He sold 10 million records and won six Grammys. He runs a successful label, and is beginning to make major moves in Hollywood. Skrillex is the face of EDM’s explosion, but with every benchmark of success comes controversy and questions about his place in the dance music community. But if you ask him, the issue isn’t complicated: “I like to be happy. I like to have fun. People don’t realize how simple it is."
Skrillex won us over when he dropped by The Complex Complex at SXSW earlier this year for a surprise performance, just one day after releasing his proper debut album Recess. Since then he’s been everywhere, owning Ultra Music, Coachella, Bonnaroo, and—just yesterday—Lollapalooza. With a fall tour on deck, the king of EDM shows no sign of stopping. We had the opportunity to collaborate with Skrillex on a futuristic digital cover experience, with crazy visuals created by Timothy Saccenti and Hey Beautiful Jerk. For the story, we sent Do Androids Dance? editor-in-chief Khal to meet up with the controversial superstar to find out what it's like being both a citizen and an alien of EDM. We’re kicking off a week of features centered around Skrillex, but it all begins with our one-of-a-kind cover story…
