It’s been a good week for dubstep superstar Skrillex after nabbing three Grammys on Sunday. But here’s something he might not like to hear. Experimental German musician and Ableton co-inventor Robert Heinke (Monolake) takes some digs at Skrillex in a new Resident Advisor interview. Speaking to RA editor Todd Burns, Heinke said of Skrillex:

You seem like the type of person who would have to go out of your way to listen to Skrillex.
I’m curious. And I learned to skip my prejudice, you know. There are a lot of reasons why I could say I hate this kind of music. But then, on the other side, I think I should at least try to understand what makes people like this stuff so much.

What did you figure out from listening to him? Anything? Anything positive?
Hah. Well, first of all as a technique his use of contrast is of course very intriguing. Even if I don’t like how he executes it. Like, what kinds of contrasts he is choosing and what kinds of sounds he’s using and what kind of clichés. His success seems to be based on this contrast between cheesy melodies and the evil dubstep cliché. And, without the contrast, it would be completely unbearable. If it would be only the evil dubstep cliché sounds you would immediately want to turn it off after ten minutes. If it would be only the cheesy melodies and vocals, then it would be unbearable. The combination is what makes it interesting to me.

More than anything, I find it very exhausting to listen to.
It’s absolutely exhausting. And that is the very interesting thing. It’s something you listen to for the very first time and you think, “oh, wow.” And you listen to it the second time and you think “ooof.” I believe that my music works exactly the other way around. You listen to it the first time and it’s kind of “Yeah, hmm, it’s OK.” You listen to it ten times and you think, “Hmm, interesting detail here.”

Heinke then goes on to acknowledge clichés within his own world of experimental music, but considering that Skrillex performs live using Ableton, that logo on his computer screen might make him cringe a bit every night onstage if he reads this. …MORE