thejudge2k
Active Member
Hey guys, thought I would post my latest blog entry here about the ever-popular Mr Skrillex - hope you enjoy!
thejudge
-------------------
If you walked down the street today and asked the unsuspecting public if they had heard of an artist / DJ called 'Skrillex' they would probably look at you blankly. Yet if you were to type this name into Google, or ask a teenager at one of his gigs, you would get a wholly different reaction!
In 2011 a young man by the name of Sonny Moore has generated more hype and completed more achievements than most top DJs do in their whole career. So, what's all the fuss about?
Firstly, let's just take a minute to understand just how ridiculous Skrillex's year has been. His achievements include the following:
YouTube hits - He has amassed a phenomonal 240 million hits on his own YouTube channel alone (mostly in the last 12 months), despite his tunes being made on a laptop not in a studio! Compare this to the biggest DJ & artist in the world, David Guetta, who has a total of 800 million since he started. Or, more impressively, to Lady Gaga's official channel, which has only two thirds as many as Skrillex - 165m!
Social media followers / friends - his online influence doesn't end there - he has over 2.8m Facebook friends and 600k followers on twitter. To put that in context, he has risen to 5 in the Hype That Sound Social 100 DJs chart, ahead of names including Swedish House Mafia, Paul Van Dyk and Avicii
Beatport chart takeover - this following lead to an incredible chart takeover on Beatport where despite no marketing he managed to secure 8 tracks in the top 10 only 4 days after the release of his first proper EP!
Sold out gigs - his fans have also taken to clubs across the world to see him in action, with c.250 events in 2011
Grammy nominations - some would argue that all the evidence so far is no more than a bunch of excited US teenagers going crazy for a one (or two) hit wonder, much like they would for a 'X Factor' winner. However, this theory is blown out of the water thanks to 5 nominations for the 2012 grammy awards - the same number as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry combined - not bad for a guy still in his twenties
DJ Mag Top 100 - possibly the most striking manifestation of Skrillex's rise to fame in the EDM space is his mentions in the DJ Mag Top 100 chart. Produced every year, it compiles the votes of EDM fans and ranks the top DJs in the world. Skrillex came in at number 19. However, this is not the manifestation I'm refering to. Each year the DJs in the chart are also asked to give their 'Breakthrough DJ / Producer' for the year ahead. This year, numerous DJs & producers from all generes named one man - Skrillex. In the past deacde of this chart, nobody has been mentioned by this many DJs.
Given this staggering rise, and considering myself an avid EDM fan, I decided to do two things - listen to Skrillex's tunes and go see him 'live'.
Skrillex's Tunes
I promptly logged on to YouTube and preceded to add a few more viewing figures to videos such as 'Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites', 'First Of The Year' and 'Kill Everybody', not to mention a few remixes such as 'Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go - Cinema' and 'La Roux - In For The Kill'.
Now what struck me here was that every single track seemed to include the same revurbarating, loud, in-your-face, heavy metal-like 'sound'. Clearly his trademark, but not something I found particularly tuneful. Surely there is more to his productions than this? Undoubtedly much work has gone in to producing these tunes, and the fact that it's all been done on a simple laptop means there is somewhat of a raw and accessible element to which fans can relate and appreciate.
Skrillex Live
Next stop was Alexandra Palace in London for 'UKF Bass Culture' showcasing many talents in this ever-growing genre. After seeing acts such as Chase & Status, Nero and DJ Fresh live, the main room was closed by Skrillex. In usual fashion he had just flown in from another gig in Europe so was running late, but had already updated fans of this via his twitter account.
The set started and continued in energetic fashion. Rarely these days do you see a DJ loving his work as much as Skrillex that night. Bouncing around the booth, he mashed up all sorts of EDM classics with current bass tracks and some of his own creations, all with that recognisable 'sound' I referred to earlier. It was frantic, energy-filled and included a good dose of commentary from the man himself by the microphone. This generated an amazing atmosphere as everybody in the crowd let go and danced around like loons, bouncing, moshing, jumping around all over the place.
Now whilst the tunes weren't always stuff I would listen to usually, the energy in the room meant you couldn't help but dance. Many comparisons have been made to what Skrillex has created, but I do think he has managed to meld together the best bits of rock, metal and EDM into a wild concoction.
So, what is all the fuss about?
It appears that with no traditional marketing and no professional studio, Skrillex has managed to create one of the biggest fan bases EDM has ever seen. Yet a lot of people, myself included, don't get how he has done it, especially given most of the tracks seem to sound the same. No wonder then that, rather than spreading hate online as some EDM 'fans' are doing, most DJs worth their CDJs are queuing up to add some of the Skrillex magic to their own tracks and remixes. I say well done Sonny Moore - the haters are just jealous, and I'm clearly just a bit out of touch with the kids!
thejudge
-------------------
If you walked down the street today and asked the unsuspecting public if they had heard of an artist / DJ called 'Skrillex' they would probably look at you blankly. Yet if you were to type this name into Google, or ask a teenager at one of his gigs, you would get a wholly different reaction!
In 2011 a young man by the name of Sonny Moore has generated more hype and completed more achievements than most top DJs do in their whole career. So, what's all the fuss about?
Firstly, let's just take a minute to understand just how ridiculous Skrillex's year has been. His achievements include the following:
YouTube hits - He has amassed a phenomonal 240 million hits on his own YouTube channel alone (mostly in the last 12 months), despite his tunes being made on a laptop not in a studio! Compare this to the biggest DJ & artist in the world, David Guetta, who has a total of 800 million since he started. Or, more impressively, to Lady Gaga's official channel, which has only two thirds as many as Skrillex - 165m!
Social media followers / friends - his online influence doesn't end there - he has over 2.8m Facebook friends and 600k followers on twitter. To put that in context, he has risen to 5 in the Hype That Sound Social 100 DJs chart, ahead of names including Swedish House Mafia, Paul Van Dyk and Avicii
Beatport chart takeover - this following lead to an incredible chart takeover on Beatport where despite no marketing he managed to secure 8 tracks in the top 10 only 4 days after the release of his first proper EP!
Sold out gigs - his fans have also taken to clubs across the world to see him in action, with c.250 events in 2011
Grammy nominations - some would argue that all the evidence so far is no more than a bunch of excited US teenagers going crazy for a one (or two) hit wonder, much like they would for a 'X Factor' winner. However, this theory is blown out of the water thanks to 5 nominations for the 2012 grammy awards - the same number as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry combined - not bad for a guy still in his twenties
DJ Mag Top 100 - possibly the most striking manifestation of Skrillex's rise to fame in the EDM space is his mentions in the DJ Mag Top 100 chart. Produced every year, it compiles the votes of EDM fans and ranks the top DJs in the world. Skrillex came in at number 19. However, this is not the manifestation I'm refering to. Each year the DJs in the chart are also asked to give their 'Breakthrough DJ / Producer' for the year ahead. This year, numerous DJs & producers from all generes named one man - Skrillex. In the past deacde of this chart, nobody has been mentioned by this many DJs.
Given this staggering rise, and considering myself an avid EDM fan, I decided to do two things - listen to Skrillex's tunes and go see him 'live'.
Skrillex's Tunes
I promptly logged on to YouTube and preceded to add a few more viewing figures to videos such as 'Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites', 'First Of The Year' and 'Kill Everybody', not to mention a few remixes such as 'Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go - Cinema' and 'La Roux - In For The Kill'.
Now what struck me here was that every single track seemed to include the same revurbarating, loud, in-your-face, heavy metal-like 'sound'. Clearly his trademark, but not something I found particularly tuneful. Surely there is more to his productions than this? Undoubtedly much work has gone in to producing these tunes, and the fact that it's all been done on a simple laptop means there is somewhat of a raw and accessible element to which fans can relate and appreciate.
Skrillex Live
Next stop was Alexandra Palace in London for 'UKF Bass Culture' showcasing many talents in this ever-growing genre. After seeing acts such as Chase & Status, Nero and DJ Fresh live, the main room was closed by Skrillex. In usual fashion he had just flown in from another gig in Europe so was running late, but had already updated fans of this via his twitter account.
The set started and continued in energetic fashion. Rarely these days do you see a DJ loving his work as much as Skrillex that night. Bouncing around the booth, he mashed up all sorts of EDM classics with current bass tracks and some of his own creations, all with that recognisable 'sound' I referred to earlier. It was frantic, energy-filled and included a good dose of commentary from the man himself by the microphone. This generated an amazing atmosphere as everybody in the crowd let go and danced around like loons, bouncing, moshing, jumping around all over the place.
Now whilst the tunes weren't always stuff I would listen to usually, the energy in the room meant you couldn't help but dance. Many comparisons have been made to what Skrillex has created, but I do think he has managed to meld together the best bits of rock, metal and EDM into a wild concoction.
So, what is all the fuss about?
It appears that with no traditional marketing and no professional studio, Skrillex has managed to create one of the biggest fan bases EDM has ever seen. Yet a lot of people, myself included, don't get how he has done it, especially given most of the tracks seem to sound the same. No wonder then that, rather than spreading hate online as some EDM 'fans' are doing, most DJs worth their CDJs are queuing up to add some of the Skrillex magic to their own tracks and remixes. I say well done Sonny Moore - the haters are just jealous, and I'm clearly just a bit out of touch with the kids!
Last edited by a moderator:
