Oliver Dene Jones known as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream was an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre. After producing several singles, he released his first full-length album, Skream!, in 2006.
Skream and long time collaborators Artwork and Benga co-founded a music group called Magnetic Man. Their debut album, Magnetic Man was released in 2010.
In July 2011, Jones had he’s first child, a son named Jesse.
Jones is the brother of jungle DJ Hijak.
Listen here:
I think a lot of people will already know your story from the dubstep days so, let’s touch on your early influences with House Music and Disco. Because I believe you… I think it would be fair to say you have always been into that music, it just wasn’t the first thing you started playing, is that right?
Naa, see? The thing is the first thing I started playing was Garage; so really it was House and Garage. I started working in a record shop like the ‘Big Apple’ records in Croydon when I was like 11-12. So I was buying Garage, it was mainly (sort of) 2-step and there was a little 4×4 step in there. Started making music when I was like 13 (I think) then tried to make Garage but then ending up making Dubstep so, that was how that came about! Like the fist stuff I was playing was really (yeah) it was House and Garage but then Disco, I always been a fan of… like literally. My mum used to listen to it and it’s safe to say it’s always been about. Even when going back to the 80’s and when I was a kid and that, I always find myself dancing to a bit of Disco (you know what I mean?). Not until when I was about 17-18 when I really started collecting it and stuff.
Do you ever find yourself digging through your mums records, your dads, your aunties, your uncles; all that kind of stuff?
You-know-what? I used to dig through my mums… well basically, at my mum and dads house, who my brother used to have all of our records in a shed, it was all ready to go and it was all jungle; and then I found all these other records lighting up … well basically, you used to got to my brothers records to sample (years ago) and then I had my mums then comes along, used to go to my mum room to listen to them. So it was like, first time I heard that, I felt loved and the family and stuff… we used to listen to my mums records.
So when you started to produce House Music and Techno, how did you find the transition from Dubstep to that?
It took me awhile (you know). I think more so because I didn’t know where my starting point was and I think my biggest problem was listening to everybody else’s music too much and because I was doing Dubstep, I had my own style and it was me, it was what I’ve done. I was so used to it and then I think when I stated writing (sort of) my “Housey” stuff, it was more… I shouldn’t have listened to so much and so many over peoples music because I was trying to make records exactly like other people. And it’s something that I’ve never done; I never tried to make music to sound like anyone else. So (to be honest); it’s only been recently over the last 2 years maybe, I think the first release on Crosstown Rebels; I really thought “yeah, you know what, it defiantly doesn’t sound like anyone else“ it sounds like me in a weird way. And since then I’ve been kind of cool but that was mainly what it was, I didn’t know where my starting point was. Rather than trying to make my own starting point I tried to follow others, which really slowed me down.
So you are happy at where you are now though?
Yeah, D’you know what? It’s mad yeah, like I’ve broke my leg at the start of the year so I was a bit out of the game, my production game for like 6 months. Luckily, a load of records I made at the end of last year and the start of this year, I (sort of) carried through. So yeah, they have been getting mad reactions; the ability to let them breathe rather than making loads of tunes… and they’re my sound. Like I’m back in the studio now, I know where to continue from because all the records sound like… now if I play a record out, that no ones has heard before and it’s one of mine, they’ll know it’s mine somehow the sort of sounds. Defiantly cool.
Your next show is in Manchester in a week. I’m not sure if it’s your next show you probably got one this weekend but you are in Manchester a week tomorrow. How you feeling, you looking forward to that?
I’m sure you’ve got a lot of friends down here now as well.
A lot of friends! I might be in Manchester since I was 18; I’ve got lots and lots of friends. It sounds like it’s the way to go though, it make you want to go to work more. But still, Manchester is on the biggest fan-bases in the country, I’m look to do really well. Even when I was playing Dubstep, I (l) earned a lot of that from The Warehouse Project. Yeah, it’s always going to be a belter; it one of my biggest fan-bases really. I like playing at the warehouse project, every single time mate. I’ve been coming up to DJ’ing since I was about 17-18 I think; that’s when I met ‘Mark XTC’, ‘Solardo’ and obviously ‘Virus
