Billboard launched a new EDM centric blog column called 'Code' lead by Kerri Mason. She has a long history of being involved in the EDM scene dating back to the 1990s that was well documented in her personal blog post "Press Play? Hit Start". This is a savvy move on the part of Billboard and I'm looking forward to reading articles from 'Code' in the future.
Credit goes to VanCityDanceNrd for finding this big mistake on the part of Rolling Stone who wrote a quick article on the Phase 2 lineup of the Ultra Music Festival:
"The festival has also added a batch of electronic up-and-comers, including Benny Benassi, Steve Aoki, Dirty South, Eric Prydz, Hardwell and more."
Whoops. With the exception of Hardwell, none of those names can be considered 'up-and-comers'.
Skrillex surprised ardent fans yesterday with a brand new 'Leaving' EP composed of two brand new tracks and a DJ tool/track used in his sets via OWSLA's subscription service The Nest.
Leaving - Skrillex:
The Reason - Skrillex:
Notes from Sonny Moore himself on the new EP:
"The reason and Leaving came together last minute. I made Leaving in my hotel room in mexico and just finished the Reason an hour ago in my hotel room in miami. I guess it's just kind of a reflection of how I'm feeling right now." (The Nest)
Scary Bolly Dub - Skrillex:
Skrillex: "scary bolly dub is a song I've been playing in my sets for a while. I use it more as a dj tool, but I wanted you guys to have it."
I make it no secret that I'm a big Skrillex/OWSLA fan so seeing these new tracks makes me very happy. The response so far from his fans are mixed because the 'Leaving' EP is a major departure from his more bass heavy style that has made him famous. But I am thrilled to see Sonny Moore, such a talented producer that he is, move in this direction and find different styles that inspire him to create more music. Skrillex is not staying put but moving forward and I hope that a lot of his fans take the ride with him. As for the 'Leaving' EP itself, my personal favourite is 'The Reason', and for a track put together so last minute I am really enjoying all of the subtle complications and slow build up to it.
Team OWSLA also released a new Skrillex video last night which should not be overlooked, 'Summit' - Skrillex (Feat. Ellie Goulding) [Video by Pilerats]:
I like the video but while watching it I have a nagging feeling that I am navel-gazing into a hipsters' nirvana. That's not a bad thing mind you, but it might be a little self indulgent.
Update: Skrillex had spoken to Billboard recently and confessed that he "has too many songs to even know what to do with." Skrillex also opened up about future plans with Dog Blood, the collaboration between himself and Boys Noize:
"We have a lot more music, man," Skrillex promises. "The cool thing about Dog Blood is it's another outlet where you can step back for a second and just let someone else take over and see what they do and then react to it, and you always come out with great things, some real next-level shit. It's so much fun, so we're going to continue to release stuff and just play when we feel like playing."
Pretty exciting stuff.
