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Time for the the seventh 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 looked at Recess.

This week, we take a breather with the...

Recess Remixes EP & Ease My Mind v Ragga Bomb Remixes (2014)



We thought that because half of the Monsters EPs were remixes anyway, it was only fair for us to cover these too. That and it gives us a week break before we have to talk about Diplo again .

I do not have much to say about this selection of remixes. They Are Fine. Actually, I got my hopes up a little because the Milo and Otis remix of Recess is actually pretty damn good. I really like the live sounding drums and honestly just the percussion as a whole. It makes the track feel a lot more timeless compared to some of the other remixes here. Those really quiet breaks do kinda make the track lose a little too much energy but overall still a pretty good one. The Valentino Khan remix is also fine but, as I feel is the case with a lot of these, it comes off as more of a DJ tool. And that's kinda where my highlights end. If the Recess album was MLG trickshot compilation, these EPs are the 3D Blender intros that come before them. Especially evident in the Ape Drums remix. The Flux Pavilion remix was also lowkey a let down. I don't think it's awful, I just think it's kind of a style mismatch. That and the swing of the original track's vocals make them sound out of time when they're slowed down like they are here.

As for the Ease My Mind and Ragga Bomb remixes, none of these are really doing anything for me. The Skrillex & Zomboy remix is kinda neat. The Ease My Mind remixes feel like they don't do enough to the originals outside of changing the drops. Which once again sound like they should be playing at the start of an Ali-A video or something. I find it very rare that hybrid trap of this era doesn't come off as at least a little bit dated. I do like the sound palette of the GTA remix's drop compared to the Jai Wolf one though.


Now it's your turn!
What are your thoughts on these EPs? Do you love it/hate it? Have you even heard it? (if not, go listen, the image is a link to it's RYM page)
Speak your mind!

As I stated in a previous installment of the Skrillex Book Club, many official remixes of Skrillex tunes pale in comparison to the originals. This is, of course, not typically the case when the remixer in question happens to be Sonny Moore himself. For these two remix EPs, that mostly holds true, with a couple exceptions.

One of these exceptions is the Milo & Otis remix of Recess. Skrillex, along with Kill the Noise and Milo & Otis, actually collaborated on a remix of Duck Sauce's "NRG" prior to this, which is a personal favorite / guilty pleasure of mine. This Recess Remix is incredible. It almost feels like a spritual sequel to Recess, as every element introduced in it adds far more than it subtracts. This remix in particular is a big reason I pushed to have these EPs included as an entry in this series. The Valentino Khan Remix is pretty neat too. A very danceable first half, yet kinda of dissapointing slower second half reminiscent of the weaker stuff on the Recess album. I don't particularly like the Ape Drums remix all that much, but the Flux Pavillion track is a pretty alright dubstep remix.

When it comes to the Ease My Mind v Ragga Bomb Remixes, I have practically nothing to say about most of these remixes, with the exception of the Skrillex and Zomboy remix of Ragga Bomb. Obviously theres no way in hell anyone is ever gonna top the original, but this one comes close. The other remixes aren't very good.

There's also the Dirty Vibes Remixes EP but I don't care about them and you don't either.

One last thing that I forgot to mention in the last installment were those animated trailers for both Recess and the Remix EP. They are so fun and weird and I love them.

I am scared for next week.

RAW_ wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 11:05 am There's also the Dirty Vibes Remixes EP but I don't care about them and you don't either.

wtfff its hidden under the singles on RYM smh
they're pretty much exactly what i expected though.
drop in the first one sounds like PsychoKoopa - Universal Siren (real ones know....)

hprara wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2026 9:34 amIf the Recess album was MLG trickshot compilation, these EPs are the 3D Blender intros that come before them.

you will not believe what i have subjected myself to on skrillex book club. were moving into the mid 2010s so im clickbaiting in accordance with the times. bit aside i am going the extra mile just a tiny bit by also listening to the dirty vibe remixes so well see how those go. in terms of any backstory of me and this music. there is none! i was fully out my depth here. as a child i never really liked remixes because i only cared about the true artistic vision of the master himself. and even with that in mind i barely listened to any of the tracks off recess. this is all new to me up until writing this. i wasnt exactly sure how excited to be because my previous experiences with skrillex remixes havent been stellar. unfortunately i dont have any silly beginning anecdote or random link i unearthed to toss in this time so that bit may be retired since i might not be able to sustainably do it any longer.

music! a lot of it. starting with the recess remixes, the milo and otis remix was fun but nothing too crazy. the outro made me laugh though why are we emotional why are we when the jrpg antagonists theme gets an orchestral version for the boss fight. i also keep forgetting this song uses the same children cheering as five nights as freddys so thats like a gunshot to the head every time i hear it. oh my god do you think i only liked this song as much as i did when i was younger because i was obsessed with five nights at freddys as a kid oh my god. i dont want to think about that anymore, the valentino khan remix actually isnt too bad. reading what was said in here about it i expected to be like sorely disappointed but this ones also solidly enjoyable. i agree that definitely feels like it would be more enjoyable in a proper live setting as opposed to listening in my room at almost 3 am. it being the shortest one definitely is a good thing if it was longer i probably wouldve gotten bored and/or sick of it. the ape drums remix was just kind of boring? i have like literally nothing to say about this. and the flux pavillion remix was honestly even more boring. thank god for it being the second shortest thing on here i wouldve tore it apart if it went any longer. theres 2 good remixes on here 2 mid. its fine enough. not much else to say. having a good track as a base definitely helps in making your remix be decent too.

i was a little more excited for the ease my mind + ragga bomb remixes because one of the ragga bomb remixes skrillex actually worked on instead of getting sent remixes, going "sounds like shit lets drop it" and leaving it there. the skrillex and zomboy remix is actually hype as fuck this is super sick. exactly as loud and explosive as a remix to a song as loud and explosive as ragga bomb should be. the teddy killerz remix is fine and enjoyable to listen to. i just like dnb its like shaking keys in a babys face for me ill listen to most dnb and say that its fun and decent. the ease my mind remixes i was a bit scared for though because any times the skrillex remix has been slow it hasnt been too successful other than the phonat scary monsters remix which is still the best scary monsters remix in my opinion sorry !! so that being said i at least wasnt upset when i burst out laughing at the drop in the jai wolf remix. i dont know what i expected but it wasnt that oh my god. other than that the remix was basic and boring so you win some you lose some i guess? and the gta remix sure exists! i really dont have much to say. i appreciate what they were going for but it just doesnt quite work. over all i came out of this with the same experience as the recess remixes. 2 good ones and 2 kinda just mid ones.

moving on to the dirty vibe remixes. i dont have any jokes about diplo to add here i just listened to this because i felt like i may as well. going above and beyond or whatever i wrote earlier. my hopes were a little high for this one too because of what i said earlier about having a good song as a base oftentimes helps you make a pretty decent remix. you have to understand that i did an actual double take when i saw that THERES A FUCKING DJ SNAKE REMIX??? LIKE THAT DJ SNAKE???? LIKE TURN DOWN FOR WHAT DJ SNAKE????? AND ITS FUCKING AWESOME?????? this is an unreasonably fun listen. every single second. the most 2014 thing ive listened to this whole time i think and its perfect for that. this is what people mean when they say hype moments and aura dj snake i owe you fucking everything. the habstrakt remix is also fine too. it meanders a little but its certainly fun to listen to. nothings really going to be better than the flashbang of a dj snake remix though. the jack beats rework switches being boring and good enough repeatedly and im not sure how to feel about it? its just fine though. the ricky remedy remix might be the most boring thing ive listened to this whole time today. strangely enough all these remix eps ended the same way with 2 good remixes and 2 mid remixes.

okay so you know how i said i didnt have an intro bit? yeah so i lied i just moved it to the end because holy shit. this is me going above and beyond for the bit. i was looking at the skrillex discography on rym to see if there were any other remix eps (or singles in the case of dirty vibe) that anyone else here missed and i found something really peculiar. "Fuck That (Dolan Dark's 'CRASH BANDICOOT' Remix)" which sounds like some straight bullshit that should not be here and shouldve been filed under another artists page but no. this is real. this was officially released by owsla on soundcloud. im serious. the guy who 5 years later was in the "meme war" making this in competition with... this... made a remix for skrillex that got officially given a platform by owsla. if you check the soundcloud it even links to his soundcloud page. im genuinely in disbelief this exists. and listening to it is about what youd think. its just the drop reworked into the melody of one of the songs from crash bandicoot. with a whole minute of buildup out of the 2:30 track. its just boring. i didnt expect much at all but im surprised at how nothing burger it was? whatever i did it i listened to it. when i die you can put that in your funeral speech now.

over all including that final remix i guess the tally is 6 good remixes 7 mid which is so funny that (at least for me) it was perfectly even until my silly little bonus. but yeah these were fine whatever. dj snake i love you. see you next week for fuck u or whatever its called

the milo and otis remix is really good