Recently InTheMix.com hung out with Sonny Moore, who is more famously known to the EDM scene as Skrillex, to talk about his future, among other things. During their conversation Skrilly revealed that this year he plans to release five new tunes with Diplo, under the moniker Jack U. Throughout last year the two DJ’d side by side at a few Mad Decent block parties. Their stage energy was unreal and we’re hoping the same vibes translate into their collaborations.
However, don’t get over excited about this news because in the interview Sonny mentions that “Jack U is…more the name we use when [we] DJ together.” Nonetheless the music they release should be extremely interesting.
Read the InTheMix.com interview:
While you’re in Jamaica, will you and Diplo be working on music as Jack U?
Wes and I have made so much stuff together, and the thing about Jack U is it’s more the name we use when DJ together. It takes a lot of work to maintain a whole other project – Dog Blood’s a good example.
We’ll feature on each other’s tracks, and put out some singles together, but mostly we just like to DJ together [as Jack U]. We’ve got five songs that we made that aren’t even released, and we’ll end up releasing in 2014. When we play, our style is so crazy. The sounds Diplo and I make are pretty different, but the energy is so similar. When we’re tag-teaming back-to-back, for me it’s one of the most fun things.
You have Jack U, you have Dog Blood. Are there any more side projects we should know about, or are those two enough to keep you busy?
I mean, I’ve done so many side projects. For me, that even means doing a movie like Spring Breakers, scoring it with Cliff Martinez and Harmony Korine. That’s a whole other project where I’m immersing myself in someone’s world. Even the Disney thing I did [Wreck-It Ralph]. Each time I work outside of what Skrillex is, it feels like a side project, even if it’s not with another DJ.
Let’s talk about OWSLA for a minute. What’s your criteria for recruiting artists to the label? What are you listening out for?
Usually I can tell right away when I’m skipping through a demo. OWSLA doesn’t really have a “sound”, other than being anything I would play or listen to. And that can be bands who don’t make DJ music. It ranges from dubstep to drum & bass to electro to techno to hip-hop, and my sets are always diverse. I’ve never just played one style of music or one BPM. I’ve always jumped all over the place. The stuff that’s exciting to hear on a dance floor – that’s what I listen for first.
In 2011, your name was synonymous with dubstep, but it’s not so easy now to make that categorization. Have you been conscious of adding more shades to your sound?
It’s so funny, because if you listen to those EPs as full releases – My Name Is Skrillex, Scary Monsters… and Bangarang – there’s probably only one dubstep song per release. I think what happened was I was playing all different styles; as long as it has the right energy, I’ll make it and play it. “Bangarang” isn’t a dubstep song at all – it’s 110-BPM and it’s more electro than anything else.
I still make everything. My new record you’ll realize is not all dubstep. The majority isn’t, actually. It’s all over the place, but it’s ‘me’. It’s always maturing. It’s not a thing where I wanted to stay away from it, but overall you just don’t hear as much dubstep anymore. With trap getting big though, you have a lot of similar sounds and production techniques, so it’s all becoming one blend of shit right now, anyway.
Something about the Leaving EP, though, felt like a new side to Skrillex.
Well, the funny thing about Leaving is, if the EP was called Scary Bolly Dub or The Reason, which were the two other tracks on the EP, people would’ve taken it another way. But I think because the title track was a slowed-down song, people focused on that and thought that was the type of music I was making.
It was a funny reaction it got, I think because I called the whole EP Leaving – like I was leaving a genre or making a statement maybe? But the real reason I called it that was just because that’s the vibe I felt.”
[H/t: YourEDM.com]
[Source: InTheMix.com]
[Photo Credit: LifeBoxSet.com]
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