Skrillex is one of the names that is immediately mentioned when the term "EDM" is thrown around. He's worked with everyone from The Doors to Damian Marley, and has a legion of fans... and haters. He's helped introduce artists like Zedd, Kill the Noise, Birdy Nam Nam, and many others to the dance music populace, and is a force to be reckoned with as a producer, live act, and a label head.
There's no way you can know the whole story, though. Here are 10 things you didn't know about Skrillex.
The Origin of "Skrillex"
Aphex Twin and Squarepusher Were His "Musical Turning Point"
Twipz
Before adopting the name "Skrillex" for his musical career, though, Skrilly used to go by the name "Twipz." No, we're not sure where that name came from, but there are a number of MySpace-era tracks attributed to "Twipz" floating around on YouTube:
Skrillex Used to Sing
From First to Last is a band that was signed to Epitaph in the mid-2000s. Skrillex was, at the time, very into their music and heard the band was in need of a guitarist. In speaking with the band, he ended up moving out to Georgia, and somehow became the group's lead singer. He stayed on with the group for three years, sighting issues with not really being a singer (you'd think the need for vocal surgery would have clued him in), and ended up pursuing his solo career in 2007.
Skrillex Grew Up Thinking His Biological Mother Was a "Family Friend"
The First Time He Met Jonathan Davis
Skrillex's First Solo Live Show Was With a Harpist
The Popularity of Skrillex's "Cinema" Remix
The Creation of "Make it Bun Dem"
Skrillex and Damian Marley released a single, "Make It Bun Dem," in 2012, but it wasn't always an original Jr. Gong song. As the story goes, Skrillex had an unreleased instrumental that made the rounds online (dubbed "Rudeboy Bass" by fans for the sample in the track), and he ended up putting the acapella of Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock" over it.
Skrillex eventually sent the demo to Damian, and instead of releasing it as a remix to "Welcome to Jamrock," Jr. Gong recorded new vocals to the instrumental. This eventually got released on May 1, 2012, and further solidified Skrillex's mainstream dominance.