Skrillex Unveils Second Album in 2 Days: 'Don't Get Too Close'
What a wild year it has already been for Skrillex. The iconic producer’s highly-anticipated return was made official on Friday, February 17th, as he finally unveiled Quest For Fire, his first album in 9 years.
Featuring collaborations with the likes of Bobby Raps, Sleepnet, Starrah, Aluna, Kito, PEEKABOO, Flowdan and many more, Quest For Fire took the world by storm upon its release, and yet again cemented Skrillex as a visionary producer, as he put his incredible creativity, versatility and technical skill on display throughout the project’s 15 tracks.
When Don’t Get Too Close unexpectedly dropped, Skrillex was still riding high off the release of Quest For Fire, as well as a historic show at Madison Square Garden alongside Fred again.. and Four Tet–which sold out within minutes. During their explosive, 5-hour B2B2B performance, however, he pulled the trigger on his second album, which marked his second full-length project in just over two days.
Juxtaposing the heavy and mesmerizing sound of Quest For Fire, Don’t Get Too Close follows a melodic and playful formula, yet oftentimes calls back to its bass-heavy counterpart, while leaning on an impressive and diverse list of features.
Following their explosive contributions to Quest For Fire, BEAM, Swae Lee and Bibi Bourelly make appearances on Don’t Get Too Close, while the likes of Yung Lean, Corbin, Chief Keef, and Kid Cudi lend infectious verses to Skrillex and his collaborators’ beats.
An alternate version of “Don't Leave Me Like This” with Bobby Raps kicks off the project, pulling back the curtain on the sample used in its bass house-infused counterpart from Quest For Fire. Previously released single “Way Back” nicely introduces listeners to the upbeat sound of the record, featuring production credits from PinkPantheress, as well as Rex Kudo, Danny L Harle and Sir Dylan. Rex Kudo makes multiple appearances on the album, landing on “Ceremony” featuring Yung Lean and Bladee, as well as “Mixed Signals” with Swae Lee.
Skrillex continues tying the two albums together in fascinating and unexpected ways throughout Don’t Get Too Close, giving valuable insight into his sampling process. BEAM’s vocals on “Selecta,” which includes additional production from Chris Lake, were sampled on “Rumble,” while Bibi Bourelly’s lines on “Painting Rainbows” appear on the respective closer from Quest For Fire, “Still Here (with the ones that I came with)" alongside Porter Robinson.
Not even two months into 2023 and Skrillex has shared two full-length albums, totaling 27 new tracks and over an hour of fresh material. Judging by the projects' chaotic rollout, some are already speculating that Skrillex might be gearing up to share even more new music down the line. Regardless of whether that’s the case, it’s crystal clear that he emerged in his best form possible, helping reshape the electronic music landscape, while once again inspiring a new generation of young producers in the process.