I still vividly remember sitting in my sophomore year dorm room in college, discovering Skrillex for the first time.
I was digging on Earmilk one day, my destination for curated music (and free downloads) at the time, and found “Rock ‘n’ Roll (Will Take You To The Mountain).” Having up to this point only really known David Guetta, some Rusko, some Pendulum, maybe a little The Prodigy, and of course Daft Punk, Skrillex was really my first introduction to “dubstep,” even though by today’s standards, the song is more electro house than anything.
Today marks ten years since the release of his full Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP, along with songs like “Kill EVERYBODY,” “Scatta,” and “With You, Friends,” not to mention the Noisia, Zedd, and Bare Noize remixes that came along with it.
In 2010, no one knew how big these artists would get, or how many people their music would reach. It was raw talent and inspiration, without the labels interfering or any other obligations to cater to. SMANS especially was so many people’s introduction to dance music, and Skrillex himself has gone on to become one of the most globally recognized artists, electronic music or otherwise.
And it all started here.
Two years later, the EP and title track won Skrillex GRAMMYs for Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Dance Recording, respectively. That same year, he also won Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his “Cinema” remix of Benny Benassi. He’s won five more GRAMMYs since then.
Ten years later, listen to Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites once again.
Photo by Marilyn Hue
