It’s been a busy week for DJ superstar Skrillex, real name Sonny Moore, who took some time to speak with both Pitchfork and Zane Lowe about the state of EDM and the ever present prediction that electronic dance music is soon to find itself extinct, alongside disco and the dinosaurs.
In the interview with Pitchfork, Skrillex discussed the frequent prediction that the EDM bubble is on the verge of bursting.
…as far as EDM goes—I’m talking about DJs—there’s been a wave right now and you can ride on it. But a platform is really arbitrary when it comes to an artist. An artist creates songs and timeless moments that are reflections that impact culture, and you can do that in any way—with guitars, ukelele, a computer. So, that will never die. It’s always the artist behind the computer, not the computer. You just told me yourself you can tell it’s a Skrillex remix, but there is a lot of music out there that you can play side by side and you can’t hear the personality—that has a timeline on it, for sure.
Speaking with Zane Lowe, Skrillex commented on artists like Barely Alive and Marshmello, stating that brand identity and commitment to artistic ideals are what ultimately make an impact with fans.
That’s the hardest, ballsiest thing to do as an artist is to commit to something new and create a consistent idea and story… especially as a computer producer, you literally can make any type of music, and that’s the hardest part – that’s what makes the artist, is the choice.
Lastly, Moore addresses the backlash he received in response to working with Justin Bieber, while revealing that DJ’s are the real sell outs in EDM.
…I got a lot of backlash from some of my fans because they think like, this is a money thing… I make more money DJing, if you want to talk about it. It’s not about money. It’s a lot of work doing records. You’re taking the backseat for someone else. It’s the same reason why I like to do movie scoring… you don’t make any money doing that. It’s a passion thing.
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