Will Dorey - Skinshape Interview
Tell me about growing up in Swanage, England. What was your childhood like and how did you initially get into music? Was music something that was relevant around your household, or was this something you found entirely on your own? Do you have any siblings?
Growing up in Swanage, England, was very beautiful. I have wonderful memories of swimming in the sea all day during the summer. Playing in the fields and getting hay fever from the long grass. Climbing trees (dangerously high) at my school, and on one occasion falling out of the tree and breaking a bone in my foot. Good times. My father had a grand piano at home, and he played in a terrible band called 'Gut Luggage,' although they were bad it was nice to be around music as a young teen. I took drum lessons and guitar lessons at my first school and the interest formed early on probably around the age of 12. I used to make mixtapes (CDs) for myself downloading songs and burning them to a blank CD annotating the disc with the tracklisting. I remember listening to them at school with my headphones on my Sony walkman. I have a brother and a sister but neither of them are musicians.
What would you do for fun back in the day before music took over? Who were among some of the first groups, or artists that left a heavy impression on you? Did you participate in any groups prior to forming Skinshape?
Music took over around the age of 13/14 I guess when I went to my secondary school and I formed a band with 3 other friends pretty quickly after starting that school. We were called 'The Yearning' and for the 5 years that we were at that school we were always playing together and writing songs. It was a great time and I learnt so much about music in that period. We used to spend many a night drinking cider and smoking bongs, listening to the 'classic rock' canon from deep 60s psych and garage through to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. We were more interested in the 60s stuff though, the 70s and the 80s didn't appeal to us at the time. Other bands include Cream, Blind Faith, Fleetwood Mac (with Peter Green), and that kind of stuff. Before that, I was just a normal kid growing up in the countryside, doing normal kid stuff like playing outside, in the era before tablets and smartphones, which I am forever grateful for.
What was the overall vision and approach for the project? When did you officially start playing gigs as Skinshape and what were those early days like? How did the name come about? Tell me about writing and recording the debut release back in 2013 with Stally & The Breadwinners. I understand you released that record on your very own label, Horus Records. Can you tell me about starting the label as well?
The project formed as early as 2010 in the first ideas and thoughts of what it may be. I have a gig poster from 2012 when I played in Brixton as 'Skinshape' with my band that I briefly formed when I was at university. That is probably the first and last time that I appeared live under that name. The direction and music wasn't as formed as it is now, obviously. I was more into reggae-influenced styles back then, and then gradually I moved away from that. Yes there was 'Stally & The Breadwinners' on my label Horus Records. However, I didn't record that artist, that was recorded by our friend 'Al Breadwinner' up in Manchester. He taught us a lot about recording to tape, and getting a good drum sound. The first ever Skinshape track officially released came on the other side of that record though, the track called 'Soul Groove.' Horus Records is still going, though we don't have as much time for it as we used to as we are a bit busy with other things. We've put out over 20 different releases however which I am quite proud of. A variety of reissues of obscure Jamaican recordings from the 1970s and our own recordings made at the same studio that I recorded Skinshape at.
2014 saw the release of your full length, self-titled album. Can you tell me about writing and recording that project? How did the deal with Melting Records come about? I understand you had Ivan Kormanak play the drum tracks for this album. You also worked with Frank Merritt and Basilis Foteinos on this project, correct?
The 2014 album was really just the first collection of recordings that I thought were good enough for release. I had a whole bank of like 30-50 recordings by then and we just chose what we liked the most from those. Ivan was drumming for a friend's band at the time called 'The Dirty Gentlemen' who played soul/RnB stuff. He was the natural choice! I just got him to come in for a recording session and we recorded a whole bunch of drum breaks. That was the basis for the album really. Without those drum breaks of Ivan's recorded to tape at my studio, the album wouldn't have been the same. The same for all future Skinshape albums! Just needed that for the vibe to be right.
I want to skip forward a bit to a song that has made an impact on the people as I’m sure on your life as well and that's “I Didn’t Know”. Can you tell me about writing this song? You initially released this as a single on Gemini with the flipside track “Horus” accompanying it. What kind of impact has that song made on your music career as well as your personal life?
That song may be the best thing i've ever written. Sometimes things just go together easily, and you know it's good. This was one of those moments. I remember I used to live with my great-auntie in Chiswick, London, at the time I was writing that song, and she came in to my room when I was recording one of the electric guitar parts in the verse. She just had a big grin on her face. Personally my mental health wasn't great at the time, and I was going through a rough relationship, and that's what led to the lyrics being about loss. But the idea was to not make the song about boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, but to apply to anyone. This song definitely took my 'career' to another level, and has honestly helped me in every aspect of my life. If it wasn't for writing this song, I may not have been able to buy my first ever house (no joke!).
What have been up to more recently? You just released a new record on Lewis Recordings entitled “Nostalgia”. Can you tell me about this album and a little back story to some of the songs that are featured on it?
So at the moment, my first child is due to be born in a few weeks time. It's a girl. So I am doing that mostly. However, I have prepared most of the next album, pending a vocal appearance from one other singer hopefully. But I have nearly everything else ready, and I am preparing the artwork and stuff as I would like to get it out this year. Who knows, the first single may be out within a few months. This will be the 8th Skinshape album. I am also planning to get a live band together this year, so we shall see if I am organised enough to make that happen. For the album that just came out 'Nostalgia.' This was meant to be 'Filoxiny part 2' of sorts. But going further down that route, with more instruments and an attempt at more musicality from me. It was meant to be an album of stuff that shouldn't necessarily go together, kind of like a film soundtrack. But it's the soundtrack to our lives, my life, and the moment we are born to the moment we die. Something like that. That's why I recommend listening to it as a whole and not in pieces, as it makes more sense.
Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
Yes, feel free to come aboard.
