever since. I also have seen him perform once. It was part of his Made in America set in 2018.

This won’t be Jai Wolf’s first time at Coachella. He played the festival in 2017. That was clearly before I knew of him since I definitely haven’t previewed him before. In 2017, he played the Gobi Tent in the early evening. I’d expect a similar time this year, but in a bigger location. Maybe he plays Mojave or Sahara instead. This time around I plan on catching him. He plays on Saturday. Here are some Jai Wolf jams to help you prep for Indio:

1. Indian Summer
2. Starlight
3. Moon Rider
4. Lose My Mind
5. Like It’s Over
6. Lost
7. Feels (Remix)
8. Drive
9. Telepathy
10. Better Apart

Coachella Band Preview: Zedd

In 1 month today we will be on the brink of Coachella 2019. Campers will be coming in. Hotels will be filled. That anticipation of another year of Coachella will fill the air. It will be similar to Christmas Eve with one exception: Coachella lasts 2 days longer than Christmas. I guess you can say that for any highly anticipated music festival, but trust me, Coachella is a special place in the festival world. That being said, there’s only 4 more weeks to learn the tunes of your favorite Coachella acts before they’re performed live on the Polo fields. This year I haven’t been as stoked for many of the electronic artists as I was last year. Most of the electronic acts I’m excited for this year fall on that indie electronic spectrum and are bands, not DJs. However, I decided there is one electronic DJ I’d like to see this year and that’s Zedd.

Anton Zaslavski, better known as Zedd, is an electronic DJ and producer. While growing up, he received formal training on instruments such as piano and drums and was part of a band. He got inspired to start making electronic music because of French electronic duo Justice. He first entered the EDM scene around 2010. He released two tracks on the website Beatport which included an original song and a remix of Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”. After that he began remixing songs of well-known artists such as Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and the Black Eyed Peas.

In 2012 Zedd signed with Interscope Records and released his debut album Clarity. The album included the hit singles “Spectrum” featuring Matthew Koma and “Clarity” featuring Foxes. “Clarity” has since gone on to receive Platinum status. Zedd also received a Grammy for “Clarity” for Best Dance Recording. In the following years, Zedd went on his first headlining tour and sold out venues across 5 continents worldwide. He also released several more singles like “Stay the Night” and “Find You” in addition to producing songs for the likes of Lady Gaga on her 2013 album Artpop.

Zedd’s second album True Colors was released in May 2015. In the lead up to the album release, Zedd released the single “I Want to Know You” featuring Selena Gomez and the single “Beautiful Now” featuring Jon Bellion. Zedd embarked on his second world tour in 2015. Since then, he has released singles routinely. Some of those singles include hits like “Starving” feautring Hailee Steinfeld and Grey, “Stay” with Alessia Cara, and one of 2018’s biggest hits “The Middle” featuring Maren Morris and Grey. Zedd hasn’t released an album in 4 years, making him due for one soon.

Zedd plays a house/electro house style of electronic music. He draws influence from classical, dubstep, and progressive house music as well. At this point though, Zedd’s music can even be considered pop because his hits have become pretty mainstream. In fact, there’s a bunch of electronic artists that fit that category too since electronic music has risen in popularity in recent years.

I usually write about how I became a fan of the artist I’m previewing, where I first heard them, or some sort of story about them, but honestly I’m not a huge fan of Zedd. I just know a lot of his songs because many of them are very mainstream. I will say “The Middle” became a guilty pleasure of mine last spring and “Starving” was another guilty pleasure in late 2016. It was actually one of my favorite songs to play on guitar for a while. I know Zedd’s music well enough that if I were to pick any electronic DJ to see this year, it would be him. I think his set will be fun to be at and it’s sure to have a huge draw as well.

Zedd plays Sunday at Coachella 2019. This year will mark his 4th Coachella appearance. In 2012 and 2014, Zedd played at the Sahara Tent. In 2016, Zedd was the Outdoor Stage headliner on Saturday night. If Zedd isn’t the Outdoor headliner again, he most definitely will be playing the Coachella Main Stage right before Ariana Grande. In fact, we might even get a Zedd and Ariana collab during one of their sets since they did team up on Ariana’s “Break Free” in 2014. You might already know a ton of Zedd’s music, but in case you didn’t, here’s what to listen to in preparation for his Coachella 2019 set:

1. The Middle
2. Clarity
3. Starving
4. Happy Now
5. Stay
6. I Want You to Know
7. 365
8. Lost In Japan Remix (originally by Shawn Mendes)
9. Spectrum
10. Beautiful Now