Skindred

Rock music must evolve, or risk becoming dull and trite. When the fusion of styles yields innovative and contagious new music, it is an explosive event. The band creating this explosion is Skindred, a four-piece heavy rock n’ reggae outfit hailing from the UK. Skindred’s upcoming Lava Records debut, scheduled for release in the summer of 2004, is entitled Babylon, and it will undoubtedly be considered one of the most impressive rock releases this year.

Hailing from South Wales, Skindred is the project of eclectic, energetic vocalist Benji Webbe and fellow bassist-programmer, Daniel Pugsley. The two joined musical forces following the demise of Benji’s first band, Dub War. Skindred’s lineup also features axe-man Mikey Dee and drummer Dirty Arya who joined the band in December 2002 and have been blowing the roof off ever since. “Skindred is dancehall; it’s punk; it’s metal, it’s who we are,” Pugsley proclaims. Call it what you want, but it’s that cohesive nether-region where Bounty Killa meets The Police — where 311 and System of a Down collide.

Explains Benji, “For me, when I look at myself as a vocalist, as a kid growing up, I never liked listening to just one type of music. There were a lot of scenes around, some of my friends were really into reggae, and some were into rock: but no one was into everything. I was into The Police, The Specials, The Clash and bands which borrowed music from different cultures. That’s what I wanted to do as far as a band,” Benji continues, “That’s where Skindred’s strength lies, combining the diversity of cultures through our music. We started out doing that with Dub War; but we accomplished it with Skindred.” The fusion of hard rock and reggae with programming and dub, together with Benji’s patois is the evolution of an explosive new genre without the generic name.

“I grew up near the water in the docks area of South Wales, which had a large Arabian population,” Benji recollects. “There were a lot of black people from the West Indies, people from the west coast of Africa, a lot of Irish and Italian immigrants. It was a very multicultural area. I remember a saying, growing up which said, ‘It’s not about black or white — it’s about being wrong or right.’ A kid can come from my town and being black, didn’t mean he’s in a gang, you know? Growing up with different cultures around you is a beautiful thing and that made me the person I am today. If I grew up in a straight black area, I might be a totally different person. Instead, I had all these Irish kids around me, singing their songs and doing their jigs. The Africans had their music, the Jamaicans and the Islanders; even the Arabians had their music you know?”

By today’s standards, Skindred is completely unique in their musical approach. “There’s no scene for what we’re playing,” says Benji. “There are few bands that like and play the same kind of music as we do. We didn’t set out to start a reggae/rock scene; we were just playing one or the other. If I had to play just one type of music, I’d be bored as hell.” Benji continues, “The amalgamation of the styles in our songs keeps me happy, which is important—it pushes us forward. Maybe one day the world will catch up with us and if it doesn’t work out, you’ll find me back here, at home, singing rock and reggae.”

With Dirty Arya and Mikey Dee in tow, Skindred intends to transport fans to a higher level of consciousness. Babylon’s first single "Nobody" is a genre-bending, high-octane hybrid of dancehall and metal. It’s a sucker-punch to the ribs musically. Babylon’s entire tone is unsettling. From the drum-and-bass album opener "Set It Off" to the metal-ized toasting on the title track "Babylon," Skindred is bringing their reggae-fied metal, dreadhead-dub to the masses. Whatever you call it, Skindred is making rock music exciting again.

“Benj and I both loved the Pistols and Queen. The way Freddie Mercury delivered his vocals, so strong and soulful, it just rocked,” Daniel confesses. “We absorbed as many different musical styles as we could. The first real rock record I had was Appetite For Destruction but I didn’t buy another rock record until Follow The Leader ‘cuz I was so into dancehall and reggae and drum and bass. We were into everything, and we wanted to play everything.” Benji also had diverse influences, which ultimately affected the recording of Babylon. “Growing up around all these Rasta men, the reggae playing, dreads swinging; each time we heard 'Another One Bites the Dust,' my foot would be tapping. I was deep into dancehall for so long but the thing that might have brought me back to heavy music may have been the Judgment Night soundtrack. It had all these rap and hard rock bands side by side. Helmet and House Of Pain, it was so amazing because you had bands from different worlds making music together.”

“When we write a tune,” Benji comments, "it goes something like this. We try to imagine artists like Helmet and Sean Paul in the studio together and see where it goes from there. Then we’ll say, what if Bob Marley sang with Queen and go for it again. On 'The Fear,' Danny and I decided to do a few different songs and work on the influences. We did 'Ramble On,' by Led Zep; we did some stuff by a guy called Tenor Saw and we did some Clash. For me it’s just about bullying. People have been bullied for thousands of years. I had this friend who was going through a lot at the time, and I felt it was a partial message to him to get strong and stay through it, you know? And that’s what I was aiming for lyrically. For me, a band like The Clash is incredible. And I was fortunate enough to meet Joe Strummer and tell him that I was doing a song of his. He was such a gentleman and said, ‘Oh, that’s very nice. Very nice.’ I’ll always be grateful for having had the chance to meet him and share that with him.”

Daniel sums it up best, “Now we’re just trying to take it all forward. We want to do this as a band ‘cuz we believe there’s people like us who want to hear more than just the same thing from the same bands again and again. Just like Benj and I, we like a lot of the same things, but we like different things as well. And that’s how we play our music.”

Skindred blended reggae and dancehall with searing thrash and punk influences for a striking take on heavy metal hybridism. The group emerged from Wales in 1998, after the dissolution of vocalist Benji Webbe's previous band, Dub War. Rehearsals for a new project featuring other Dub War veterans didn't work out, but soon Webbe had hooked up with bassist Daniel Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Dee, and drummer Dirty Arya, and Skindred was officially born. The debut LP, Babylon, first appeared in 2002 and 2003, with sporadic success in parts of Europe and the U.S. metal underground. But it wasn't until a year or so later and Lava's involvement that the album really took off. Skindred re-released Babylon in August 2004. Lava's version featured different cover art, and included newly recorded material in addition to the original, Howard Benson-helmed songs. Skindred then headed out on a series of tours with acts like Sevendust, Nonpoint, and Papa Roach, and never looked back. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide