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Time for the sixteenth instalment in the "Skrillex Book Club".
ICYMI, we're taking a listening journey through the discography of the great Sonny Moore and sharing some of our thoughts along the way.
Last week, we went back to the past.
This week, we definitely fucked something up in the past because this isn't Skrillex
underscores - Covergirl: originally by Sonny (2024)
Yup, it's underscores. We were originally gonna do this one for the April Fools week but thought it wouldn't make much sense because we hadn't gotten to the original tracks yet. So, we're doing it now.
I was floored when I first found out this existed. I was just getting into underscores and as someone who also occasionally dabbles in covers and is heavily inspired and enjoys this specific era of Sonny's career, I was very curious about this set of tracks. And I gotta say, when I first listened I was blown away. Up to that point in time, I had only really heard the lower quality rips of the MySpace-era tracks that I had during my childhood. These covers felt like I had finally unplugged my ears. I was genuinely impressed by how close April gets to nailing the original sound of these tracks. Especially on 'Oceans' which, in my opinion, is the standout here. Up until more recently, this was the version of Oceans I had in regular rotation. It's literally like a remastered version of the original track (sans the vocals but we'll get to that). Obviously, they aren't identical but April's version has some nice added punch that really brightens things up in a good way. 'Lustbug' also gets reasonably close to the original but again, adding some nice extra oomph and brightness. 'Father Said' and 'Turmoil' were two tracks that I played quite a bit when I was younger so it was definitely easier to find some of the shortcomings here in terms of accuracy. Especially because Father Said was available in higher quality already. There really is something unique about those original opening hats that the regular Vengeance-style samples here just can't quite replicate. Turmoil is one where I actually prefer the slightly darker sound of the original over the brighter version here. Some of the low end energy is lost so it just kinda feels a bit more hollow.
Now, after hearing higher quality versions of the original Sonny tracks within the past few months, I think my tastes have started to lean towards them. When I first heard the cover EP, I really was impressed at how close April gets to Sonny's vocals and inflection (regardless of any post-production improvements). Once again, in the case of Oceans, I heard it and was taken aback like "wow, this actually sounds like Sonny". But now that time has past and I've dwelled on the originals for a bit longer, these aren't quite as close as they had initially come across. And that's fine! I'm still impressed honestly. Sonny's voice is pretty hard to replicate. I speak from experience (singing in my car). So if anything, this just made me appreciate both artist's abilities more. Talking about it is making me think though, what does one really seek out in a cover version? Is it accuracy to the original? Is it breathing new life into something? Is it doing a complete 180 on the original track? And while I don't have an answer to that, I think my appreciation for this EP comes from a different place.
I've said before that Skrillex has always been a huge inspiration for my own music, so attempting to replicate that style or sound is something I'm no stranger to. Even if most of my attempts were futile. Similarly, when I've recorded covers of songs, I also tend to keep to the side of remaining accurate to the original if I can help it; if for nothing else but to practice figuring out how these sounds I like were made. What I think I'm trying to get at is that I see my own tendencies in this EP. It's an exercise. An exercise with an outcome that actually ends up being enjoyable. Something to maybe even be proud of. It may not be perfect, but you can feel the joy and appreciation behind these covers. And especially with them coming from another artist that I respect heavily, it almost feels like a missing link. Someone that you see as bigger than yourself trying to do the same thing you are. Comforting.
Now it's your turn!
What are your thoughts on these tracks? Do you love 'em/hate 'em? Have you even heard 'em? (if not, go listen, the image is a link to it's RYM page
)Speak your mind!
Also, realizing that no-one can decide whether its called 'Ocean' or 'Oceans'.
