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Time for the eighteenth 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...was weird.

This week, we mix it up.

Skrillex Remixes (2009-2012)



I gathered up a selection of what I think are most Skrillex remixes (which seem to taper off around 2012), including a couple that aren't officially released, organized at least roughly chronologically. Being that this isn't really an album or even a proper compilation, and that it spans a good few years in terms of style, I can only really organize my thoughts on a track by track or maybe year by year basis. I think I'll just hit the highlights for this week.

Most of my favourites come from the early days. 'No Mercy, Only Violence' is an awesome one, simple as it may be. 'What Is Light? Where Is Laughter' might have been my conscious introduction to this strain of DnB. I can't think of much else I was listening to as a kid that sounded like this. One thing I'll always admire, especially about this era of Skrillex remixes, is how Sonny manages to mesh polar opposite genres. The 'Golden Mummy Golden Bird' remix is a prime example. That breakdown is in like a completely different key from the original song. So Sonny just says "Fuck It", and twists the hell out of the scream vocals with auto-tune to not only fit the key but form a melody. Crazy. The one from this era I come back to most though is the remix of Casxio's 'Seventeen'. Just so many elements feel like they cater to me specifically. Funky guitar, killer vocal chops, those punchy ass drums with the cut-off reverb tail, those giant ass saw chords. Peak.

The interesting thing about listening to these remixes in order is you really do see some of the subtleties in the way his style develops. Like with the Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas remixes, they still have that more typical hard four-on-the-floor groove but with some of those new growls and other sounds that would come with the "My Name Is Skrillex" era. The remixes tend to mirror the actual output. The gripe I have with this span is that these tracks can feel a tad bit samey. Like the drops all kinda follow the same formula. They're also like...long. Most are like 5 minutes or longer. Which is fine but it ends up feeling like they just played one song twice. The 'Alejandro' remix is lowkey underrated though. Once again, those vocal chops just auuughhhh.

I'd say things start to switch up with the 'Hey Sexy Lady' remix. We are now in brostep territory. This remix rules though. I keep saying it but God Those Fucking Vocal Chops. Same with 'In For The Kill'. Holy shit these chops. I like the intro and build-up more than the actual drop honestly. Up to this point, I'd been pretty familiar with what I'd been listening to but there are a few remixes in here I'd actually never heard. Like the ones from The Secret Handshake. Never heard them or of them. They're kinda funky. Not bad. Not a huge fan of the singer. I like 'Domino' the best out of the selection. One of our unreleased tracks in this selection is also one of my favourite Skrillex remixes. 'All I Ask Of You (Skrillex's 3 Hour Airplane Drumstep Mix)' is just insane. High energy and aggression. The contrast between Penny's vocals and the crazy alarm-like synth falls is really just something to behold. Similarly iconic is the unreleased 'Born This Way' remix, which I'm really sad is short and unfinished cuz Oh My God That Drop RIIIIIIPPPSSSS.

I did not know that Skrillex did a Bruno Mars remix, nor was I expecting it to be good. This final stretch does have some classics though. Everyone knows 'Cinema' and I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said. The 'Love In Motion' remix here is actually how I discovered SebastiAn. I'd only ever heard this version for the longest time and it's awesome. I love those little rising saw plucks. The 'Levels' remix is another one I had on my iPod as a kid. Two 'Goin' In' remixes here and I think I'm more partial to the 'Goin Hard' mix. And to top it all off, an absolute heater that I seem to always forget is a Skrillex remix, 'Holdin' On'. Something something mum get the camera something.

I don't really have an interesting way to wrap this one up. I'll say that aside from the remixes themselves being good, they also introduced me to some artists that I might not have found otherwise. I listened to that Shark Attack album that the remix is from a couple years ago. I don't remember it but it's cool that I was pointed towards it. Same with 'The Library EP' that No Mercy is from. That's an act that seems to only have really lived on through this remix. It's very hard to find info about them otherwise. So I guess my takeaway is that remixes lead to more discovery and that's cool.
Yeah.


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 the playlist )
Speak your mind!

This is a Shark Attack - Decent remix, a fucking die sample, and a bouncy drop. Could've been a bit shorter though.

The Sadness Will Never End - This one is a lot of fun. I love the vocal chops on this one, especially the part where the scream is pitch-shifted and sidechained. Just a great electro track, to put it simply.

No Mercy, Only Violence - Credited as DJ Skrillex lmao (maybe this is why Missy Elliot called him that, she just has elite Skrillex remix knowledge). This ones fine, not much to say about it other than it gets the job done.

What is Light? Where is Laughter? - Many of Sonny's older dnb style tracks don't do much for me, but this one is really really good. Classic skrillex samples and wubs. The lead singer's scottish accent is also really funny.

Golden Mummy Golden Bird - Admittedly I haven't heard every single one of these original tracks, but this one really feels ultra unique compared to the original. Almost feels more like his own song rather than a remix. Also shoutout that Xavier Renegade Angel sample (yeah i know its also in the original song just let me have this okay).

Shapeshift - Pretty similar thoughts to GMGB. I like the part in the second half where it sounds like the lead singer is bleeding to death after crashing his car (woah, oh dear).

The Wind Blows - The All-American Rejects transformed into good old-fashioned late 2000s electropop.

Sick Bubblegum - This is the one of the few Skrillex remixes I remember being in regular rotation during my early 2010s Skrillex listenings. Still kicks so much ass after all this time.

Seventeen - Fucking awesome. Fun fact: This song / remix turns Seventeen this October. Let that sink in.

Bad Romance - Nothing's gonna top the original, but second place ain't bad either.

Sensual Seduction - Everything about this song's existence is hilarious. How did this even happen? Like its good and all, its just strange that Skrillex somhow ended up on Snoop Dogg's radar in 2007/08 (according to the video description). I really like the guitar part that plays during Snoops one verse.

Rock That Body - Buildup was super promising, but this one unfortunately kinda blows. Its hard to explain why, but I assume its just the stench of will.i.am. It also kinda feels like its trying to hard? IDK.

Alejandro - Probably my favorite Lady Gaga Skrillex remix.

My Name is Skrillex - Skrillexremixception. I can't decide if I like the original or the remix better. I'll just leave it at "they're both incredible songs" and leave it at that.

Hey Sexy Lady - Surprisingly the first brostep style remix in the collection. Its got a hype buildup (N-N-N-N-NOW GET THE FUCK UP) and cool chops.

Woman - Not sure if this is because of the original song (which i did not listen to), but this sounds like Skrillex's take on a specific kind of pop song from the early 2010s, like Andy Grammar or OneRepublic or whatever if you know what I mean. Also the guy who made this is a member of Mystery Skulls, which is a name that means something to probably me and like maybe 5 other people.

Stop! - See Above

In for the Kill - Cool remix and cool chops. Listened to this one a lot back in the day too.

All I Ask of You - Not bad for a remix supposedly made in 3 hours. In fact its really fucking good.

Born this Way - Drag Queen Drag Queen Drag Queen Drag Queen Drag Queen Drag Queen Drag Queen Drag Queen Drag Queen WE DONT GIVE A F

Turmoil - Dope as hell.

Just the Way You Are - Fun house track, definitely gives off OG With You Friends vibes.

Cinema - Absolute Classic. I'm usually not the gatekeeper type, but you simply cannot call yourself a brostep fan if you have yet to hear this remix.

Promises - Another certified classic.

Love in Motion - Original mogs unfortunately.

Levels - Once again, its a classic and a must listen. Especially love the live-sounding part in the second half. So much hype to be found in this remix.

Goin Hard - Does indeed go hard.

Goin Down - Oh shit this is Wild for the Night by A$AP Rocky . Goin hard still better though.

Holdin On - Skrillex and Nero teaming up to deliver the anthem to 2014 MLG memes.

okay ive never listened to any of these i dont think so im really excited to what he brings to some of these classics (mostly the gaga remixes, you know who i am) and if he makes any of them worse! i will say the lack of the skrillex remix of the marshmello remix of the jack u song that i forgot the name of (also no sicko mode remix?) is disappointing mainly because i wanted you all to suffer through it but we ball

okay so i listened to about half of them and then needed to eat so heres my thoughts on the first half. most of them can be sorted into a couple categories. good, fine, and too long. most of these ones are good so ill get the rest out of the way, i thought the no mercy remix was just okayyyy but the weird synth stuff was fun for sure. the seventeen remix didnt do much for me either. the woman remix might be the worst of the bunch but even then its still solidly like a 5/10 for me. a few other remixes were pretty good but just felt a little too long for how much/little was going on. for me those are the shark attack, bring me the horizon, rob zombie, snoop dogg, and black eyed peas remixes. all of these are fine or good but couldve been shorter imo. all the rest of the first half of the playlist are definitely good so ill list those just for clarity. the my name is skrillex remix is good and arguably better than the original song but i kind of like the charm that the original has so its hard to say where i stand on that. the hey sexy lady remix is also pretty good and same with the all american rejects remix. the horse the band remixes are both insane. the breakdowns on both are NASTY and the rest of the remixes are great too. apparently the what is light remix got some motion in japan because a youtuber that was popular there put it one of their videos so a lot of the comments are in japanese and from like 10 years ago however i would like to note from 5 years ago: "SoyTubers are the only ones who can win" also this remix is really good and one of my favorites for sure.unsurprisngly yeah i love the bad romance remix im sorry when that gaga hit i sit my ass down and listen. alejandro remix was great too.

i took a break here to eat food and then was about to get back to listening when i suddenly took a tangent because the art for that secret handshake album looks like it was done by the same guy who did the artwork for the first couple foster the people albums but i cant reliably find any information on if it was or wasnt but i checked the wikipedia of the artist who did the art for those foster the people albums and it offhandedly says he did something for skrillex but both source links dont work correctly or have anything about skrillex on them so now i have no clue what he did for skrillex i instinctively thought maybe for jack u but theres nothing anywhere about jack u that suggests he did that art so im like fully lost if you have any information please reach out

okay the second half of remixes didnt have any where i felt they were too long actually!! all of these were actually pretty good too with the exception of the stop remix. i didnt really like it much at all but the little synth solo was cute. the in for the kill remix was a lot more interesting i fuck with that one. as previously stated many times dnb is jingle keys to me so im a fan of the all i ask of you remix and turmoil remix. that one was a standout. the 2 birdy nam nam remixes were pretty good but i think i like the goin hard remix more. the promises remix and levels remix i felt similarly about where i remember hearing of these being classics and yeah they sure are! both good. the love in motion remix is really cool i didnt know this one was like a thing?? i will admit i was dreading the bruno mars remix but im really surprised to hear that its actually pretty good and i like it a decent bit. and then the cinema remix and the holdin on remix i both have heard a lot (obviously the holdin on remix was everywhere) but i never knew they were skrillex???? oh my god????? yeah both good and the holdin on remix is unironically peak actually so good. and finally the born this way remix OH MY GOD. THE UNDERSCORES SAMPLE IS FROM HERE????? AND ITS REALLY GOOD???? absolutely crazy.

in conclusion, im happy i listened to all these even if a good quarter of them i just didnt care about LOL. very cool stuff everybody say thank you skrillex