Amidst the controversial ‘button pushing’ debate stirred up by none other than the outspoken Deadmau5, big daddy of Dubstep – Skrillex recently had quite a lot to say on the matter.
First, let’s refresh our memory. Back in July 2012, Joel Zimmerman caused quite the shit storm by calling out himself and his fellow EDM musicians as people who did nothing more than “press play” on stage.
“It’s no secret. when it comes to “live” performance of EDM… that’s about the most it seems you can do anyway. It’s not about performance art, it’s not about talent either (really it’s not) In fact, let me do you and the rest of the EDM world button pushers who fuckin hate me for telling you how it is, a favor and let you all know how it is.”
-deadmau5
As expected, this lead to an intense and (never-ending) internet dialogue where many and we mean MANY EDM virtuosos gave us their insight.
However, recently as part of the panel for the Billboard Touring Conference, Skrillex made sure to address the topic of live shows and even talked about his own process.
“I don’t just hit play on the space bar and let it play the whole set. I mix every song–and I do mess up. I’m changing my set every night and producing new records on the tour bus to test out — so it is very much in the moment.
Deadmau5 has a programmed set, with MIDI triggering all of his lights. It’s a beautiful show, but his show is the most “press-play” show there is because he’s running Ableton Live. I’m not against it…But people like to see him, because he’s Joel. He’s an artist and he has a personality. I think that’s the superior part about being an artist.”
– Skrillex
And while we don’t necessarily disagree with the outspoken Mau5, Skrillex does put some things into perspective. Maybe it is subjective and differs from performer to performer.
What do you guys think? Tell us.