Virtual Self

Virtual Self is the only extended play (EP) by Virtual Self, a side project by the American electronic music producer Porter Robinson. It was self-released on November 29, 2017. After releasing his debut studio album Worlds (2014), a deviation from his earlier, aggressive sound, Robinson struggled to create a follow-up; he underwent a period of writer's block that was intensified by depression. He then started planning the Virtual Self alias, using electronic music and Internet webpages from the early 2000s as his main sources of inspiration. Virtual Self is a trance and neotrance EP on which Robinson tried to recreate sounds from the early 2000s while incorporating modern song structures. The EP contains mid-tempo songs—represented by the character Pathselector—and faster ones—represented by the character Technic-Angel. The Virtual Self alias presents cryptic messages and a mysterious atmosphere for its visuals. Two singles were released ahead of the EP: "Eon Break" and "Ghost Voices"; the latter was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019. Robinson toured as Virtual Self in support of the EP beginning in December 2017, and later in 2018 during his Utopia System tour. The EP sold a thousand copies in its first week of release in the United States and charted on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Album Sales and Heatseekers Albums.