Porter Robinson released his iconic ‘Worlds’ album five years ago today

Today, August 12, marks the five year anniversary of Worlds, Porter Robinson‘s 12-track artistic journey into a revolutionary new electronic sound. The release was a 180-degree turn from Robinson’s heavily electro-inspired previous catalogue, which included Spitfire classics like “Language” and “The Seconds.”

With an album accompanying live tour that included analogue video gaming sound sampling, Japanese anime voiceovers, and Robinson singing and playing keys, Worlds became more than just an instant classic. It became a movement. In the months and year that followed, Robinson garnered a billowing fanbase who traveled far and wide to experience Worlds Live over and over again. As Worlds has become a more rare encounter over the years, with Robinson’s debut Second Sky Festival boasting the only Worlds Live set of the year, the album and live experience hold a now-mystical allure in the popular imagination.

It was a seminal moment for Porter Robinson and his fanbase because Worlds signaled a complete artistic transformation for the then-22-year-old artist. Now, half a decade later, Robinson has gone onto reinvent himself several times over, most recently with his Grammy-nominated Virtual Self project. But Worlds will forever be remembered as the time-vault project that changed the face of dance music on this fateful day, five summers ago. Arguably, it is his best work to date.

Robinson took to Twitter today to light the fifth candle on his album vigil.

Relive Worlds, released via Astralwerks, below.