Skinner is a 24-year-old DIY slouch rock musician based in Dublin, Ireland, who writes, records and produces songs about growing up and overcoming a dirt-flecked 21st century existence.
The DNA of no wave and post-punk acts like The B52s, James Chance and the Contortions and ESG through to alt-rock touchstones Pixies and Morphine combined with an talent for grunge-nodding self-production and pockets of elevated instrumentation is oozing from Skinner’s music.
Leonard Cohen – Memories
I think Death of a Ladies Man is one of Leonard Cohens best albums despite it being one of the biggest commercial failures of his career. “Memories” is just one of those songs where the lyrics are so interesting and funny. All of the vocals on that album were all just rough takes that he had planned to re-do later but Phil Spector stole the tapes and mixed the album without Leonards permission so what you hear on this song is essentially a scratch vocal and a phenomenal one at that. It has one of my all time favourite screams on it at the end where he’s just going crazy and losing himself screaming “NAKED BODY”.
James Chance and the Contortions – My Infatuation
I think when I was about 19 I came across Brian Eno’s ‘No New York’ compilation of No Wave music. Up until that point I’d been listening to a lot of punk and funk music but after I heard James Chance everything changed. It was the most incredible display of pure expression I’d ever come across. “My Infatuation” is just a weird collection of out of tune melodies and I just instantly connected with what he was trying to do. To most people they think it just sounds like a really terrible band playing out of tune but to me it was like listening to Beethoven for the first time.
Aswad – Hey Jah Children
I always loved listening to dub music since I was younger. In terms of modern developments in mixing and recording techniques I think the majority of it is due to dub producers. I watched the movie “Babylon” and heard this song during it. It just had so much texture and depth that it almost transported me to another realm. Dub and reggae music is very trance like for me, I love just putting on a record and leaving the world for a while.
Morphine – Cure for Pain
This song and this band is the reason I started I started playing saxophone. I’d never heard someone use the instrument the way they did. It adds such an interesting layer to punk music because it shouldn’t work but somehow it does. Jazz and punk are intertwined despite mostly being polar opposites. They intersect in the region of “free expression”. There are no right or wrong notes, music is freedom if you are free.
ESG – The Beat
The amount of things you can do with just drums and bass is astonishing. I think ESG are a testament to that. I love the simplicity of this song. Its so inviting and you cant help but feel like dancing to it. As someone who started out playing guitar I think there is a tendency for most bands to write using a guitar but when I heard ESG for the first time I started writing on bass guitar almost completely. There’s just something different with how the songs turn out when you write using a rhythmic instrument. It lays a heavy, almost unbreakable foundation that’s very noticeable when you compare it to the thin sound of a guitar heavy track.
Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Hard Boiled Babe
I think Lizzy is one of the most underrated artists of all time. The freedom and expression in her music is overwhelming. Its like listening to an uninterrupted thought process on loop. I love her vocals and the way her records are mixed, its so unusual and unique. I don’t think anyone has come close since and possibly never will.
The Beatles – Happiness is a Warm Gun
I HATED The Beatles for years. I always thought there were too sugary and innocent for me to connect with them. I think I had a lot of distaste for very melodic music most of my life because in my head nothing sounded harmonious or happy for me. Then I listened to “Happiness is a Warm Gun” and I was just blown away. I was instantly hooked and I started rinsing all of the Beatles back catalogue. I gained a huge sense of respect for good pop song writing and now “Abbey Road” is one of my favourite albums of all time.
Harry Nilsson – Jump Into The Fire
One of THE best basslines of all time. I’m a sucker for a good bassline because they’re actually quite difficult to write. This song just makes me feel a certain way I cant describe. I could listen to it forever.
Konk – Your Life
This song is like the ultimate hybrid of new wave and disco. I love the use of percussion and brass in all of their music. It’s very eery yet feel-good at the same time. That’s a hard balance to achieve but Konk do it so well. Also, the bongo solo in the breakdown section of this song is something I could to listen to for eternity.
The Lounge Lizards – Do The Wrong Thing
Words don’t do this song justice. Just listen to it for yourself, you’ll see why its so inspiring for me.