Music > Interviews
The Skints
30/03/15
Upbeat East London reggae/grime upstarts The Skints have been busy playing live since 2008. They’ve recently developed and matured musically with the help of Prince Fatty and are just about to release their third album. Their music is full of life, energy and joy; their lead singer Marcia has worked with Tricky amongst others. This is a band to watch in 2015, and you get to see them at Epic this month! Booyakasha. I spoke to the band about wagwan in their hectic lives.
How would you describe your music?
Music from Jamaica in a punky, weird English style? Maybe? Punk kids playing reggae that like soul and grime time?
You all met at school; had you made music individually before getting together as a band?
Marcia came from playing classical flute and piano, and Jamie had been in a couple of local bands prior to joining The Skints, but as far as a first proper effort at being band, this is it.
How did you come to develop your own unique sound?
Time! Lots of time, lots of touring, lots of listening and learning. A lot of bands borrow ideas from a few other artists but we listen to all sorts and catch inspiration from a lot of different sounds. Touring with loads of different bands has helped too for sure.
You’re just about to set off on tour in Europe, the UK and then the States. Is there a particular place or date you’re looking forward to?
The whole thing! We can't wait to get back to France, Germany and Belgium. First show in Amsterdam for us so that's gonna be fun. We’ll be playing the biggest rooms in the UK we've ever headlined, and it’s our first USA tour! We're stoked.
To what extent does your environment in London have an influence on your lyrics and also, musically?
A huge extent; I don't think we'd sound like we do if we were from a different city. Obviously a lot of our lyrical content is about London and the musical influences from London music are never ending.
You’ve played hundreds of gigs since 2008 and must have met loads of fellow musicians. What is the best and worst aspect of touring for you?
To be honest, the good outweighs the bad so much that I don't really wanna play the victim with having the best job in the world! Sometimes you miss people when you're away and miss birthdays and weddings and stuff, but the touring lifestyle is sacrificing a lot of things to do something awesome with life.
What advice would you give to a band going out on tour for the first time? Be nice, be respectful whilst having the most fun. I don't wanna tell people what to do, just try not to be a dick! No one likes a band full of dicks.
Your second album was made through the wonder of Pledgemusic, and you raised the money required in just 11 days. Do you feel a deeper responsibility towards your fans if they have paid for you to make it? Is it a bit scary?
It's definitely scary but it didn't really change how we felt about making the record. The most pressure we ever feel making music is from ourselves.
Your new album F.M is your third album and is being released on Easy Star records, an independent label. What’s your relationship been like with labels since you’ve been together?
We haven't really had much talk with any other labels since we linked up with Easy Star as it's still quite early days in the working relationship. They've been nothing but a pleasure to work with so much. Big up the Easy Star mob!
You worked with the legendary Prince Fatty; what was that experience like?
We've been working with Fatty since we cut Part & Parcel in 2011 and we've stayed good friends and worked together ever since, so it was a great experience. We know exactly how each other work now and it was wicked.
What’s your songwriting process?
It’s always different. We have three main songwriters so it's a big mix. We wrote a lot of FM in the studio which was a great way for us to work.
Can you tell me a bit about what’s new and different on the new album to your previous work?
It's the next step in The Skints evolution! I feel the musicianship, lyrics and songwriting are much better than anything we've brought before and the creativity in general feels like a level up this time round.
What can we expect from your Norwich gig?
You can expect that the gig the night before was Amsterdam! Expect that it's the first UK show on this tour and we are gonna be buzzing to bring out the show we have in store for the first time.
Who else is good out there at present on your scene that you could recommend to us?
I'd definitely recommend everyone check out the guests on our tour as there’s a big variety. Hollie Cook, who is like 21st Century lover's rock from Shepherd's Bush backed by the awesome band General Roots. Horseman, who is half man, half horse, multiplied by the UK's baddest drummer and an even more dangerous mic man. Rival who is one of the heaviest MC's in the UK grime scene and definitely one of the biggest guys coming out of east London right now, and finally Tippa Irie who needs no introduction. Legend on the set!
The Skints play at Epic on 13th April. Tickets from www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk