WikiPortallus: Skream.html

Skream (born Oliver Jones in West Wickham, Bromley¹) is a 21 year-old dubstep producer based in Croydon.² One of dubstep's first³ and most prominent producers, he has played an important role in the genre's development.⁴

Origins

As a teenager, Jones worked at Big Apple Records, a Croydon-based record store that was at the centre of the early dubstep scene; even prior to this, Jones had become acquainted with Hatcha, another dubstep pioneer, because Jones' brother worked on an adjacent floor in Big Apple Records.¹ As a result of this encounter, Hatcha was the first DJ to play Skream dubplates.²

Jones began producing music at the age of 15¹ (using Fruity Loops)² and claims to now have roughly 1,500 songs in varying stages of development.⁴ Skream's early productions were often with another alumnus of Big Apple, Benga, and are of a decidedly darker and less melodic nature than later releases.⁵

Rise to prominence

As dubstep started to be noted by conventional media such as The Guardian³ and Pitchfork,⁴ Jones' music started to take on a more melodic sound; less overtly influenced by the darker, UK garage influenced sounds of early dubstep artists such as Horsepower Productions, with dub, house, and even jazz influences instead.⁵ The 2005 Skream track "Midnight Request Line" has been described as "dubstep's most recognizable crossover hit"⁶, and has been praised by producers as diverse as grime producer Wiley, and minimal techno producer Ricardo Villalobos.⁷ The key change in the chorus, which Wire has described as "an epic change of key and tempo that recall(s) the classicist mannerisms of Derrick May",⁸ has been credited as being a key factor in the evolution of a more melodic sound in the dubstep genre. ⁵

Skream has released records on a variety of UK record labels, such as Tempa, Tectonic, and Big Apple Records, including a self titled album on the Tempa label.⁹ He has performed in Europe, the US, Australia, and Japan,¹⁰ as well as the UK.¹¹ He hosts a weekly show on Rinse FM, called Stella Sessions.¹²¹³

On 15 September 2008 Harmless released 'Watch The Ride' CD mixed by Skream, following on from artists like Scratch Perverts, Zinc and Goldie.

On 2 October 2008 Skream featured in a fly on the wall German TV show 'Durch die Nacht mit...' alongside Drum and bass artist Goldie. In this he said he currently had writer's block, but he was working on music in other genres, also they talked about a Skream & Goldie collabaration that may be on the cards.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Mixes

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Martyn (27 August 2005). "Interview with Skream". Retrieved on 30 June 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c O'Connell, Sharon (4 October 2006). "Dubstep". Time Out London. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
^ ^a ^b Warren, Emma (22 April 2007). "Various, Dubstep Allstars 5 - Mixed By DJ N-Type". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c Clark, Martin (20 July 2005). "Column: The Month in Grime / Dubstep". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Primer: Dubstep". The Wire (279), http://www.thewire.co.uk/current/index.php.
^ Hampton, Justin B (12 April 2007). "Dubstep: music dark enough to tug the guts". LA Times. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
^ Cowdery, James (6 April 2006). "Bass in the place.". Collective. Retrieved on 15 June 2007.
^ Walmsley, Derek (1 August 2006). "Review of Dubstep Allstars vol. 4, on Tempa records.". The Wire (270): 1.
^ Whalley, Matt. "Skream!". Allmusic. Retrieved on 13 June, 2007.
^ Smart, Richard (18 May 2007). "Viral sounds from South London.". The Japan Times Online. Retrieved on 13 June, 2007.
^ Madden, Joe (12 October 2006). "Skream if you wanna go deeper.". Collective. Retrieved on 13 June 2007.
^ DUMMY MAGAZINE: February 2007
^ Clark, Martin (14 February 2007). "Column: The Month in Grime / Dubstep". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 14 July 2007.
^ "BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix Tracklisting" (17 June 2007). Retrieved on 19 June 2007.

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