Current Obsession 04/04/14: Ear Busting Levels of Brostep Part 4: Skrillex

Its funny because I retooled my song of the day as current obsession but “Current” is difficult to lock down. Its not so much things I’m listening to only this moment or as of this moment, its more things that I “currently” feel like shouting out joy for.

The inspiration for this series of articles is that it is requested the most. There is just SO much electronic music out there and people dont have the time to sift through it for the good stuff. Everyone knows that I’m obsessive about this so I constantly get asked for recommendations on this set of genres. I’ve been a fan of that Skrillex level of obnoxious transformer bass filled body shaking wonder ever since I heard his remix of Benny Benassi’s “Cinema”.  Today I just wanted to highlight some artists I’ve been listening to a lot since then for people who are in the small group of human beings with robot ears. These are in no particular order and some of them have been highlighted in the past. Despite the title, not all of these artists are strictly defined by one form of EDM, I just think if you like one, you’ll probably like the others.

SKRILLEX

I wasn’t going to do one of these for Skrillex  since I’ve highlighted him a lot in the past on this site but then I thought, What about that one person that developed robot ears from my previous posts and hasnt really been exposed to Skrillex? Like I said, Skrillex’s “Cinema Remix” was my first real exposure to dubstep (after the Ke$ha Remix of Blow) and he still has some of my favorites.

Cinema Remix – D-D-D-D-D-Drop the BASS! And my love for Skrillex was born. Oh transformers sounds how I love you.

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites – My first Skrillex original. There are tons of great remixes of this song but the original is still so perfect. “YES! OH MY GOD!” Who can forget the first time they heard those wonderful joyous words followed by face melting bass?

First of the Year (Equinox) – To my memory, Skrillex’s first dip into reggae influence, something that has more recently defined his sound. Oh and: “CALL 911 NOW!!!” Best moment is at 1:33.

In for the Kill (Skrillex Remix) – The best remixes are the ones that get you so into them you can no longer listen to the original version. Just as with Cinema, this La Roux remix causes the original version to be perpetually missing something. Bonus: La Roux’s voice.

Bangarang – One of Skrillex’s funnest song. Always changing and with a truly bouncing punk rock nature to it. Plus the robotic “Chill the Fuck Out” embedded in the chorus that I didnt notice for a very long time. I love the section after he yells “Bass!”

Kyoto – The addictive nature of the sound at 1:28 cannot be overstated. This song WILL get melded to your brain as you walk around hearing that part all day.

Summit – Skrillex finally toning it down. The manipulation of Ellie Gouldings voice on this song is absolutely amazing. A truly beautiful song full of wonder. This song plays on loop over a browser game created by Skrillex and ever since, I’ve loved it.

Devil’s Den – Another song of of Skrillex’s excellent Bangarang EP, this song really hits its stride at the 2 minute mark.

Make it Bun Dem – This collaboration with Damian Marley is Skrillex’s next step in his move toward a more Reggae influenced sound that would then permeate his first full length album.

Ease My Mind – Now I’ve only listened to Skrillex’s new full length album once through at the time of this writing so I wasnt going to include anything off of it but this song was just TOOOOOO AMAZING to not put on. 1:36… drool….  Enjoy and then go check out the new album.

Song of the Day 12/23/12: Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

So i wasnt going to put up this song because I figured everyone and their mother knows of its existence. However, I still find people who know nothing of electronic music except for the songs I post up here and it would be a diservice to not know one of Skrillex top tracks. Obviously the highlights here are his “Oh My God!” sample and an incredible rough fax machine drop plus the soft electronic melody that shows up all over the place. Enjoy.

Just when Im about to catch up, I go and do a thing like enter the final stages of planning an elaborate surprise proposal to the love of my life and now FIANCE! Im sorry this site has fallen off in that time but I fully intend to bounce back. Though probably not till next week considering Im now spending some time with said fiance in New York.

Song of the Day 08/20/12: Skrillex – Bangarang (Ft. Sirah)

I started working out again in an effort to get healthy!  As part of that, I do a lot of running.  This is good because it’s a great opportunity to get in lots of music listening.   Often people ask me for good workout music.  That’s kind of difficult to do outright because there are different kinds of work out songs, but one that is integral is the rescue song.  You know, when you start to get tired and you start to think it’s time to stop.  At that moment you need a song so pumped with energy that you can’t help but bust out a couple more laps on the track.  Skrillex is a WONDER for that purpose.  Something about how animalistic most of his beats are, always provides me with all that final energy I’m looking for.  “Bangarang” is a perfect example.  So get out there and run like the wind.

Song of the Day 07/19/12: Skrillex – First of the Year (Equinox)

I’m back!  So sorry!  Sickness and a trip to New York have set me back a little ways on the site.  I’m hoping to catch up soon and offer lots of new content in the coming week.  I was shocked to discover that I still have not recommended any Skrillex since this site has gone up, so here we go…  I spoke last time about blasting music from my car, while driving down the street in the summer, and about my development of robot ears over the last year.  Nothing perfectly fits into that mold more than Skrillex.  He’s a  young metalcore band singer who went to a Daft Punk concert that changed his life.  Steered towards electonic dance music and dubstep sounds, he has become the leader in a new wave of music dubbed (no pun intended), Bro-step.  He has a lot of famous songs, but my favorite is this lesser known track, “First of the Year (Equinox)”.  Why?  I love it because it showcases a lot of the sounds that Skrillex is famous for, while also flaunting his uniqueness.  The fact that the song is built on a reggae beat, just makes it so much more incredibile to drive around to in the summer.  Like all dubstep, the most important element is the drop.  Equinox does not disappoint!  I especially love the transformers-like sounds.