Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988),[9] known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead singer in 2004, and recorded two studio albums with the band (Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount in 2004 and Heroine in 2006) before leaving to pursue a solo career in 2007.[10][11] He began his first tour as a solo artist in late 2007. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore joined the Alternative Press Tour to support bands such as All Time Low and the Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press's annual "100 Bands You Need to Know" issue.[12]
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore
January 15, 1988
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- DJ
- music producer
- singer
- musician
2004–present
After releasing the Gypsyhook EP in 2009, Moore was scheduled to record his debut studio album, Bells, with producer Noah Shain. He ceased production of the album, however, and began performing under the name Skrillex, distributing the dubstep EP My Name Is Skrillex for free download on his official MySpace page. Subsequently, he released the Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP in late 2010 and More Monsters and Sprites EP in mid-2011, both of which have since become moderate commercial successes. On November 30, 2011, he received five Grammy Award nominations at the 54th Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and won three: "Best Dance/Electronica Album", "Best Dance Recording", and "Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical".[13] In December 2011, the BBC announced that he had been nominated for their Sound of 2012 poll.[14] The same month, he was also named MTV's Electronic Dance Music Artist of the Year.[15] Skrillex released his first studio album Recess in 2014. His second and third albums, Quest for Fire and Don't Get Too Close, were released one day apart in 2023.
Skrillex has won nine Grammy Awards, more than any other electronic dance music artist.[16] Skrillex has collaborated with Diplo and Boys Noize to form the groups Jack Ü and Dog Blood respectively. It was announced on Moore's 29th birthday, that he reunited with From First to Last and released a single named "Make War". In 2017, Skrillex produced and mixed 8, the eighth studio album by rock band Incubus.[17] In July 2017, Skrillex released another single featuring debuting solo artist Poo Bear.[18]
Early life
Moore lived in the Highland Park neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles,[19][20] but was brought to the Forest Hill neighborhood of San Francisco at the age of 2, where he attended elementary school. At the ages of 9 and 10, Moore attended a boarding school in the Mojave Desert LV, but eventually moved back to Northern California. Both of his parents were Scientologists.[21][22] He was adopted at birth by family friends of his biological parents and did not find this out until he was 15.[23] By the time he was 12, his family moved back to his birthplace of Northeast Los Angeles. There he enrolled in a private academy school specializing in arts that used some of L. Ron Hubbard's teachings.[24] Later, he was home schooled at the age of 14 due to bullying. In 2004, he learned he was adopted[25] and dropped out of the program when he was 16.[26][27] While a young teenager in Los Angeles, Moore would attend punk gigs in Mexican American neighborhoods in East and South Los Angeles, and later at electro club raves in the downtown's Silver Lake and Echo Park neighborhoods.[28][29]
Career
2004–2007: From First to Last
In 2004, Moore contacted Matt Good of From First to Last about playing guitar for the band on their debut album. After flying out to Georgia, Moore was heard singing by three studio producers, Derrick Thomas, Eric Dale, and McHale Butler, and was then made lead singer, with Good playing guitar. In June 2004, Epitaph Records released the band's first full-length record with their new bandmate, Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count. After performing on several successful tours, two being the Vans Warped Tour and Dead by Dawn tour, they began recording their second album, Heroine with producer Ross Robinson. The album was released in March 2006 on Epitaph. With high record sales once again, the band found themselves part of many successful tours, until Moore started suffering vocal problems, causing the band to resign from several tours. After going through a successful vocal surgical procedure, Moore informed the band he would be permanently resigning to work on a solo career. FFTL's last show performed with Moore was in their hometown of Orlando at The House of Blues while touring with Atreyu.
Moore announced he had left From First to Last to pursue a solo career. He then launched a Myspace page displaying three demos ("Signal", "Equinox", and "Glow Worm"). This led to Moore's first performance since his leaving From First to Last. On April 7, 2007, alongside harpist Carol Robbins, Moore played several original songs at a local art building. After months of releasing demos via Myspace, Moore played on the Team Sleep Tour with a full band. The tour also featured supporting acts Monster in the Machine and Strata. Moore made several demo CDs available on this tour, limited to about 30 per show. These CDs were tour exclusive and were packaged in "baby blue envelopes", each with a unique drawing by Moore or bandmate.[30]
Influences
Moore has cited Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails[73] and the Doors[74] as early influences. Moore stated in an online interview that he is a longtime fan of Warp, a label whose roster includes notable electronic artists such as Aphex Twin and Squarepusher.[75] In an interview for Daft Punk Unchained, a 2015 documentary about the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, Moore said he was first exposed to electronic dance music after attending the duo's highly praised 2006 Coachella set.
Personal life
Moore dated English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding[76] throughout 2012. In a 2015 interview, Moore stated that although his parents practiced Scientology, he does not. He explained that music consumes most of the time he could theoretically devote to religion.[21] His mother died in June 2015.[22]
In a series of tweets in January 2023, Skrillex shared his struggles with mental health, revealing the reason behind the cancellation of his appearances at Movement Detroit and Tampa's Sunset Music Festival: "[I have] had the toughest year of my life in 2022, as did so many others. I literally found myself with no drive and purpose for the first time in my life." He noted that his mother's passing in 2015 saw him turn to alcohol: "I drank the pain away and kept going"; "2022 was sort of my tipping point."[77]
Studio albums
Moore partnered up with Red Bull to produce a documentary titled "Let's Make a Spaceship". It premiered on October 11, 2014, at 10 p.m. CT at the ACL Festival after his headline performance.[78] His performance and documentary, and others' performances are available for stream at Red Bull TV's website.[79]
