Skindred

Skindred is a four-piece band from Newport, South Wales, UK. Their genre is a mix of metal, punk, hip hop, reggae, and ragga known as Ragga-punk by the band and fans alike.

Band History (1999 - 2002)

The band was originally formed by 3 ex-members of Dub War, although Benji, the lead singer, is the only previous member of Dub War left. Despite the similarities between the two bands, it is important to note that Benji is frequently cited as saying Skindred was a project born out of jams between him & Dan, and not a reformation of Dub War.^[1] The first song Benji and Dan came up with was 'Brainkiller', they then worked on more demos such as 'The Champions' and 'Ruff Neck'.

During the first couple of years Skindred were unsigned, they toured the UK in a white Transit van supporting bands like One Minute Silence & Lostprophets.

They eventually signed a deal with Sony owned label RCA & went into the studio to record their debut album Babylon in 2002.

Babylon was finally released on 2002/07/03 to much critical acclaim. Despite the positive reaction RCA pulled the album around a month later and Skindred was left to look for a new label. This ultimately led to guitarist Jeff Rose and drummer Martyn Ford leaving the band in November of 2002.^[2]

Band History (2003 - present)

Jeff was replaced by mikeydemus on Guitar & Ginge by Dirty Arya on Drums. Dirty Arya had previously played in the Exeter Metal band Torna-K.

With this new line-up & a new deal with US label Bieler. Bros the band embarked on yet more touring, something for which they always had an excellent reputation. Babylon was then to see the first (of what would be many) re-release in 2003.

In 2004 Babylon was re-released again. This time with new artwork & some newly recorded tracks.

The latest re-release featured a bonus disc of extra material comprising of acoustic versions of their songs 'Start first', 'Pressure', 'Set it Off' and 'Nobody'. Also included on the main CD was a new song 'We want'. Recognition was gained when they supported both Soulfly and Pitchshifter on their 2006 UK tours and InMe at their gig at the Astoria, London, in 2005. The band has also toured in the USA with HIM, Sevendust & Papa Roach.

In late 2006 the band headed out on their 'Jungle Bells' UK tour, on which they were supported by Dub Trio for the first half of the tour, a new track called 'Roots Rock Riot' was previewed on some dates of the tour. The band are expected to spend most of 2007 touring America. The band still tour in the same van they had in the early years.

Drummer 'Dirty Arya' has a golly doll attached to his cymbal, the bands profile on social networking website My Space contains links to a tongue in cheek profile for the doll who is named 'Mr C', the profile can be viewed here

Skindred began the recording of their second album on January 4th, 2007 with Matt Squire producing. It has since been completed.

Second Album

Skindred's long-awaited second album has been confirmed as having the title 'Roots Rock Riot' with a release date of October 23, 2007 through Bieler Bros. The track "Rat Race" is available exclusively through Reverb Nation and their official Myspace page, it has also been released on a Skindred E-Cardwhich also contains a distorted sample which may be part of a track from 'Roots Rock Riot'. The recording of 'Roots Rock Riot' was completed at Bieler Bros. Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida with producer Matt Squire (Panic! at the Disco) and was mixed by Rick Will (who also mixed Skindred's debut album Babylon). The album will feature twelve tracks including Rat Race. The official album launch party is to be held on the 20th of September at the Scala club in London, UK.

Video Games & Soundtracks

Video Games

XBOX 360s come with a small list of songs from various artists, including Skindred's 'Pressure.'

Featured Song(s)	Game Title
Nobody	Need For Speed Underground 2
Bruises, Pressure	Blitz The League
Bruises, Pressure	Saint's Row
Pressure	Project Gotham Racing 3
Nobody	MX vs. ATV Unleashed

Soundtracks

Featured Song(s)	Film Title
Twist and Crawl (The Beat cover)	Sky High

Collaborations

Benji has Collaborated with quite a few artists over the years. These include:

Ace Sounds - This was a solo project by the former Skunk Anansie guitarist Ace. Benji appears on the track "Back Up".
Bong-Ra - Benji recorded vocals for several tracks on Bong-ra's album "Bikini Bandits, Kill!, Kill!, Kill!".
Korn - Singer Benji helped the band by singing A.D.I.D.A.S. at the download festival 2006 in Jonathan Davis's absence.
Soulfly - Benji appeared on 2 tracks from Soulfly's self titled album (Quilombo & Prejudice). He has also appeared at many soulfly shows to sing live on those tracks.