JOIN USOnce marginalised as a novel European import, electronic dance music, or EDM, has become the dominant trend in American pop these days.
Its lively synthetic beats and booming bass lines are inescapable, and its top DJs draw sold-out crowds to outdoor raves like Electric Daisy Carnival and even rock bastions like Lollapalooza and Coachella, earning them thousands, if not millions, of dollars for a single set.
Now several of its stars are turning their attention to what could become their biggest payday yet: Hollywood.
Skrillex, the dubstep DJ who won three Grammys in February, and who Forbes magazine estimated earned $15 million last year, has composed an original score for the director Harmony Korine’s film Spring Breakers, a vacation romp that stars James Franco as a cornrowed drug dealer, which does not yet have a release date. Skrillex, 24, also recorded material for one scene of the Disney animated film Wreck-It Ralph, featuring John C Reilly as the voice of a repentant video game villain, which is scheduled to be released on Nov 2.
Similarly, Anthony Gonzalez, the mastermind of the gentler, more orchestral French electronic-pop band M83 and creator of its breakout 2011 album ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’, is working on the score for Oblivion. The film, the director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi adventure starring Tom Cruise, is slated for release next year.
Another of electronic dance’s leaders, Kaskade, met with film producers during his summer headlining tour but has yet to finalise a deal. Without denying the potential financial rewards, Kaskade said part of his motivation for venturing into film scores is artistic credibility.
“For me, it’s about longevity and doing something that’s new, different, challenging,” he said. For a movie industry eager to tap into EDM’s largely young fan base, the incentive seems obvious. Yet John Houlihan, a film supervisor who has worked on more than 60 soundtracks, including those for the three Austin Powers movies, Training Day and the forthcoming Bruce Willis thriller Looper, sees an underlying creative connection.
“I think it’s their day in the sun, and Hollywood is very trendy,” he said. “An EDM artist like Skrillex is pushing frequencies and using new instrumentation that is so intense, his music has the potential to drive a modern action scene more effectively than a traditional Hollywood orchestra.”