Skrillex’s emo band From First To Last accused of stealing artwork

Skrillex has responded to claims that the artwork for Make War rips off San Fran punks Culture Abuse.

On Monday (January 15), EDM star Skrillex announced a return to his emo roots by releasing a brand new track with his former band From First To Last.

The move marked Sonny Moore’s first time working with the band since 2007, but the comeback was marred when users on social media began calling out the distinct similarity with the artwork used by San Francisco punk band Culture Abuse for their 2016 album Peach.

In the Make War design, created by Skrillex visual collaborator Sus Boy and artist Jabbathekid, an image of a peach is surrounded by barbed wire. The Peach cover also depicts a peach against a similarly coloured background, with a wire chainlink fence. Culture Abuse posted an image of the two artworks side by side via their Facebook page:

Culture Abuse also took to Twitter to address the claims: “Our music & our art means everything to us,” they write. “We do this out of pure passion. Not for money, not for approval.”

Skrillex also responded to the allegation, releasing a full statement on Twitter last night (17 January). In it, he explains that he was “unaware” of Culture Abuse’s cover art, and emphasising that any similarity was a “a complete coincidence”. You can read the full statement below.

(via Dancing Astronaut)