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Skrillex now has more in common with Beyonce than a pile of Grammys: They both like to release surprise albums.
PHOTOS: Beyonce’s Surprise Album: 8 Musicians Who Also Released Secret Records
Starting on the evening of March 10, the dubstep prince unlocked access to one song after another until all 11 tracks of his forthcoming album, Recess, had been unleashed unto the world. Recess is now streaming in full for fans who had downloaded his mysterious Alien Ride smartphone app, while samples of album are available on iTunes before it goes on sale on March 18.
Recess features guest artists that range from the usual suspects (Diplo, Alvin Risk, Kill The Noise) to the unexpected (Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos, Niki & The Dove) to the downright surprising (K-Pop stars G-Dragon and CL). His Divergent track, “Stranger,” is also included on his album, which was unlocked just hours before the Divergent soundtrack hit shelves. Of Recess‘ 11 tracks, only two — “Doompy Poomp” and “F— That” — are without a featured artist.
While it was widely known that Skrillex — born Sonny Moore — had been working in the studio, no details had emerged about any plans for an album until Monday night when the app unlocked the first track, “All Is Fair in Love and Brostep.”
STORY: Kendrick Lamar, Snow Patrol, Skrillex Featured on ‘Divergent’ Soundtrack
Circumventing the traditional album release process has been part of Skrillex’s career ethos since he famously gave away his first EP, My Name Is Skrillex via MySpace in 2010. Not that Recess will be without a promotional campaign — far from it. Earlier on Monday, Skrillex announced the 20 date Mothership tour starting in May. He will also perform later this month in Austin at SXSW, in Miami at Ultra Music Festival as well as several smaller shows in Miami yet to be announced. Presently, the Mothership makes its final landing on July 30 in Portland, Maine.
Along the way, he’ll be joined by Dillon Francis and DJ Snake, who will alternate tour dates, as well as Australia’s What So Not and duo Milo & Otis. However, the two-night set at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver will feature a special, expanded lineup.
Skrillex is teaming up with Red Bull for the tour. “Nobody touches Red Bull right now when it comes to thinking up groundbreaking projects and ideas and actually making them happen,” he said. “My crew and their crew have a lot in common, as people in terms of thinking big and going big, so they were an obvious choice as a partner for my 2014 tour.”
Tickets go on sale on March 14, with a presale for Express Card members running from March 10-13. See below for a full list of tour dates:
Skrillex Mothership Tour 2014
March 13-15 — Austin, Texas (SXSW)
March 26-28 — Miami, Fla. (Winter Music Conference)
March 30 — Miami, Fla. (Ultra Music Festival)
April 12 & 19 — Indio, Calif. (Coachella)
May 23 — Oklahoma City, Okla. (Zoo Amphitheatre)
May 24 — Kansas City, Kan. (Cricket Wireless Amphitheater)
May 26 — Louisville, Ky. (Louisville Waterfront Park)
May 27 — Cleveland, Ohio (Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica)
May 28 — Detroit, Mich. (Masonic Temple)
May 30-31 — Toronto, Ontario (TD Echo Beach)
June 2 — Rochester, N.Y. (CMAC Performing Arts Center)
June 3 — Albany, N.Y. (The Washington Avenue Armory)
June 4 — Gilford, N.H. (Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion at Meadowbrook)
June 7 — New York, N.Y. (Governors Ball)
June 8 — Baltimore, Md. (Pimlico Race Course)
June 9 — Richmond, Va. (Brown’s Island)
June 13-14 — Manchester, Tenn. (Bonnaroo)
June 17 — St. Louis, Mo. (Chaifetz Arena)
June 18 — Omaha, Neb. (Mid America Center)
June 20-21 — Denver, Colo. (Red Rocks Amphitheatre)
July 30 — Portland, Maine (Cumberland County Civic Center)
Recess officially drops on March 18 through OWSLA/Big Beat/Atlantic. See the track list below:
1. “All Is Fair In Love And Brostep” with Ragga Twins
2. “Recess” with Kill The Noise, Fatman Scoop & Michael Angelakos
3. “Stranger” with KillaGraham from Milo and Otis and Sam Dew
4. “Try It Out (Neon Mix)” with Alvin Risk
5. “Coast Is Clear” with Chance The Rapper & The Social Experiment
6. “Dirty Vibe” with Diplo, G-Dragon from Big Bang & CL from 2NE1
7. “Ragga Bomb” with Ragga Twins
8. “Doompy Poomp”
9. “Fuck That”
10. “Ease My Mind” with Niki & The Dove
11. “Fire Away” with Kid Harpoon
Listen to the first track off Recess below:
This article first appeared on Billboard.com.
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