Skrillex | Leaving EP

Background

Love him or hate him, Skrillex's name is synonymous with EDM, and more specifically, dubstep.  Coming from the post-hardcore band From First To Last, Skrillex switched to producing electronic music when he was told he had to stop singing or risk destroying his vocal chords.  After releasing his "Gypsyhook EP" under his real name, Sonny More, he released "My Name is Skrillex" for free under his new alias, Skrillex.  It was his next EP, "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," though, that rocked the world and not only brought Skrillex to international fame but also popularized dubstep into mainstream media in the United States.  After that, the rest is history.  "More Monsters and Sprites," "Bangarang," and eventually his debut LP "Recess."  "Leaving EP" was a special 3-track EP given out to anyone that subscribed to Skrillex's label, OWSLA.

Review

Listen to "Leaving EP"

As a fun little bonus EP designed to incentivize a subscription service, "Leaving EP" is nothing special, but the tracks themselves are decent and have received decently well.  "The Reason" starts off the short EP and is an interesting electro track with vocal chops of the title's name and a moombahton-y breakdown full of lasers in the middle.  It's got a solid beat and the production is very clean, but it fails to do anything of note and and feels a little lackluster as a result.  It's interesting to note, however, that "The Reason" was produced an hour before release in a hotel room in Miami.  Skrillex returns to his roots with "Scary Bolly Dub," an interestingly grungy dubstep track with a wobble-heavy drop that gets stuck in my head for days.  The second half of the song is a variation on Skrillex's grammy-winning track "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," which released on the EP of the same name and has over 216 million plays on YouTube alone.  "Leaving EP" finishes with the title track, "Leaving," which is a downtempo, relaxed atmospheric track more suited to watching snow fall than being the soundtrack for a loud, thumping club.  It's unexpected from the king of dubstep, but it's a welcome change and, if anything, shows off Skrillex's talent and versatility as a producer.

While being a freebie for a subscription service and 2/3 of the tracks were written in hotel rooms, "Leaving EP" manages to produce tracks worthy of a listen and, although it feels more like three singles than a coherent release, is far from a bad EP.  6.5/10

Notable Remixes

Leaving (Sonny Alsalmo Remix)

Sonny Alsalmo takes a chill track and makes it that much chiller with his 8-minute remix of "Leaving."  As it's a trancey house mix, 8 minutes is more than acceptable; in fact, it's traditional.  With a prominent sub bass and spaced out drums, Sonny Alsalmo creates a misty atmosphere that is perfect relaxing listening.

Sources

Rolling Stones | Skrillex Releases New 'Leaving' EP
Wikipedia | Skrillex