Diplo and Skrillex join Charlie Rose on PBSJack U On Charlie Rose

Diplo and Skrillex join Charlie Rose on PBS

Perhaps Skrillex’s interview session with Katie Couric piqued an interest in the mainstream media to find out who exactly these electronic dance music stars were. As obvious frontrunners of today’s music genre, Diplo and Skrillex were invited to PBS with the prolific Charlie Rose, an interviewer who has been broadcasting since 1993. The two sat down with him to explain exactly who they are and to discuss the dance music phenomenon.

Diplo began by answering the question of whether or not they consider themselves musicians by explaining his perspective. “In 2015, you have to have one foot in the creation of the music and also one foot in the creation of the media,” he said. “I’m not a musician, per say. It’s bigger than just grabbing a guitar and putting something together, you have to create an atmosphere.”

“It’s about taking things that don’t make sense, make sense.” Skrillex goes on to Charlie Rose, who notes how wildly energetic the genre is. “Like getting 2Chainz or Justin Bieber on a record, when normally in dance music, you wouldn’t have something like that.”

“For five years we struggled to get people to respect what we do,” Diplo responded to Charlie after being presented a question about what’s coming in the future. “But now, we have a strange leverage over artists to get some of the best records they have.”

As Charlie Rose attempts to understand Diplo and Skrillex’s ascent into the limelight, Sonny and Wes consistently reference the organic process behind their radio takeover. Always staying true to the only goal of “making good music,” Diplo mentions always aiming to give himself goosebumps with his own music, and Skrillex adds that radio was never the goal for tracks like “Where Are Ü Now,” and rather the aim is to create a unique live experience.

Later on, Diplo references an unexpected moment in the studio shared with Win Butler of Arcade Fire during a weekend on tour in Canada. Though originally they claimed that the jam session was just for fun, Diplo explains that he has other plans for the music they made. With files in his pocket and loops already edited, he plans to return to Canada and record vocals with Win for what could possibly be another smash hit.

The three discuss quite a bit within the 20 minute interview including everything from drugs to hotel recording sessions with Kiesza, but one of the interesting questions Charlie Rose poses is how the two, who are considered the “top” of the genre, decided to come together – contrasting their unique situation to the more common situation of a duo rising to the top together, then splitting off individually. “Our individual projects are so forward thinking,” Skrillex says. “What we each try to do is push the envelope of sound and Jack Ü takes it to the next level. There are no rules.”

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