interview
with Mike Skinner by Max Michaels
Meet the pioneering voice behind the sound and
style of the STREETS. Mike Skinner a producer by choice and a global
star by happenstance. His first ever release "Original Pirate
Material" has garnered wide and gushing praise worldwide. His
unmistakable lyrical style and brilliant beats have raised the bar for
all those who may dare to follow. From indie roots to pioneering
Garage beats, hip hop vibes and stinging lyrics The STREETS offer up
the most brilliant disc of the year.
The STREETS
perform LIVE at the
ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL in Miami, FL
on Saturday March 22nd.
Give me a run down on the Streets, give me a short history.
Yeah, I've always been into making music. You know, influenced by hip
hop and stuff, and I was producing hip hop for a lot of bands that I
know, and then gradually I wanted to do this solo thing and do it with
garage [beats] rather than just hip hop. And that's about the size of
it really. It's just what I really wanted to do.
Are you classically trained on any instruments? Do you play any on
the album
or is it all samples?
It's all samples, but I haven't sampled it from any one. It's all kind
of stock sounds and keyboard sounds.
You've been successful over in England and Europe. Is this the
first time you've broken through into popular culture?
Yeah, this is the first album I've ever released. To be honest it's
the first album I've ever made. I mean, I've been making music for
seven years but it takes a lot to make an album. A lot of commitment.
You need to know that there's going to be something at the end of it,
really.
What did you do in the seven years before that? What did you do to
get by?
Just working in jobs really, you know, I mean it's the same as anyone
else. I was in college a bit.
What kind of jobs did you do?
I worked in a hospital, I worked in offices, Burger King, all sorts.
How has touring been for you?
It's good fun yeah, you know, it can be pretty tiring but it's a good
laugh. There's loads of lads and you do a fair bit of drinking and
other activities.
What's the largest show you've ever played?
Oh, Brixton Academy, 5000. And Reading was supposed to be 2000 but it
ended up being 5000 in a 2000 capacity.Whoa. Fire Hazard.No, it was
like a festival thing, and the tent fell down maybe I think. Then it
caught fire and everyone died. Spot the deliberate mistake.
Do you have a live band?
Yeah, a drummer, a keyboard player, a bass player, and a singer. Yeah,
it's pretty
rock and roll really.
So what are you doing now? You're in New York, playing any shows up
there?
No, no shows, just press, bits and pieces. And then back to England
for a bit more hibernation.
Are you off tour right now?Yeah. I mean I'm just working on the [new]
album really, just sitting at home hibernating.How long do you think
it will be before we see something else?Well, I want to finish it by
the summer really. But it just depends on how much work ends up coming
up, ya know?
That's a good quick follow-up.
Yeah, well, I want to do it as quick as I can.
Is that pretty much what you do all day now, sit at home and write
music?
Yeah, that's what I always did really. It's harder when you've got
other stuff to do. There's a lot of distractions when you start to
become a bit successful, there's a lot more distractions.
Like interviews?
Well not just interviews. There's more opportunities to go out and get
pissed, you know, it's easier when you've got nothing, there's not
really a lot of things to do, so you end up just making music. So the
more successful you get the more there is to do.
The more distractions from making music?
Yeah.
So is that getting harder for you?
Yeah, I mean, it's not hard. You've just got to keep the discipline,
you know? So it's hard in a way, but it doesn't make my life hard ya
know?
Right. So difficult to keep the groove of the regiment?
Yeah.
So is there anything that you've wanted to spout off about, or is
there something that you've always wanted to be asked about but no one
has ever asked the question?
No. Not really, I'll have to think about that one. Hmm…::long
pause::...Nope.
What's your favorite show so far?
Probably Reading. That was the 2000-5000 people. It was mad because it
was really early on in doing the live show, ya know. And we were
excited, and the audience were excited because it was quite early on,
and it was just really magical. Lots of people knew the words to the
songs, and everyone seemed to be singing the words.
Yeah, congratulations on it. I was completely hooked on it the
first time I heard it, and we've been spreading it around down here.
So are you just coming over for the Winter Music Conference, just to
do that one show here?
No, no. We've got about 10 days of shows. I think it's like Denver,
New York, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, L.A and Miami.
Something like that.How did the shows go when you were here before?
Good fun. It was really early days, American days anyways. You know,
it was something that was quite small and no one really knew what it
was yet. You couldn't really expect too much, ya know?
When you first started this album, did you just go ahead and do it
on your own then try to get picked up, or did someone hear your stuff
and you got picked up on a label?
Um yeah, the first single got picked up, then I made the album. And it
kind of went from there. So I was already signed before I made the
album.
What was the first single?
"Has It Come To This." That was the garage one that started it all up.
Yeah. Good. I really like "Weak Become Heroes." That's Brilliant. |
