In the years since his luminous 2014 album Worlds, electronic producer Porter Robinson had kept curiously quiet. That helped bring the rapturous fan reaction to “Shelter,” a rare single Robinson crafted with his good friend and fellow producer Madeon.

As fans waited with bated breath to see what Robinson would do next, they were treated to a surprise. On October 25, 2017, the producer announced a new project called Virtual Self. Under the alias, Robinson released the single “EON BREAK,” a modern-hardstyle track with elements of happy hardcore and J-Core. It was unlike anything Robinson had released previously, and it generated strong reactions from the EDM community. Some fans loved it; others thought it was an unnecessary addition to a well-trodden genre. The fever pitch led Robinson to tweet sarcastically that he’d release Worlds 2 in the year 3044 – a shot at those who he felt were holding him back from evolving as a producer.

The “EON BREAK” release coincided with a cryptic music video containing multiple easter eggs. Assets created around the project – such as Virtual Self trademark applications and Twitter accounts for characters in the music video – have led many to believe it could be more than a mere producer alias. Some have speculated Virtual Self could be a new label or even a virtual game.