Interview: 5 minutes with Skit

In a time where dubstep is in the shadows it’s interesting to see what some of the originators are getting up to. Rinse fm’s Plastician has always had a keen eye for original cuts and fresh new artist’s. With that in mind it’s understandable that Plastician’s natural progression has seen him focus his new found energy on London’s continually growing trap scene. His Terroryhthm imprint stands as London’s leading trap movement pulling in artists from all corners of the globe. Some of these artists, including Chesham’s Skit, are a little closer to home however. Rapidly making a name for himself, Skit seems to be a key aspect of the Terroryhthm squad with a number of high caliber shows and radio appearances. Playing alongside artists like Elijah & Skilliam, Coki and Chefal he has brought his sound to the forefront of the London trap scene. This new found notoriety has given him some air time with tracks being played on Plastician’s Rinse show:

Skit & Tijani – Sweat (Plastician Rinse Fm Rip) by Skit

Beyond this he has had some successful releases including last year’s ‘Subconscious’ EP that saw Skit homing in on some straight forward dubstep. He has since moved on to an arguably more thought provoking sound and is set to drop a new EP in the coming weeks. We spoke to the man himself about the growing trap scene, his affiliation with Terrorythm and what influences him.

Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?

I’m doing great, i’m having a large coffee like every morning, replying to some emails and then going to do some more preparation for a gig I have later on in the week.

To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?

I guess the music I make is a mix between electronic hip hop and UK bass music but its quite moody and emotive.

Some people would call it trap. There are a lot of mixed opinions on trap and it’s value in dance music. What is your opinion?

I think on one side there is a lot of really bland throw away trap music about at the moment on the more Tearout/EDM side of things but then there are also a lot of producers who are pushing boundaries in electronic hip hop and a lot of the music I am excited about recently has been on the more experimental side of hip hop.

You seem to have found your place in the trap spectrum. What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the most?

Alexisonfire – Watch Out
Burial – Untrue
Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape 2
Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
Brand New – Your Favorite Weapon

What are some of the key pieces of gear you use to write your tracks?

I have a really basic set up I just use logic 9 a midi keyboard and a pair of mackie mr5 monitors thats all I really need to be honest.
Of course it would be nice to have a Virus TI or a Moog Voyager but having loads of hardware isn’t essential for me as a lot of the sounds in my tracks are bits of audio that have been sped up or stretched out and pitched etc.

What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?

I’m really feeling Eric Dingus his music is super dreamy and ethereal and I love that style of hip hop. I’m also feeling the stuff that Ganz is putting out recently he is another one of the Terrorhythm Artists who are really smashing it at the moment.
Also anything thats coming out on Symbols, Terrorhythm, Lucky Me, Triangle, Project Mooncircle, Brainfeeder or Soulection is usually pretty amazing.
A bunch of other artists I like are Great Skies, Anton F, Curl Up, Cashmere Cat, Deft, Ego Ella May, Last Night In Paris.

How did your affiliation with Plastician’s Terrorhythm Recordings come about?

That really came about through just sending him a mix I had uploaded, he was looking for people to get involved with the terrorhythm night at plan b and was looking for DJ’s who were pushing boundaries with their sets so I sent him my latest mix and he loved it and from there we started talking and I sent him my track Sweat and we have just kind of gone from there.

You’ve become a key part of the Terrorhythm team. What’s the best and worst gig you have ever done and why?

The first terrorhythm gig I played was pretty special, that was kind of the first time I had played this new style of music I was getting into so it was a turning point for me as an artist and the crowd responded really well to it.
The worst was probably one at the local bar down the road from me when I was at uni, I hauled all my equipment there in a sports bag and got to play after all the artists at an unplugged folk night, I didn’t get paid, lost my headphones and within 5 minutes of playing everyone except my friends had left the venue.

Lastly, What is your opinion on the following genres:

Classical – Some classical music is amazing, I went to see steve reich and a percussionist called colin currie recently and it was incredible it was a mix between sound experiments and an hour long classical piece played by a full orchestra.
Blues – If i had been born in a different era I think I would have been a blues guitarist, Blues is the music of pain and emotion and you can really hear that in the way that they play.
Soul – I love the fact that more and more electronic music is becoming soulful, there was a point a year or 2 ago when most of the dance music I was coming into contact with was so soul less and plastic and I hated it but its becoming more and more prominent in popular dance music again and its incredible.
Hip-Hop – I fell in love with Hip Hop a few years ago now and I think that most of the exciting new music I am finding at the moment is Hip Hop based its really exciting especially as a lot of people who used to produce other forms of electronic music are crossing over into Hip Hop now so lot of interesting new styles are coming out.
Dubstep – Dubstep was what made me first fall in love with electronic music but as times gone on I have found myself feeling less enchanted by it. I still go to some of the more foundation sound nights like System but I feel the whole scene has got a bit stale and needs shaking up again. Its definitely not dead its just going through a bit of a weird patch.