2023 is in launching in major way in the dance world, with Skrillex announcing that he’s dropping a double album this year.
On New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), the producer born Sonny Moore posted an announcement to social media reading “QFF/DGTC 23,” with the acronyms widely understood to stand for the names of a pair of albums coming in 2023. Then on Jan. 2, he posted a snippet of the project’s first single, “Rumble,” a sinewy, foreboding collaboration with Fred again.. and UK grime MC Flowdan.
In response to the album news, the electronic producer community responded in what is most accurately described as rejoice. “2023 looking great already,” wrote Tchami, with bass artists from Subtronics to Ray Volpe to Peekaboo to tk sprinkling in such responses as “HYPERVENTILATING,” “H O L Y S H I T B A L L S” and “i’m f—ing WEEPING.” Even Missy Elliot, with whom Skrillex collaborated on the unreleased 2018 track “ID,” chimed in, effectively summing up the excitement with a series of alien head, flame and chef’s kiss emojis.
The albums will mark Skrillex’s first studio albums since his 2014 debut, Recess, which album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in April of 2014 in the apex of the EDM boom.
Skrillex has of course been mega-prolific in the interim, winning a pair of 2016 Grammys alongside Diplo in their duo Jack Ü — “Skrillex, he’s probably the best producer of electronic music I’ve ever met him my life. He can turn anything into anything on his own terms, the guy is the master,” Diplo told Billboard in 2022.
Hear the 15 second preview of “Rumble” in the above video.