The Chicago Tribune early this morning published a recent phone interview they had with Skrillex that serves to showcase why doing your research is really super important. Even before the transcribed interview, the introduction to the article seems rife with bias and mistakes about Sonny’s origins and work. Calling him the “most famous DJ who ever lived” and “unusually contentious”, the Tribune makes it clear that mainstream media is absolutely terrible at conducting interviews or speaking, at all, about electronic music.
In the edited interview, it seems that Skrillex becomes a bit heated and agitated at some of the questions he’s asked, including an allusion to criticisms for his collaborations.
Yes, having Justin Bieber on a track was a very bold move, but it ultimately worked out for them in the end with multiple firsts for both Skrillex and Diplo in the charts, and a metric f*ckton of remixes from the likes of even Kaskade.
But to generalize “you’ve always gotten grief for collaborations that you’ve done” from a single criticized collaboration is foolish and short-sighted. I can’t count on all of my phalanges the amount of collaborations Skrillex has done that have received mass praise, including Kill The Noise, Korn, Foreign Beggars, The Doors, Diplo, Nero, Sirah, Ellie Goulding, Wolfgang Gartner, The Ragga Twins, Trollphace, G-Dragon & CL, 2 Chainz, Kiesza … and that’s just the stuff that’s been released!
The interviewer also allegedly took a quote out of context from Skrillex, stating, “You seem like you’re maybe not so comfortable in the spotlight. You’ve said: I don’t like my face being shown; I hate all the attention being on me.”
Interesting. I don’t know where (you got that out-of-context quote). It’s not really about the spotlight or attention, it’s about making music in the studio and having fun making music together.
And from there, it seemed like the misinformation from the interviewer continued to rub Sonny the wrong way.
Q: The fact that that was your first hit, is that because the world is ready for more EDM in the Top 40 or because Justin Bieber was involved?
A: Have you heard the song? I think it’s an undeniable song. Justin Bieber has one of the most beautiful voices ever.
Q: You’ve both had times when you were perhaps unfairly picked on in the media. Was there any bonding over that?
A: We don’t really care. I don’t care what the media says. Justin Bieber is really talented, but a lot of people hate on him for the sake of hating on him.
Q: You’ve always gotten grief for collaborations that you’ve done, but it seems like maybe EDM is …
A: I’ve never heard someone say something like (that). I’ve had a lot of positive stuff for collaborations.
We’re definitely taking Skrillex’s side on this one. Mainstream media can continue to interview electronic artists, but only if they take a history lesson first.
Source: Chicago Tribute | Image via Sami Barker Photography
Note: Image does not reflect the interview featured in this story.
