HELLO SKINNY

Hello Skinny is the brainchild of drummer Tom Skinner, who's other current involvements include Sons Of Kemet, Mulatu Astatke, Matthew Herbert, Finn Peters and The Owiny Sigoma Band amongst many others. The project is Skinner's first as bandleader, composer and producer [playing most of the instruments] and sees him exploring areas around and between psych-dub, electronics, downtown jazz and folk stylings.

His live band features Shabaka Hutchings [Reeds], Hugh Jones aka Crewdson [electronics], Nick Ramm [keys, bass] and Chris Morphitis [guitar/bass].

The debut album is lined-up for release in October on Slowfoot Records. His track 'Crush' will be appearing on a Brownswood Bubblers compilation scheduled for July 16th.

Hello Skinny on Facebook



CRACKLE

An off-kilter collaboration between bass player Nick Doyne-Ditmas [Pinski Zoo, Monkey Puzzle Trio, V 4 Victory], drummer/producer Frank Byng [Snorkel, Prescott, Spring Tides] and keyboardist Ben Cowen [7-Hurtz, Snorkel].

In the studio and live, the trio reference a wide range of traditions and practices... the result is a low-end excursion into the cracks between dub, electronica, future-past world sounds and freer jazz imaginings.

Their album ‘Heavy Water’ was released on Slowfoot in 2010.

“…the pair take in the heavy, messy art-funk of Material and other downtown types, the lateral thinking and mixdown trickery of Brian Eno or Hoger Czukay, and the textural understanding of This Heat.” [The Wire]

“…a loose, shifting album of cross-cultural surveillance, a living, breathing expedition into our petroleum fuelled city streets through evolving and involving free-jazz electronica” [Future Music]

“So varied and fabulous an album... ... that we have trouble selecting this one cut, but fans of Miles Davis, Augustus Pablo and Isotope 217 alike will fall fast for it’s ineffable cool” [Time Out]

"The deliciously murky world of Crackle" [Verity Sharp - Late Junction, Radio 3]

"...Marvellous south London duo Crackle.. ... won our hearts at Barry Adamson's Pigalle Club show by forcing supper club punters to consume their grilled monkfish to a distinctly uneasy soundtrack of murky experimental electro jazz" [Time Out]

Crackle website