Despite that, Oliver is upbeat and chatty, failing in his attempts to lock his two and a half year old son out of the room. “I’m trying to have a cigarette without my son seeing. He’s watching Cars in the other room but he keeps bursting in on me, he’s so cute”. So he tried to quit smoking as part of his New Year’s resolution and he’s not quite achieving that, but it is clear that Jones is a dedicated family man. “Having the job [I] have, it is difficult, especially on an emotional level. I miss out on some really, well not life changing important times but you know, just the little things like hearing new words, so it definitely is hard to deal with.” Benga’s recent surprise retirement from music to start a family came “as a big shock” to Jones but with his own struggles empathises with his decision to take time off. “The thing is I’ve always done it, but I was with my partner for like 10 years and it’s something that’s very new to Benga. I guess we’re just different when it comes to things like that.” In the meantime, Skream will host their Radio One show on his own.
It’s difficult to escape Skream’s dubstep roots and although it isn’t something he wants to keep in his past, it is a question he’s becoming tired of answering. “Being versatile should be celebrated [but] doesn’t seem to even be appreciated.” The electronic music scene is undoubtedly divided into countless subcultures, each looking for an affinity with a sub-genre, but this attitude leaves little leeway for versatility, and artists like Skream aren’t celebrated but rather received with suspicion. “It’s very alienating when you’ve had a long career being known for one specific thing. It’s taken a year, over a year actually for people to just to accept it, really…producers shouldn’t feel scared to represent what they love, you know?”
“For the foreseeable future, house and techno will be my forte” and he’s got a long line of impressive collaborations lined up. Right now he’s working with producer, Mark Jenkyns, who’s signed to Hot Creations, and has a few collaborations with Jimmy Edgar in the works, “I’m actually playing on of them in my sets at the moment” and has Seth Troxler talking over a track he’s done. Having been friends with Troxler for a few years now, “I owe quite a lot to Seth… he kind of put me in touch with everyone. He’s quite a good introduction person, you know?”
Skream will be doing a string of shows in Australia this month and while he keeps everyone on his toes with what he’s going to play, right now you can bank on his sets being “house and techno mashed with disco.” Jones treats crowds to a veritable feast of what is on his playlist rather than song trends and it’s his authenticity that sets him a part. “I know it sounds clichéd as fuck, but the sets are a lot more on the journey sides of things, there’s a lot more colours and variations.”
BY KISH LAL
