Skull Disco was an independent dubstep

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, based in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. It was established in 2005 by Sam Shackleton and Laurie "Appleblim" Osborne, and ended in 2008. Releases on the label prominently featured African and post-African percussion, as well as "ethnic" samples. Zeke Clough contributed distinctive artwork for the label, drawing on both Egyptology and heavy metal imagery.

History

In 2004, prior to the founding of the label, Ian Hicks of Mordant Music liked and released an early Shackleton track entitled "Stalker". The track later appeared on

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

''Best of 2004''

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

. Around this time, Shackleton was becoming more familiar with the

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

sound, through regular visits to the ''Forward>>'' nights run by Ammunition Promotions. He especially identified with the sound later associated with the DMZ nightclub, citing Loefah's ''Horror Show'' and

Digital Mystikz Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala (born Mark Lawrence), and Coki (born Dean Harris, 26 August 1980) from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO (All Soundbwoy ...

''Conference'' as key early influences, and started thinking about forming a label to release similar "interesting bass music" and "interesting percussive stuff". On a visit to a similarly-minded night in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Shackleton encountered Laurie 'Appleblim' Osborne. Shackleton was impressed with a track, ''Mystikal Warrior'', and it hence appeared on the first Skull Disco release; a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, with Shackleton's ''I Am Animal'' on the flipside. Shortly after, Shackleton began the (now defunct) Skull Disco nights in London. Attendees at the first Skull Disco night included

Coki Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala (born Mark Lawrence), and Coki (born Dean Harris, 26 August 1980) from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO (All Soundbwo ...

and Mala of

. In November 2007, Appleblim established a sublabel, Applepips. In 2008, Appleblim was chosen to mix the sixth installment of the ''Dubstep Allstars'' series on

Tempa Tempa is a garage and dubstep music label founded in 2000 by Neil Jolliffe, who also coined the term "dubstep" in 2002. The label, along with Big Apple, and parent label Ammunition, was part of the formation of dubstep as a genre. A key member ...

, which was released on 3 June 2008. Later in 2008, Shackleton and Appleblim parted ways with the label Skull Disco to release a second CD compilation after ten releases with Skull Disco, a number which Appleblim said "felt right".

Sound

Releases on the Skull Disco label were typically double A-sides, featuring a track apiece from

Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of An ...

and Appleblim; however two compilations (''Soundboy Punishments'' and ''Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated by Vandals'') were also released. Skull Disco releases often tended to use unusual sounds, atypical of the dubstep genre. Eschewing the familiar drum

trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...

s of dubstep, tracks would be based on African percussion and samples of ethnic vocals, combined with massive, wobbling sub-bass, and sometimes elements of

four to the floor Four-on-the-floor (or four-to-the-floor) is a rhythm pattern used primarily in dance genres such as disco and electronic dance music. It is a steady, uniformly accented beat in time in which the bass drum is hit on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4)."T ...

Basic Channel Basic Channel is a German music duo and record label, composed of Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in Berlin in 1993. The duo have also worked under other names, including Rhythm & Sound and Maurizio, and have founded offshoot ...

-style

dub techno Dub techno is a subgenre of techno that combines the style with elements of dub music, including its sparse, delay-heavy production and prominent bass. Characteristics and history In the early 1990s, producers Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus ...

. Some tracks (particularly later Shackleton releases) bear a resemblance to the music of

Muslimgauze Muslimgauze was the main musical project of Bryn Jones (17 June 1961 – 14 January 1999), a British ethnic electronica and experimental musician who was influenced by conflicts and history in the Muslim world, often with an emphasis on the Isra ...

Minimal techno Minimal techno is a subgenre of techno music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detro ...

producer

Ricardo Villalobos Ricardo Villalobos (born 6 August 1970) is a Chilean-born German electronic music producer and DJ. He is well known for his work in the minimal techno and microhouse genres, and is one of the most significant figures in today's minimal techno sc ...

is a fan; he produced a nearly twenty-minute remix of Shackleton's ''Blood on my Hands'' after expressing an interest and being handed the core samples of the song at a DJ set.Appleblim Interview at Red Bull Music Academy, Barcelona

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

, June 2008 Shackleton has returned the favour by remixing ''Minimoonstar'' from Villalobos' ''Vasco EP Part 1''. According to journalist Derek Walmsley,

Artwork

Typical artwork on releases (by Zeke Clough ) was also of an idiosyncratic nature, the pen-and-ink covers referencing egyptological symbols as well as displaying a decidedly

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

influence.

Discography

* 12": A.

- "I Am Animal" / AA. Appleblim - "Mystikal Warrior" (SKULL001) *12": A. Shackleton - "Majestic Visions" AA. Appleblim - "Cheat I" AA2. "Girder" (SKULL002) * EP: ''Soundboy's Nuts Get Ground Up Proper'' A. Shackleton - "Blood on my Hands" B1. Shackleton - "Naked" B2. Shackleton - "Hypno Angel" (SKULL003) *12": ''Soundboy's Bones Get Buried In The Dirt Vol 1'' - A. Shackleton - "Tin Foil Sky" AA. Gatekeeper - "Tomb" (SKULL004) *12": ''Soundboy's Bones Get Buried In The Dirt Vol 2'' - A. Appleblim - "Fear" AA. Shackleton - "Hamas Rule" (SKULL005) *12": ''Soundboy's Ashes Get Chopped Out And Snorted'' - A. Appleblim - "Vansan" AA. Shackleton - "You Bring Me Down" (SKULL006) *12": Shackleton - "Blood On My Hands (

Apocalypso Now Mix)" (SKULL007) * 2CD: ''Skull Disco - Soundboy Punishments'' (

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

) (SKULLCD001) *EP: Appleblim And Peverelist - ''Soundboy's Ashes Get Hacked Up And Spat Out In Disgust'' (SKULL008) *12" Shackleton feat Vengeance Tenford - "Death Is Not Final" / "Death is Not Final (T++ remix)" (SKULL009) *12" Shackleton - ''Soundboy's Suicide Note'' (SKULL010) *CD Shackleton & Appleblim - ''Soundboy's Gravestone get Desecrated by Vandals'' (Compilation album)

References

{{Authority control British independent record labels Dubstep record labels