DJ OF THE WEEK 2.13.12: SKRILLEX

Seriously, Skrillex is such a big name right now, that even if you haven’t heard him in action or heard about his GRAMMY nominations and just anounced this evening, three GRAMMY wins, chances are you are familiar with the name. He’s that big. Of course, he didn’t have to win for us to show him some love as our DJ of the Week, but what better way for us to congratulate him, right?

His government name is Sonny Moore and he’s from Los Angeles, California, which when you think about it is the perfect place to have birthed such an artist; he might be the face of Dubstep, but his 21st century Goth slash Vampire slash Punk slash Heavy Metal look only adds to his global appeal, much like so many things that come out of Hollywood.

Born in 1988, Moore grew up in the digital era, a world vastly different from that of previous generations, a world where anyone with the desire to make music can do so with a computer and some software. This is the world in which as a young teen, Moore began to create his own music using popular software and some outboard gear.

Some think the easily available music creation tools at our disposal these days are the death of good music, that they allow anyone to get in the game without first having gained the necessary knowledge. This might be true more often than not, but it can also mean something else, it could mean that these new cats are free to draw outside the lines, if you will, to create entirely new aural soundscapes, Skrillex has done just that.

Being that this is also the world where this new breed of artists can distribute their bedroom created music to a world-wide audience and gain world-wide fame without the backing of a major label, it was only a matter of time before Moore would gain some sort of notoriety. Well, this is the road Moore took and it worked out much better than expected.

Moore didn’t get his first taste of fame as a producer however, instead it was as lead singer of the band From First To Last. The band released two albums before he decided to go solo. Going by his real name he managed to release an EP which created a buzz. Still, there was more and for some reason, while working on his debut album he stopped all production, took on the name Skrillex and changed his trajectory.

Maybe he didn’t want to be a lead singer just yet, maybe he just loved mixing and creating sounds, laying out beat patterns, disassembling melodies, and putting them all together in unconventional ways much more. Whatever the reason he released a free EP titled ‘My Name Is Skrillex’, which immediately caught the attention of more than just his fellow underground revelers but the attention of another successful product of the digital era, Deadmau5, who helped him get out his first official release ‘SCARY MONSTERS AND NICE SPRITES’ in late 2010.

Ever since Skrillex’s name has been steadily rising, with his music being featured in video games and TV commercials, his famous collaboration with KORN on the song he produced titled ‘Get Up’, a video for the track ‘First of The Year’, and a massive world tour, all culminating in the 5 GRAMMY nominations and three wins, Best Dance Recording, Best Remixed Recording, and Best Dance/Electronica Album, the album just bagged. Not bad for a kid who started making beats in his pajamas.