Skimo
... is an artist who transcends the limits of electronic music. Inspired by the trailblazers of the UK dance scene, he crafts sonic journeys that blend the finest of leftfield, breakbeat, house, and trip hop. His music is mesmerizing and inventive, mirroring his enthusiasm for discovering new sounds and emotions.
Skimo made a splash in 2011 with his smash hit 'Jump', which garnered him the award of best breakthrough artist by Knowledge Magazine. His unique style and charisma attracted the attention of many prominent DJs and producers, such as Scratcha DVA, who frequently featured him on his Rinse FM show. Skimo also earned recognition from the global clubbing community, with his tracks being featured on the renowned 'Don't Sleep NYC' blog.
Now, he returns with his debut album, "Connected Memory", which is slated to be released today. The album is a fantastic work of musical storytelling, interweaving elements of electronica and leftfield into a coherent and captivating narrative. It is a personal and profound album, as Skimo reconnects with his musical identity and reignites his creative flame. The album showcases Skimo's artistic evolution and maturity, as he delivers music that connects with the listeners on a deeper level. The first song we have listened to was “Let It Fly (Feat. Ash)” and it sounded damn great. So guys, get ready to dive into Skimo’s amazing debut album, “Connected Memory”, and discover his new sounds!
Welcome back in the scene, how did you rediscover your passion for making music, Skimo?
It never left, really. Rather it had to be side lined for family commitments, but also a self imposed break from music production as a whole. After being a Drum & Bass DJ from my teens and into my mid 20’s, I became more interested in a new genre emerging from the UK dance scene, called UK Bass. A kind of mix between house, garage and dubstep.
After writing a few tracks and having a couple of releases, I hit a creative block. I’d write ideas but would find it impossible to finish anything. I found myself trying to write music to a predefined idea of what I thought ‘UK Bass’ sounded like, this seemed to cripple my creativity. So I chose to take a break. During that break my beautiful daughter was born and before I knew it, just over ten years had passed. In January 2023, I decided that by the end of the year I’d have an album.
So dusted off the studio and got to work. Except this time, with absolutely zero preconceptions of what genre I was aiming for, but rather just to create something different and more importantly, what I thought sounded good. It was tough, I doubted myself a lot, questioned whether it was a good idea way too many times but rolled with it. If I like it, hopefully someone else will too.
“Let It Fly (Feat. Ash)” sounds great. What was the motivation behind it and how was it to work with Ash?
Let it Fly was a strange one. I had this idea that I wanted to write on ode to the old school Reece bass focused Drum & Bass tracks from the early noughties. Tracks like ‘Up All Night’ by John B, where you have this rolling reece bassline and plucky synths playing the melody. That’s how it started. But it didn’t feel right.
The bassline needed a little more rhythm to it, so initially tried a cleaner 808 style bass which sounded great, but just didn’t have enough impact. That’s when I came up with the idea of a metal/rock style guitar sounding bassline. Loaded up NI Massive and got to work on the sound design. The end result was perfect. That coupled with the Orbital style plucky melody just really did it for me.
Ash is great to work with. Let It Fly was the first song we worked on together. I had heard her sing little snippets of other peoples songs and knew she was writing her own stuff but hadn’t ever recorded any of them. So after writing the instrumental for Let It Fly, I played it to her and posed the challenge for her to write some lyrics for it. With a little coaxing, I stood her in front of the microphone and let her do her thing. I was instantly in love with the lyrics and shortly afterwards found myself purposefully writing songs for her to sing on. Her voice just really seems to resonate with me.
How would you introduce your album “Connected Memory” and its theme to our listeners?
Connected Memory is a representation of my journey to try and reconnect to my love of writing music. Each track pulls together ideas and thoughts from all the music I had listened to over the last ten years and aligned that into something different that celebrates the influences that inspired it all.
What are the main influences that shape your musical genre and your musical narrative?
The main influence has got to be Drum & Bass. I grew up listening to it, have a lot of friends still in the scene and I take the vast majority of my technical production influences from the techniques used in Drum & Bass production. However my musical taste is vast. My spotify ‘wrapped’ this year is a fairly good indication of what has influenced this album. Gipsy Kings were my number one artist, bit of a curve ball that one, but absolutely love the rhythms they use. Followed by Kosheen, Audio Bullys and Enigma.
I really enjoyed listening to your album, it’s amazing. Which songs do you like the most and why?
The one I’ve listened to the most has got to be Let It Fly. It’s the section just over half way through, where the pluck lead comes back. It has an almost Bhangra feel to the melody, there’s just something about it. She Sells Sea Shells is another I regularly listen to, I wrote that with the intention of writing a kind of Non Phixion inspired trip-hop track.
What came out was a 1920’s feeling Trip Hop cross Drill track. It has such a great atmosphere to it. Then of course, Purest Soul. A track Ash and I co-produced. It’s a little different from the others on the album in that its very much vocal focused and was well out of my comfort zone when we first sat down to make it.
Being an indie artist is not easy, it requires a lot of time and effort. How do you manage it?
Its tough. There’s a lot to do. Holding down a day job and trying to find the time and energy is difficult. I found being very open with myself about my mindset to be hugely beneficial. Id often sit down in the studio and start writing, but nothing of real substance would come out, so instead of wasting that time, I just did something else and then came back the next day or even just a few hours later. No pressure. It worked so well for me.
There’s something to be said about making, promoting and putting out an album all on your own. I had considered sending the album out to labels, but this album was something different to me. Its not a means for me to make money, it’s a personal statement.
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would you choose and why?
Dusky. Absolutely love their music, I think I could really learn from them and they sit loosely in the same spectrum as me. Decoder & Substance, the producers behind Kosheen would be an absolute dream, their music was an integral part of my growing up.
What are some of the projects or plans that you have in progress or are excited about for 2024?
So this album marks the starting line for me. I hope in the years to come I can look back at this and the story it tells and be proud of music that after it. I’m already working on new material, some I hope to be signed, others, I hope to build another body of work ready for another album in 2025.
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