RE:GENERATION MUSIC PROJECT EPK RE:GENERATION Song By Song The RE:GENERATION MUSIC PROJECT, produced in association with The GRAMMYs® and presented by Hyundai Veloster, examines the history of different music through the eyes of five of the most influential electronic producer/DJ’s in music today. For the project, Mark Ronson, DJ Premier, The Crystal Method, Pretty Lights and Skrillex each take a specific musical style and explore it by writing and recording a brand new track with a grouping of influential collaborators in that genre. SKRILLEX hit a Los Angeles studio with Members of The Doors in order to re-envision rock 'n' roll on "Breakn' a Sweat.” Meanwhile, THE CRYSTAL METHOD touched down in Detroit to work with Martha Reeves of The Vandellas and The Funk Brothers on an R&B number entitled "I'm Not Leaving.” Then there's MARK RONSON's southern brew of New Orleans jazz, "A La Modeliste," boasting a veritable all-star cast: Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste and Members of The Dap Kings. DJ PREMIER tapped Nas and Boston's very own Berklee Symphony Orchestra for "Regeneration.” Everything culminates on the dusty, intergalactic twang in Nashville of PRETTY LIGHTS' "Wayfaring Stranger" with LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley. We've arrived at the ultimate 21st century musical crossroads where vinyl is still a part of the music mainstay, but sounds are taking a whole new direction. The entire experience comes to life in the RE:GENERATION feature documentary directed by award-winning documentarian Amir Bar-Lev (“MY KID COULD PAINT THAT,” “THE TILLMAN STORY”) due in theaters nationwide this February. In revolutionary fashion, this documentary film examines music's past, present and future, while yielding five groundbreaking collaborations in the process. This is a new beginning. This is RE:GENERATION. SKRILLEX — "Breakn' a Sweat" [featuring members of The Doors] "Breakin' a Sweat" formally introduces the Facebook generation to psychedelic rock with a little help from three of the genre's pioneers—Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore of The Doors, celebrating a musical coming together since 1978’s An American Prayer was recorded at the mecca of alternative culture, Venice Beach, CA. Manzarek's shimmering keyboards recall "Light My Fire,” while blazing a decidedly new trail. A tribal beat ushers in a decidedly danceable break from SKRILLEX as Krieger's guitar cycles in and out of the synth swells. The DJ and producer declares, "I'm breakin' a sweat" while calculated handclaps propel rock 'n' roll to a new plateau. SKRILLEX's bass wobbles and breaks as the keyboard washes over the electronic soundscape. One final drum buildup from Densmore snaps into a heavy, hypnotic and heartfelt explosion. The song's immortal Southern California groove would certainly make "The Lizard King" proud. THE CRYSTAL METHOD — "I'm Not Leaving" [Featuring Martha Reeves of The Vandellas and The Funk Brothers] Breakbeat maestros, THE CRYSTAL METHOD, ventured to the heart of Detroit city for this swaggering and sexy combination of R&B, funk, and electro. A guitar riff energizes the verse as Martha Reeves of The Vandellas channels soul ghosts with the prowess of an entire gospel choir. It’s here the Motown native finds her lyrical inspiration reflecting on her home as it perseveres in economic turmoil. Together they visit the Ford Theater, the first place Martha ever sang as it was being demolished and Heidelberg Street, which for the past 25 years artist Tyree Guyton transformed his childhood home into a block-long art instillation. “Multicolored giant dots festoon a white house, another house is covered with stuffed animals, clocks hang on trees and repainted advertising posters line old fencing,” described Andrew Bender of the Los Angeles Times (11/13/11). Legendary Detroit players The Funk Brothers add their classic touch, and THE CRYSTAL METHOD bring all of these elements together into one raucous R&B jam that'll get crowds moving for years to come. It's hard not to start shaking your hips once this jam kicks in. MARK RONSON — "A La Modeliste" [Featuring Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste, and Members of The Dap Kings] You can practically smell the gumbo, jambalaya, and booze on Bourbon Street as the piano boogie of "A La Modeliste" starts to simmer. MARK RONSON takes old fashioned jazz down a new road with a little help from Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste, and members of The Dap Kings. Badu touts a smoky register reminiscent of the genre's heyday, while Mos Def injects a slight dose of New York grit into this unabashedly Southern romp. RONSON doesn't skimp on the bells and whistles either, as the track dives deep into traditional jazz instrumentation emanating from legendary drummer Modeliste and sassy brass courtesy of Trombone Shorty. It'll make any evening a scorcher. DJ PREMIER — "Regeneration" [Featuring Nas and Berklee Symphony Orchestra] DJ PREMIER tackled classical music with a little help from Boston's famed Berklee Symphony Orchestra and New York hip hop legend Nas. His expansive production began with some classical crate digging from which he separated eleven pieces of music and then pulled them together to be rescored and recorded by the Berklee Symphony Orchestra, especially for his song. Enhancing the enchanting flourishes of violin as Nas sums everything up with one word—"Regeneration.”The MC's fiery flow ignites another turning point for music, dropping airtight rhymes in between orchestral pockets. Everything subsides into a calming bridge mid- song that bears the mystical elegance of your favorite film score as one last triumphant movement begins. It's a monumental masterwork that'd be equally perfect on playlists featuring either Tchaikovsky or Jay-Z. PRETTY LIGHTS — "Wayfaring Stranger" [Featuring LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley] Denver's PRETTY LIGHTS moseyed on down to Nashville in order to craft a remake of Burl Ives’ "Wayfaring Stranger," a haunting, hypnotic reinterpretation of country music. It's as if he brought the genre to outer space on a trip hop rocket. An airy guitar strum rises like smoke signals alongside Dr. Ralph Stanley's soulful croon. LeAnn Rimes turns into a 21st century sonic seductress as her vocals resound through a haze of whistling, guitar, and synth beats. This "Stranger" won't be leaving your mind anytime soon. RE:GENERATION About the artists DJ PREMIER No more than three producers (Dr. Dre, RZA, and Prince Paul) can test DJ Premier's status as the most important trackmaster of the '90s, and no style is more distinctive. Aggressive and raw, a Premier track is an instantly recognizable soundclash of battling loops and heavy scratching — all of them perfectly timed — that evoked the sound of Brooklyn better than anyone. Besides helming tracks for his main concern Gang Starr since their 1989 debut, Premier's productions appeared on many of the East Coast's most important records: Nas' Illmatic, the Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, Jeru the Damaja's The Sun Rises in the East , and Mos Def's Black on Both Sides. www.djpremier.org @realdjpremier MARK RONSON New York internet radio station East Village Radio’s Friday night host Mark Ronson lays claim to one of the most unprecedented careers as a producer, songwriter and DJ. The London-born self-proclaimed hip-hop head is known for his album releases--2003’s Here Comes The Fuzz, 2007’s Radiohead covers album Version, and 2010's Record Collection. In addition, his production credits include such benchmark albums as Adele’s 19, Lily Allen’s Go and the late Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black, the latter of which garnered him with three prestigious Grammy Awards (Producer of the Year – Non-Classical, Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album). Most recently he produced Duran Duran’s All You Need Is Now and Black Lips’ Arabia Mountain. www.djmarkronson.co.uk @iammarkronson www.facebook.com/markronson SKRILLEX “I’ve been deep into electronic music my entire life. The first records I ever owned were Fat of Land by the Prodigy and Come To Daddy by Aphex Twin,” raves Sonny Moore, better known as emerging electronic visionary Skrillex. “Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails were also early influences. I’ve been dabbling in making electronic tracks on programs like Fruity Loops since I was 14 years old.” Skrillex is part of a new generation of artists that refuse to be restricted by preconceived notions or outside expectations. Describing his current sound as “a mix of dubstep, electro and glitch all thrown together,” SKRILLEX’s official releases on Big Beat/Atlantic Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites and More Monsters and Sprites reflect all of the above and beyond. On Scary Monsters… the uplifting post-trance synth melodies of' “All I Ask of You” stands in stark contrast to the guttural low-end of the massive electro-dubstep hybrid “Rock N’ Roll (Will Take You To the Mountain).” Following its release on Beatport, the 9-song EP dominated the charts on the site, with the title track claiming the site's #1 slot (the first time a dubstep track has ever done so), eight songs breaking into the top 10, and multiple tracks claiming the #1 slots on several of the site’s subgenre charts, including dubstep, electro house and progressive house. Skrillex achieved similar successes with 2011's More Monsters and Sprites, a collection of remixes and originals that bore the tremendous "Equinox (First Of The Year)", a bracing effort that, coupled with a compelling video concept, achieved over 20 million plays on Youtube.