"Recess" Review
Guess who’s back motha f*ckas?! Sonny Moore, better known under the household name Skrillex, took a three-year break between album releases after “Bangarang” in 2011, a major festival success. Aside from making a number of EPs, we could only imagine he was spending his free time enjoying his millions earned from being one of the most name dropped djs in the industry. Turns out, he wasn’t just kicking back in the limelight- no, it seems he’s been doing his fair share of research of what’s hot on the scene.
His newly released album “Recess” has been hitting it big on iTunes, making it seem as though he knew exactly how to formulate these 11 tracks for success. “Recess” incorporates a myriad of subgenres along with his favorite- brostep. It’s hard for an album to attract hate when there is sure to be at least one track that satisfies nearly everyone’s specific musical taste- “Recess” is practically 31 Flavors… The deep house sound heard from the 9th and 11th songs “Fuck That” and “Fire Away” are polar opposite compared to the sound in “Coast is Clear” featuring Chance the Rapper, a tune which truly gives off an Outcast like vibe. Personally, the album is refreshing in the sense that there is variety in each track, however Skrillex still has a firm grasp on what he does best… now he has just cleaned up his act.
Each drop on the track isn’t as brain rattling and shocking as his older works, but creeps up on you with the perfect amount of suspense without holding back any womp. Moore jam-packed this album with an impressive list of featured artists. In the 160bpm rager “Dirty Vibe”, Sonny teams up with Diplo and K-pop superstars G-Dragon and CL to create perhaps the most hyphy song on the album. Two songs featuring London’s famous Ragga Twins, whose British rap and jungle vibe also meshes quite well with Skrill’s dubstep, in the tracks “All is Fair in Love and Brostep” and “Ragga Bomb”. The most diverse tune would be the albums own track “Recess” which, with help from Kill the Noise, Fatman Scoop and Passion Pit, offers a range of musical talents to collaborate with. By incorporating artists under a wide range of musical genres, he is not only widening his fan base, but showing that electronic dance music can go beyond what it is today.
The success of “Recess” ‘s tracks online is obvious, but Skrillex will have to talk-the-talk this summer at the number of festivals he is set to perform at. The first being Saturday night of Coachella, where he is sure to more than please the crowd with his new spins- a must see set if you’re a head banger. The man is back and redefining the lengths that dj’s can go to, reaching out of his comfort zone, Sonny is stepping up his game.
Written By: Melanie Gordon