Ireland stays glowing up with the immense artists and talent coming from the prime time city of Dublin. Punk rock singer, songwriter and producer Skinner comes into play with his dance floor starter , free and easy chilled upbeat track, The Slump. Currently on his live tour across the city featuring fellow acts like Cruel Sister and The Silverbacks performing across the Dublin , Galway and Cork settings. The promising artist pit stops with us for a swift chat to speak about his new joint, with it's angular guitar, bouncing bassline, nuanced percussive rhythms and sax solo . artistThe Slump is a feel good , jazzy and quick stepper holds a continuous catchy underbelly groove . Speaking more on the song the Faction Records signee states "The song channels a feeling of nothingness and attempts to see the humour in it. Everyone goes through periods where every day feels like a slap in the face so I wrote this weird disco song to distract myself from the monotony of it all. I was trying to escape everything and make something fun, something you could dance to." And what a number it is with its already released retro-punk and quirky music video with flashy special effects and interesting transitions and green screen fun , shot and directed by Conor Beegan . This track is just a follow up to the already thrilling sound as heard in previous tunes like 2021 EP Gunge and other records like Dislocation, Beer Me , Jim and 2019 single Sometimes My Brain is Goo. Skinner, A talented student of the punk rock genre aking lessons from highly acclaimed groups like : The B 52s, John Chance and the Corotitions and legendary rock group ESG ( Emeralds Sapphires and Gold) gave us the scoop of behind his music, the making of his music video. He also shared the update on his tour, his choice for his dream collaboration and what's next for supporters to watch out for .
Stream the new single on Spotify, YouTube Music and Deezer
1. Welcome Skinner. it's fantastic to chat more about his new single The Slump. It’s an easy reload. What led to its creation?
Skinner: I’d been really depressed for a long time and it was getting to the point where the last 4 months had felt like one long day where nothing ever happened. I remember I was in bed and I’d just finished watching the movie “Downtown 81”, the one starring Jean-Michel Basquiat. I was so inspired by all the musical performances that were shot live during the filming of it and the spirit of all the characters. They were all freaks and proud and it was very motivating for me. I got out of bed and decided I was going to write a weird disco song to try and distract myself from how I was feeling. I wanted it to channel that feeling of nothingness but also be something you could dance to, something to take you out of a slump.
2. This record starts with some real tangy guitar and bouncy production featuring some impressive self-produced work. As a producer how was the process with that you must’ve had crazy fun with this one right?
Skinner: It was really fun. I was getting really sick of hearing bands playing really nice thought out guitar solos and melodies. I’d been listening to a lot of Marc Ribot. He’s an experimental guitarist from New York and all he does is improvise. He just plays whatever he’s feeling in that moment and I wanted to try and do that. That’s what that guitar in the intro is. It's just me expressing how I felt at the moment I recorded it. I played all the instruments on the song too. I remember I had to learn how to play a four on the floor disco beat before we went in to record it.
It sounds like the simplest drum beat in the world but it's really not. I’m not a drummer by any means but a lot of drummers will tell you that that beat is probably one of the hardest things to do right and make it sound convincing. I had to practice for weeks in a rented out drum rehearsal space for 2 hours a day to even get close to making it sound good haha. The percussion and saxophone were the most fun to record.
3. Your music video for ‘The Slump’ is a really fun and eccentric vibe. What’s one thing that you love about the video and how was it working on this?
Skinner: The thing I love most about the video is the face slapping. We set up a green screen in my friend's kitchen and I just got all my friends to come in and take turns slapping me in the face. At first, they were being real light-handed with the slaps because I guess they didn’t want to hurt me but I wanted it to be real and convincing so I kept telling them “No you’ve gotta slap me harder!”.
They didn’t need to be told twice. A lot of unresolved anger came out in that video shoot between them and me. I mean it's not every day you get the opportunity to slap your friend in the face with absolutely no repercussions so they took a lot of liberty during the filming of that.
4. Now you have a lot going on with your new single out and you’re currently on tour right now with shows in Dublin. How’s that been going and are there any favourite appearances so far?
Skinner: I mean, having not been able to perform for nearly two years it's honestly so good to be back. So far my favourite show has been supporting SPRINTS in Dublin. They are all such lovely people and it was such a fun time playing with them.
5. You channel the muse of The B 52s, James Chance and ESG. If you could only work with one of them on a song who would you choose and why?
Skinner: I’d love to work with the B52s. They’re just so weird and different and I think we’d come up with something pretty special together.
6. Finally. After your tour what’s next for you on your schedule ?
Skinner: I’ve got a tonne of new material that I’ve written over the last while so I’m busy recording that at the moment. I’ve got a headline show coming up on May 20th in The Workmans Club in Dublin and then we’ve got a few more shows and festivals coming up after that! Catch up on all the updates, new releases and more from Skinner via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
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