Skrillex is the biggest name in electronic music today. Eight Grammy awards, multiple platinum records and a name that fills stadiums are the inflection points that define his career. Artists at his level are usually untouchable. It’s impossible to get close to them. So how does a teenager from South Africa end up on stage with this generation’s most influential beatmaker? By being more driven, talented and committed than anyone else. During Ultra Fest 2016, Siphe Fassie experienced a moment that would define most musicians’ careers, collaborating with the iconic producer in front of a teeming crowd.
Fassie first met Skrillex at a workshop run by the charity Bridges for Music in 2013. The friendship stuck, and the pair collaborated again when Skrillex visited South Africa again this year. Their partnership is representative of the possibilities opened up by electronic music. A new generation of up and coming producers and DJs unconstrained by the barriers that blocked entry to the music industry in the past. Today anyone with talent, a laptop and an internet connection can make it big.
Bridges for Music is a global charity that aims to break down socioeconomic boundaries through electronic music. In the programme Fassie, who is related to the late Brenda Fassie, has been able to express his flair and vision, landing a scholarship to study music at the SAE Institute in Cape Town and earning the respect and friendship of his industry’s most decorated performer.
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