Posted by Maura Johnston on 01/03/2013 at 1:40 PM News

The Popdust Files: skrillex

Skrillex stealth-released the three-song EP Leaving today, and the title track will surprise those people who think the Popdust 40 member is only capable of crafting big beats and even bigger drops: “Leaving” is a downtempo song that was recorded in a Mexico City hotel room, and its muted nature might have some people wondering where, exactly, the drop might be located. (Although to his fans’ credit, the YouTube comments we could stomach reading on this particular clip seem to have more people anticipating those clueless reactions than actually making them.) Could its muted tone, not to mention its title, mean that he’s written his post-Ellie Goulding-split dubstep breakup song? Perhaps: “I guess it’s just kind of a reflection of how I’m feeling right now,” he said of his new material.

The entire EP is available through Skrillex’s label OWSLA; his YouTube channel is also streaming it in its entirety. “Bolly Dub” has a nice bounce that makes the introduction of the infectious melody (and screeched “Yes, oh my gosh!”) from “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” even more surprising:

And the vocals on “The Reason,” which was apparently finished an hour before Skrillex let the EP loose on the Internet, are clipped and stretched in a way that evokes the sadness of “Leaving,” although they’re laid over a squelchy beat with more muscle than the title track:

[via Death and Taxes]