Skrillex says confidence is the key to success.
The musician, real name Sonny Moore, is one of the leading figures in electric dance music playing gigs the world over. His set at this year's Coachella festival sent party goers into a frenzy, but he hasn't escaped the nasty comments of critics who once branded him the "most hated man in dubstep". While he's managed to brush off the naysayers, Sonny didn't come out unscathed and his self belief took a bashing.
"Once you lose your confidence, you've lost everything. If you wake up in the morning and you're sad, your buzz, your vibe, everything you've created will just crumble," he explained to British magazine NME.
Thankfully his fans got him through the rough patch, and his music has quickly been received by a wider audience.
Hip-hop stars A$AP Rocky called on Sonny's producer skills, and movie director Harmony Korine asked him to score his film Spring Breakers, starring James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez.
"The fans have changed too," Sonny revealed. "I did [Miami dance festival] Ultra this year and the crowd was great. You walked around and it felt mature. All the different genres were working together, from the deeper stuff to the crazier stuff. People talk about the 'EDM bubble', but I feel like people are really devoted to this music and this culture."
He'll take to the stage at this year's Glastonbury festival, one of the biggest music events of the year, in June as well as numerous other dates across Europe and America.
Keeping his energy up is no problem for 26-year-old Sonny, who explains that his love for music and what he does gets him through the gruelling work schedule.
"It's like when you go to McDonald's and the dude's a d**k. You're like, 'Dude, at least f**king do your job the best you can while you're here.' I'm 100 per cent a believer of this: no matter how hard it is something, you have to wake up and enjoy what you're doing," he smiled.
"I've seen DJs fizzle out because they've let the work of the pressure get to them. A lot of artists got jaded really quick."
