Skrillex – Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites (Deluxe Tour Edition) (2010)

This is Skrillex’s second major release, which took the world of EDM music by storm, named in recognition of David Bowie, oddly enough. It is an EP album of the then fairly new genre Dubstep, which developed out of a fusion of musical genres in the world of Electronic music. This is still a very popular release today, so let’s take a good listen to this extended version of this EP, and hear if it does justice to the world of music.

First track is Rock ‘n’ Roll (Will Take You To The Mountain) which begins with a heavy, House inspired kick drum based beats, electronic sounds and up pitched vocals. It is very catchy and completely different to many releases out there. It goes straight into a catchy Dubstep riff that must be heard to be experienced. This sounds like postmodern music for video gamers and similar cultural fans alike. The amount of brilliant effort into this piece is out of this world and amazing, and it definitely leaves an awesome impression upon the listener. Many different cut up fragments power this brilliant piece of music along. Very powerful and catchy, it is so advanced sounding that it sounds out of this world. The vocal sample repeats at the end, with some sweeping Electronic sounds to finish up nicely. It concludes with some anti-EDM statements sampled by people, and finishes with some whooshing Electronic noises. Excellent.

The title track Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites is next, beginning with a catchy melody, some Dubstep beats and some really flavoured textures to get your attention. Some cut up and pitched shifted vocals follow, before a killer vocal sample, “YES! OH MY GOD!” enters from a schoolkid and this piece goes into one of the most memorable Dubstep pieces in musical history. It sounds as though Skrillex put 100% into this piece of music and it will blow any decent of speakers apart here. It is a really awesome and excellent sounding piece of music, light years ahead of everyone else in the music world. The suspense and delivery here of the sounds make this a really interesting listening experience. It finishes with the singing vocal samples that are pitch shifted, with some piano in the background. Skrillex is undoubtedly a genius, period. Great tune.

Kill EVERYBODY follows with some basic beats, electric sounding textures and a bunch of brilliant cut up melodies. It has unique sounds here, before some more cut up vocals enter about the desire of mass murder and other strange things. It quickly goes into a monstrous sounding Dubstep piece, with a Classical music feeling to it in the sounds. Really cool and excellent, there are some Electronic sounds and textures equivalent to lions roaring. Throughout, this piece sounds very good and interesting. A catchy and quite danceable piece, this is an excellent effort by Skrillex. A brilliant introduction into the world of Dubstep, quite freakily melodic, too. Fragments of different sounds flow throughout, a very clever and different sounding track. It concludes with some repeated cut up samples and sounds excellent. Good listening experience.

All I Ask of You (feat. Pennybirdrabbit) launches straight into a more basic EDM piece with a House/Techno feel, some awesome Trance like melodies and an exciting build up of sounds and textures. It then launches into a minor key melody that is minimal, yet pivotal to this piece. Our guest sings along nicely, and this track is a very much Pop piece as a result. Really awesome listening, and a different take on your average EDM track, this is definitely catchy and memorable. This is a crossover tune for those who like different types of music out there in the EDM world, so this is one worth hearing. It is great listening and very melodic and inspired. A simple, catchy and great tune to go nuts to. It gets more minimal towards the end, and sounds excellent from start to finish. The delay on the vocals in the outro is excellent. Nice tune.

Following is Scatta (feat. Foreign Beggars & Bare Noize) which begins with some good Rapping and retro sound keyboard sounds. This is instantly rather ordinary sounding with the keyboard patch, but once it hits the breakdown, it changes and improves dramatically. It becomes a great piece of postmodern wonder and sounds dramatic. A really powerful and moving piece of EDM, Rap and Progressive sounds here. This sounds undeniably awesome, great music for that long video game session that you need to have. Interesting and unforgettable, this is a brilliant piece of seemingly effortless work by Skrillex and friends. It finishes with the ordinary keyboard sound, but a decent track nonetheless.

Next is With You, Friends (Long Drive) which is a longer piece at over six minutes long. It begins with cut up and edited vocal samples and some interesting sounds that match it. It quickly goes into some further cut up vocals that are rather Daft Punk like in sound, building up nicely and gradually. A really cool piece, some piano then is added to the mix, making it sound really uplifting and incredible listening. No beats, just some great melodies here. Skrillex shows his intellectual side with this piece, and comes across as the next Classical prodigy, except it is in the 21st century that he is doing music in. In the middle of the track builds up a bunch of great melodies and soft sounding beats to get you moving. This is definitely a gentle listen compared to what has come before, until some basic 4/4 beats come along and take this piece to the next level. Indeed, this track would be suitable for playing in the car or a similar public area with friends. Very nice and quite moving, too. Eventually this piece finishes with some strange cut up vocals and the piano parts here. Great sounding tune, with many ways of saying thank you and goodbye to the listener for hearing Skrillex’s music. Awesome.

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites – Noisia Remix begins the remixes here. It sounds quite different this remix, with Drum and Bass beats and other different reinterpretations and additional treatment to the classic song here. After the boy screams, this sounds very different to the original, just sounding fresh, quirky yet amazing here. Energetic, passionate and top, this is a wackier and more danceable piece that sounds more minimal. Obviously a friendly competitor of Skrillex’s, this does sound very different and feels energetically different from the original track. It finishes with some bleeps and beeps. Nice work.

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites – Zedd Remix begins with some basic cut up beats and beeps, sounding rather minimal. Some watery sounds then enter here, turning into a basic EDM piece, sounding nothing at all like the original here. A really warped sounding tune here, it certainly is a breath of fresh air. It eventually goes into a section that has a heavily remixed version of the original with the soft and reassuring listening here, before the kid screams and this piece gets groovy. A very refreshing and different sort of listen, this is certainly wonderful and great listening throughout. It certainly sounds like a well thought out remix, with a more straight ahead House/Techno sort of feel to it. Super cool, Skrillex certainly is a genius of his own sort. Creative and wonderful, this is a nice remix for sure. It goes back to the minimalism and more original feel to this track at the end, obviously there to be used in a DJ mix of some sort. Clever and different, it ends with some stardust noises.

Following is Kill EVERYBODY – Bare Noize Remix which begins with the vocal sample being edited heavily, before launching into a more Trance sounding piece than the original was. It then launches fairly quickly into a neat mixture of the track with a Drum and Bass feel to it. A lot more minimal than the original, and a little less exciting than expected, but nonetheless a decent remix of this track. It has many cut up sections and variations on melodies, this is a good remix but still, a little lacking compared to the original. It does sound very different and awesome all the same, with some clever cut up melodies. Good effort, but a little lacking. It ends with the vocal sample and a simple fade out.

Next is Weekends!!! (feat. Sirah) which is a cyber tune that sounds digital and full of energy from the start. Sirah’s cut up vocals are excellently deployed over a simple musical tune here, which is the perfect tune to hear if you are looking forward to a Dubstep weekend. The melodies here are typical Skrillex brilliance, just sounding incredibly amazing and really uplifting. Buy a brand new car with some decent subwoofers and load up your best buddies to hear this one, it is designed for this tune. The midsection has many different cut up melodies and punchy beats to get you moving. It goes minimal with the repeated cut up vocal sample and a 4/4 beat, building up progressively into a wonderful climax, before launching into prime Dubstep territory. Energetic and excellent, Skrillex does a great job. Awesome sounding tune, and very underrated. It ends with some slowed down and cut up parts, before concluding. Ingenious.

Weekends!!! (feat. Sirah) – Zedd Remix is the last track on this deluxe album. It begins with some basic 4/4 beats, some basic DJ styled sounds and a gradual launch into the remix of this tune. A little slow here, to be fair. Although the remixes here are welcome on this album, it seems that the originals were much better, and this is a good example of that. It is not similar to the original at all, and does have some moments here, despite not being as good as the original track. One can appreciate the effort here though, this is not outright bad. It goes into a mind melting piece of music in the second half that sounds very Dubstep and monstrous melodically. This is redeeming for this track, and makes it a much better listen compared with the first half of it. A good effort nonetheless, this finishes with a minimal drum beat section, obviously to be used in DJ sets around the world.

This EP is definitely worth hearing and experiencing, both for those who are new to EDM, or who have not yet heard the music of Skrillex. Skrillex has delivered a very good listen on this EP, and no doubt that fans after real digital music agree. He is now a household name in the world of music. Check this out when possible, it’s a sonic beast.

Awesomely awesome awesomeness.

9/10