Skinner

Name, where are you from?
Skinner, Dublin.

Describe your style in three words?
Ebay bidding war.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Girl Band live at Vicar St. 2017. The energy at that gig was indescribable, those guys are absolute masters at building an atmosphere and then destroying it with noise. I ended up losing both my shoes at one point, 10/10 would do again.

If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
Morphine and The B-52's. They’re two of my most influential bands. I like the fact that both bands incorporate unconventional instruments into the kind of music they play and they both modified their guitars and basses to have fewer strings to encourage limitations. I also think that Fred Schneider from the B-52's is a great dancer so I’d love to see that live.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
New York No-wave. I started listening to no wave music a couple of years ago. Up until that point I’d never heard anyone intentionally using dissonance, it sounded like something from another universe. Even though everything was out of tune and clashing with each other it was that chaotic element made it so exciting to me. It's also funny that during that time you were looked down upon in the scene if people knew that you practised your instrument. Guys like John Lurie from The Lounge Lizards used to hide the fact that he practised to avoid scrutiny.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Noel Fielding, I’d like to write the next Mighty Boosh soundtrack with him.

Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?
I like Whelans in Dublin. It's kind of a venue where you could see someone just before they blow up. It's very intimate and the sound is really good there.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
James Chance. I think the things James Chance was doing in the late '70s was so far ahead of anything else during that time. It was the first time I’d ever heard someone combine a horn section with punk music and I was blown away at how incredible it sounded. His ability to combine so many different genres and instruments fascinated me and I really liked his free-jazz approach to music.