New Skrillex material has landed at last, stream ‘Kliptown Empyrean’
by: Austria Masim
Oct 23, 2020
Not even one full day after Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites 10th birthday, Skrillex has shared new music, offering a free full download of what is as close to a full-fledged solo release as he’s gotten this year, “Kliptown Empyrean.”
Kliptown is a suburb of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 10 miles southwest of Johannesburg. In 2016, Skrillex and local rapper Riky Rick visited the Soweto Kliptown Youth Centre to hold a Bridges for Music workshop where both offered advice on how to operate in the industry and also discussed how belief in oneself, hard work and determination are necessary to achieve one’s dreams. The term “empyrean” by definition refers to “heaven,” and would not be a misnomer for the Soweto Kliptown Youth Centre, which serves as a safe haven for African youth, housing 40 kids and feeding more than 200 children a day from the community.
“Kliptown Empyrean” is Skrillex’s first full solo release in nearly half a decade. The single takes elements from a mix of genres including ambient, UK garage, and future garage, landing as a hybrid with refreshing atmospheres. “Kilptown Empyrean” notably also pairs unique signatures from the past and present, sampling Lizzie McGuire in addition to 808’s from The Prodigy‘s “Breathe” and percussions from Virtual Riot.
The track was uploaded the same day it was produced, October 23. Enjoy “Kliptown Empyrean” as a free download here.
Throw back to my trip to Kliptown in South Africa last year @bridgesformusic https://t.co/4Ky1FXik3Z pic.twitter.com/AvcNUGR8M4
— Skrillex (@Skrillex) April 13, 2017
Still finishing this main body of work but in the mean time I just made this today and wanted to put it out? https://t.co/OX0jTyIFi6
— Skrillex (@Skrillex) October 23, 2020
Featured image: David Becker/Getty Images
Categories: Music