Skrillex

Musician

• Born: January 15, 1988
• Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California

Contribution: Skrillex is a Grammy Award–winning musician and producer best known for blending multiple genres, including dubstep, electronica, house, and techno.

Background

Skrillex was born Sonny John Moore on January 15, 1988, in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in San Francisco and the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, where his father worked as an insurance claims officer and his mother was a homemaker. At age fourteen, Moore discovered the British electronic label Warp Records; he later cited Warp artists Aphex Twin and Squarepusher as a major part of his musical awakening. In his early teens, he started sneaking into dance clubs and raves in Los Angeles and making his own electronic music using the program Fruity Loops (now called FL Studio).

In 2004, when he was sixteen, Moore learned that he was adopted and that his biological mother was actually a close family friend. The discovery shook his relationship with his parents. According to Moore, he was the only person in his immediate circle, including his own friends, who did not know the secret. That year, Moore dropped out of high school and moved to Georgia to audition as a guitarist for the emo band From First to Last. He recorded two albums with the band as their lead singer before embarking on a solo career under his real name, Sonny Moore, signing a deal with Atlantic Records. He released an extended play (EP) record called Gypsyhook in 2009. He recorded several more EPs for Atlantic, but they were never released. Frustrated by the label’s indifference, and inspired by a 2007 Daft Punk concert, Moore began a side project as a DJ, releasing his music under the name Skrillex.

Career

The name Skrillex was an AOL online chat handle that Moore used as a teenager and derives from a childhood nickname, Skrill or Skrilly. In June 2010, he self-released the EP My Name Is Skrillex for free on his MySpace page, and in October of that year, he released Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. By the time he released his next EP, More Monsters and Sprites (2011), he was already achieving some mainstream success. In 2011, Skrillex released his fourth EP, Bangarang, and produced the song “Get Up” for the metal group Korn. That year, Facebook published a list of the most-played songs on the social networking site, and two of the top ten were by Skrillex. By 2012, he was selling out shows across the United States and counted musicians Tommy Lee and Kanye West among his fans.

In 2011, Skrillex was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including the award for best new artist. He won three awards at the 2012 Grammy ceremony, including best dance recording for the song “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” and best dance/electronica album for the EP of the same name. His remix of Italian DJ Benny Benassi’s “Cinema” won the award for best remixed nonclassical recording. In 2013, Skrillex won Grammy Awards in the same three categories for the song “Bangarang,” the Bangarang EP, and his remix of Nero’s “Promises.” He also received the 2013 Billboard Music Award for Top EDM Album for the EP.

Skrillex next scored the 2013 Harmony Korine film Spring Breakers with composer Cliff Martinez and contributed to the soundtrack for the 2012 animated Disney film Wreck-It Ralph. (An animated character based on Skrillex makes a cameo in the movie.) In 2012, he teamed up with Damien Marley to produce the song “Make It Bun Dem.” A six-track EP of remixes of the song, called Make It Bun Dem after Hours, was released a month later. Skrillex’s seventh EP, Leaving, became available in limited release in January 2013.

Skrillex went on to produce numerous remixes of other artists' songs and several acclaimed collaborations. His next full-length album, Recess (2014), peaked atop Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Album chart, but 2015's collaboration with producer Diplo, Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü, proved far more successful, both in popularity and critical attention. Jack Ü topped the Dance/Electronic Album chart, earned a Grammy Award, and spawned the chart-topping, Grammy-winning single "Where Are Ü Now," featuring pop star Justin Bieber. The single later went multiplatinum. Skrillex followed that up with Purpose, a contender for Grammy Album of the Year in 2016, and the song "Purple Lamborghini," a Rick Ross collaboration that was nominated for another Grammy and was also certified platinum.

In 2019 Skrillex partnered with German producer Boys Noize to release the EP Turn Off the Lights under the name Dog Blood. Their single "Midnight Hour," featuring rapper Ty Dolla $ign, received a Grammy nod for best dance recording.

Skrillex continued playing festivals and touring internationally. In February 2023, Skrillex dropped a pair of studio albums, Quest for Fire and Don't Get Too Close. The first single from Quest for Fire, “Rumble,” earned Skrillex his ninth Grammy Award, this time for Best Dance/Electronic Recording.

Impact

Skrillex has been criticized for muddying the dubstep genre and for catering to mainstream tastes, but he is clear about his own intentions. He told the press that he was interested not in one particular sound but simply in music that he felt like making and that would fit the vibe of each live show. Skrillex particularly enjoys the revelatory aspects of electronica—the euphoric, crowd-pleasing, dance-inducing aspects that he experienced at a Daft Punk show early in his career—though his interest in music is more cerebral.

Skrillex is a wildly popular musician, though he remains a divisive figure in music. He delights in introducing underground music, or his version of it, to new audiences. He has received a number of awards in recognition of his work.

Personal Life

Skrillex lives in Los Angeles.

Bibliography

Abebe, Nitsuh. “Why Does America Love Skrillex?” Vulture, 5 Jan. 2012, www.vulture.com/2012/01/why-does-america-love-skrillex.html. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

Li, Christina. “Skrillex, Former S.F. Resident, Talks Free Music, the Origin of His Name, and What Movie He’d Soundtrack.” San Francisco Weekly, 19 Jan. 2011, www.sfweekly.com/music/skrillex-former-s-f-resident-talks-free-music-the-origin-of-his-name-and-what/article‗45eed976-e705-5256-9f9c-717d2d24c571.html. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

McKinley, James C., Jr. “Manic Peter Pan Rules Dance Clubs.” New York Times, 26 Jan. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/arts/music/skrillex-to-play-at-webster-hall-and-roseland.html. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

Muggs, Joe. “Is Skrillex the Most Hated Man in Dubstep?” Guardian, 29 Sept. 2011, www.theguardian.com/music/2011/sep/29/skrillex-dubstep-interview. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

"Skrillex." Grammy Awards, 2024, www.grammy.com/artists/skrillex/6363. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.