By Miranda Jenkins
Just a few days ago, Skrillex released his very first studio album, “Recess,” and proved he has the chops to take on the dubstep world.
Skrillex, the alias Sonny Moore has used since 2008, gained fame for his unmistakable dubstep sound but until this year, he’d only released EPs and remixes. Thankfully, his debut album was well worth the wait.
“Recess,” which has random lyrics and, of course, epic drops proves that Skrillex not only knows how to make great music, but he is really maturing as an artist. Though, what really makes this album so addictive is the collaborations; Skrillex recorded “Recess” as he toured the world so every artist brings a different influence and it all works.
While Skrillex was in the United Kingdom, he recorded two songs, “All is Fair in Love and Brostep” and “Ragga Bomb,” with the English jungle group Ragga Twins. Both songs have an upbeat reggae vibe (reminiscent of the DJ’s song with Damian Marley “Make It Bun Dem”) and the music, which at times sounds like robots grinding on each other, is something only Skrillex can get away with doing. “All is Fair in Love and Brostep” is easily one of the catchiest songs off the album, if not one of the catchiest songs Skrillex has ever done.
Kid Harpoon, a singer-songwriter and musician also from England, appears on the song “Fire Away.” He offers his folksy voice for the lyrics, “Take me with when you go/ Fire away, f**k this place we call home” and Skrillex shows off his more mature sound with a drop that is less alien and more electronic xylophone. “Fire Away” proves Skrillex is a great artist because even when he wanders from his dubstep roots, his songs are still recognizable as his.
In Seattle, Skrillex collaborated with Chance the Rapper and The Social Experiment and over one night, they recorded “Coast is Clear.” The song has a rhythm and blues feel and the following lyric, “Dance like it hurts to stand still,” easily sums up the entire album. Every song forces people to move, especially “Dirty Vibe,” a song Skrillex and Diplo did in South Korea with K-pop artists G-Dragon and CL.
“Recess” features New Yorkers Kill the Noise and Fatman Scoop and even has a couple verses done by Passion Pit’s lead singer Michael Angelakos. It’s another standout song because the unique drop is perfectly balanced with Angelakos’ ethereal voice.
Skrillex didn’t just work with other musicians for “Recess;” “Doompy Poomp,” a happy song that sounds like the love-child of Willy Wonka and electronic music, was created for NYC clothing company Mishka. Two minutes into “Doompy Poomp,” Skrillex throws in a bass synth and it is here that his talent really shines. Skrillex’s music just flows so much better and his experimentation results in songs that are lighter than anything he’s ever done before.
Not too long ago, Skrillex told Billboard, “There’s so many other collaborations that I can’t really say yet but that have been left over from the record, that I’m going to release soon that are so dope. I’m excited for the new stuff to come out that no one’s heard yet.”
If all of this unreleased music is as good as “Recess,” Skrillex fans and techno lovers are in for a very good year.
