A(dam) Skillz had made a real impact on the scene since his ‘03 artist release with Krafty Kuts, infecting dance floors world-wide with his funk and hip hop take on breakbeat. I personally really got an appreciation for his skills (get it!) when seeing him play live at Melbourne’s Honky Tonks late in ‘05. His set was easily the equal of any I have seen him play live with good mate and frequent collaborator, Krafty Kuts. The tunes were big and funky, his mixing almost perfect, and there was an abundance of scratching trickery. So what’s in store for A Skillz in ‘06? Plenty more of the same, and then some! I recently had the pleasure of spending time chatting to him, hearing about his new Fingerlickin’ Records compilation called Freshtraxx, another soon-to-be-released mix CD, and of course his hotly anticipated solo artist album. He’s likable and extremely enthusiastic.
SD – We should start by talking about your new compilation for Fingerlickin’ Records, Freshtraxx.
AS – Yes, it’s actually quite weird taking about that compilation, because I just finished another one. I need to cast my mind back. That’s right, Freshtraxx is basically a showcase of the funkier stuff from Fingerlickin’. I went through their catalogue and found the bits that suited me, mainly down the funkier side. Justin, from Soul of Man, helped by encouraging me to use certain tracks. He wanted it a certain way. I also added some scratching and acapellas. Honestly, I don’t feel the CD is a total representation of me as a DJ because it’s limited to one label’s material. But it is a good indicator of the sort of great sound that got me into the label.
SD – There are some great, funky, remixes on there. Very James Brown!
AS – The Fort Knox Five remix, we actually did that as a swap mix. Krafty and I did one for them and they did one for us. I particularly like what they did with Ain’t it Funky, they sped it up a bit to make it more suited to the dance floor environment. A remix of the song Tricka Technology was done by Ed Funk, a good friend of mine. He basically does all sorts of styles, from drum and bass to hip hop and funky breaks, so we knew he’d do a good job. Ed’s remix happened to coincide with me mixing Freshtraxxx, so I just whacked it on there.
SD – Tell me about the Freshtraxxx concept, I hear it was initiated with a meeting in Paris. Were you there?
AS – I’m not too sure, but I believe it may have been a meeting between the Frershtraxx guys and Justin. I met the Freshtraxx guys later in Austria. To be honest, the whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me, maybe a way to get us loads of free ski holidays? Seriously, the association occurred because the label is DJing at various snow events and the idea to collaborate enabled them to push CDs into that market, open up doors.
SD – So are you into these extreme, outdoor sports and events?
AS – I’m playing in Austria again [soon] and I need to get in loads of practice on the slopes. I was pretty rubbish last time, falling over lots! It was my first time so the pressure is on to perfect my skills.
SD – How’s your artist album coming along and what sort of style will it be?
AS – Oh yeah, it’s coming along nicely. I’ve got all the beats ready to roll and have various bookings with different vocalists over next few months. I wouldn’t say it’s nearly done, but is really starting to shape together. My aim is to have it out later this year. I’ve just been sort of sidetracked, trying to do everything all the time. For example, I just co-produced 3 tunes for Krafty’s new album. Things just get in the way and it’s a slow process for that reason. The direction is a step on from Tricka Technology, progressing with the times a little bit, but that same sort of thing. Krafty’s album is in a more breakbeat direction, whereas mine is more funk and hip hop oriented. His is also through his own label whereas I’ll be through Fingerlickin’.
SD – Will you be touring it and have you considered bring out a live band or MC?
AS – As someone with a drumming background, it’s crossed my mind. I’ve always wanted to get back onto live drums but it’s just a practicality of touring a full band. It’s difficult and costly. More realistically, I think touring with a live MC is something I’d definitely consider. It’d take it to the next level, really hype the shows.
SD – Have you evener tried or considered doing the MCing yourself?
AS – Definitely not, my MCing is pretty awful!
SD – So what’s this new compilation you’ve got coming out?
AS – It’s got Australia’s Nick Thayer on there, a track called Shake that I just love! Basically, it’s a new CD called Fingerlickin’ Export #2. The Drumattics have just released Exports #1 and it’s basically for artists to mix whatever they want. It provides great scope to choose, obviously within a reasonable budget. All the tracks I’m really into including the Good Funk Alliance, Fort Knox Five, Jungle Brothers and Kurtis Blow. This is really far more representative of what I do, and I believe it’ll be out sometime late March or early April.
SD – Can you tell me about your collaborations on the new Krafty album?
AS – Well I just co-produced 3 tracks, helped him out. They are all quite up-tempo. One is a kinda funky scratching track, another features a guy call Theo, the same person that did the Push Up vocals for the Freestylers. It’s called ‘She’s Out of My Head’. It’s got a kinda radio edge to it which may be thin ice. On one hand, it can achieve that commercial cross-over and go big, or it could get slated by the reviewers! The third is with MC Dynamite. I really like it. It’s up-tempo (135BPM), quite quirky, and Dynamite’s lyrics are cool.
SD – When are we going to see you touring Australia next?
AS – I’m coming out to do a 33 1/3 event in Melbourne on March 14th and 360 in Sydney on 15th March. Just two shows and I got involved at very late notice. I love coming to Australia and it honestly is my favorite place. I haven’t got much spare time this visit, which is a shame, as I love taking a few extra days when travel just to holiday and enjoy the place. This time however, I’m heading straight off to Canada afterwards, probably my second favourite place. The last time I was there, I was just blown away by the crowd reaction. I went in expecting nobody to know me but they just went mental, excellent knowledge of our music.
SD – Cheeky question, have you got any aspirations to design your own Fingerlickin’ artwork?
AS – No, I’ll definitely leave that to Jem! I dropped out of art very early at school. I basically had to choose 2 out of 3 subjects. I went for music and sport, leaving art for people that are good at it.
SD – So how much influence do you have over the artwork on your releases?
AS – For the 12”s and compilations, I just leave it to them. Fingerlickin’ send through their designs for approval and I always say ok because they are great. I’m not too fussed about the artwork for these releases, and think Freshtraxxx and Export #2 look really cool. For my artist album, I definitely want to have a lot more involvement and make sure I’m really happy with the way it looks. I’ll be more picky. The Tricka artwork was done by a guy called Jonathan Edwards and he had lots of drafts for us to look at. What’s really while he was a very experienced designer, Tricka was his first artwork for a CD sleeve. Since then I’ve noticed he’s done lots of caricatures for other artists such as the Black Eyed Peas. He’s great!
‘Fingerlickin’ pres. Freshtraxx’, mixed by A Skillz, is out now through Fingerlickin’/Inertia. You can catch A Skillz playing over the Easter long weekend:
Thu Apr 13 – Crown & Scepter, Adelaide
Fri Apr 14 – 33 1/3, Melbourne (BUY TICKETS)
Sat Apr 15 – 360, Sydney (BUY TICKETS)
Sun Apr 16 – Uber, Brisbane
