Despite both being renowned DJs in their own right, electro producers Skrillex and Diplo joined forces in 2013 as duo Jack Ü to create a hugely successful album working with artists including Justin Bieber, 2 Chainz and Missy Elliott.
Skrillex, the stage name of Sonny Moore, originally started out as singer in post-hardcore band From First to Last but became inspired by the grime beats he heard coming out of London's underground clubs in the late 2000s and helped turn dubstep into a massive, high energy, global craze with his electric live sets and Grammy-winning EPs 'Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites' and 'Bangarang'. Diplo, aka Thomas Pentz, had also been a master at identifying new dance trends and morphing together hip-hop swagger, punk rock energy, dub reggae bass lines and dance music euphoria he made his name as producer for MIA, Santigold and Snoop Dogg and as the leader of dance trio Major Lazer and founder of Mad Decent Records.
Although the pair had met through ten years of touring the same circuit, it was when Diplo finally settled in Los Angeles that they became friends and collaborated on the track 'Amplifier' in 2011; they made their debut as Jack Ü at a Mad Decent Block Party in San Diego in 2013. Taking a natural, flexible approach to their collaborations, their debut single 'Take U There' came together after they spotted Canadian singer Kiesza in Ibiza and spent three hours recording and improvising together in a hotel room together. They also recruited Justin Bieber to the project after meeting him in a club and their track 'Where Are U Now' was a disjointed, tropical, avant-pop ballad that went on to top the UK charts and win the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. Their 2015 debut album 'Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü' also won a Grammy and featured AlunaGeorge, Bunji Garlin and Fly Boi Keno. They went on to headline at Madison Square Garden in New York, but contract wrangles with Skrillex's label delayed the release of further new material.
