The Skints are a reggae/dub/ska/punk band from London, United Kingdom.
Band members
Jamie Kyriakides - vocals, drums
Joshua Waters Rudge - vocals, guitar
Jonathan Doyle - bass
Marcia Richards - vocals, keyboards, alto saxophone, melodica, flute, guitar
History
Early years
The Skints formed as school friends in 2005 at Woodbridge High School (London).The band hail from the Leyton/Walthamstow and South Woodford/Woodford areas of northeast London. They spent their first year and a half changing band members whilst perfecting their sound. They settled on the current line-up in May 2007. The Skints first 'publicity' came from playing at a pub in Walthamstow, to be heard by Radio One Executive Producer Rhys Hughes, when three of their members were only 16. Two days later, Other Radio One DJ's such as Colin Murray were soon playing Skints' tracks on their shows regularly. In 2007 the band played with other east London artists such as Brinkworth, Reeps One and ClayPigeon who they played many shows with including a DIY tour in the summer of 2008.
Do The Dog And First Successes
In 2008 Kev from Do The Dog Records (home to many of the most popular UK based ska bands) signed them after hearing their demo. By the summer of 2008 when they toured with ClayPigeon the band had released their debut 6-track E.P. on Do The Dog Records. Two months later The Skints were offered their first ever major tour, as main support to The King Blues on their second album tour. The tour was extremely successful and allowed them to start making a name for themselves in the UK underground punk scene as well as form firm friendships with members of The King Blues.
Over the next year the band toured with the likes of The Slackers, Sonic Boom Six, The Aggrolites and Random Hand to name a few. They made good friends in particular with Sonic Boom Six and Random Hand with whom they have toured several times. The band played a few festivals in 2009, first being Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds. In July they travelled to the Czech Republic to play Mighty Sounds Festival, their first trip to mainland Europe. By the time August came round the band played a packed out slot at Rebellion festival in Blackpool in front of hundreds of people. Marcia has guested live and in session on various instruments with bands including The King Blues, Goldfinger, Random Hand, Reel Big Fish, Suicide Bid, Sonic Boom Six and Dub music producer and engineer Mad Professor.
Live. Breathe. Build. Believe.
In July 2009 whilst on tour with Random Hand, the band announced on stage at the Underworld in London after asking Sonic Boom Six who were in the audience for permission, that their debut album was going to be released later in the year on Sonic Boom Six's very own Rebel Alliance Recordings. Recorded by Peter Miles, the debut album Live.Breathe.Build.Believe was released on 9 November 2009 and contains 10 tracks (plus one hidden track). The band's first headline UK tour started with a sold out show at Camden Barfly and ended at the annual City Invasion Festival. To celebrate and promote their release on Rebel Alliance, the band took part in the first ever Rebel Alliance Tour in January and February 2010 with Random Hand, Chris Murray and Mouthwash who also all had releases on the record label. In January 2010 the band were featured on the BBC Radio 1 Punk Show with Mike Davies.
The Skints left Rebel Alliance Recordings in May 2010 and re-released the album through their publisher, Bomber Music Ltd, in June 2010.
Touring and Live Shows
In May 2010 the band went on their first European tour, supporting prolific New York band The Slackers. They also opened the Vans Stage at Slam Dunk Festival, sharing a stage with bands that include Capdown, Skindred and RX Bandits.
In August 2010 they played the Lock Up Stage at Reading & Leeds festival alongside bands such as Random Hand, Crazy Arm, Streetlight Manifesto, Alkaline Trio and NOFX.
A seven inch picture disc vinyl single, "Up Against The Wall" was released on Seven Inch Records in October 2010, featuring a dub version by prolific dub producer Mad Professor, "Where the Raggaman Go (Mad Professor meets The Skints)."
To date, The Skints have toured in England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Croatia, both headlining and supporting bands such as Sublime with Rome, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, The Slackers, The Aggrolites, Gogol Bordello, The King Blues and Bedouin Soundclash. In December 2010, The band embarked on a short UK tour with Random Hand and Dirty Revolution. In February 2011 The Skints supported American ska punk band Reel Big Fish on their 20th Anniversary tour of Europe and the UK. In October 2011 The Skints were main support to American alternative hip hop band Gym Class Heroes on their UK tour. They opened for British rock band You Me at Six on their UK tour in March 2012, which also had sets played by Mayday Parade and Kids In Glass Houses.
Part & Parcel
In April 2011 The Skints started a campaign through Pledgemusic in which fans could financially contribute towards the recording of their new album in return for exclusive rewards such as signed CD's, limited edition t-shirts and the option for the 'pledger' to have their name printed in the album. Although they were given 90 days in which to raise the money needed to record the album, 100% of the money was reached in just 11. In January 2012 The Skints announced the title and release date of the album to be 'Part & Parcel', released officially by Bomber Music on the 12th March 2012. It was produced in the summer of 2011 by Mike "Prince Fatty" Pelanconi, a British sound engineer who has worked with a diverse repertoire of artists and labels, from rock musicians like Graham Coxon (of Blur), reggae legends like Gregory Isaacs and Dub Syndicate, The Sugarhill Gang and pop singers such as Lily Allen.
Viral Success
In December 2011 awareness of The Skints grew rapidly due to the release of the music video for their cover of Brit School Singer Katy B's Katy on a Mission. The video received over 10,000 views on the first day as well as congratulatory social networking posts by Katy B, the songs' original producer Benga, and fellow Dubstep musician Skream. Since its release the video's view count rose to over 70,000 within the month due to multiple plays on BBC Radio 1 and heavy sharing on Blogs and Social Networking sites.