Skint Records

In the summer of 1997 Brighton hosted the Essential festival, the sea-side town’s own eclectic take on the perennial rock festival. Up and coming local dance label, Skint Records had, their own tent on site. A smallish affair, it featured their perfectly formed roster of bands and DJs, including idiosyncratic Brummies, Bentley Rhythm Ace, ragged tearaways Lo Fidelity All-stars and Norman Cook, now operating as Fatboy Slim. Label head Damian Harris watched his marquee fill so rapidly that the queue to enjoy Skint’s spread of breakbeats, samples and dance floor ne’er do wells snaked across the site. He’d started the label two years earlier, out of dissatisfaction with a dance scene then driven by glib house anthems and needlessly obscure experiments in techno. Harris, through Skint, sought a balance between amusement and innovation, and at the Essential, he could see how well it worked.

Harris was similarly overcome after Fatboy Slim achieved a number one single, ‘Praise You’ and number one album, You’ve Come A Long Way Baby, in consecutive weeks. The latter has now sold over four million copies worldwide. Remarkably, Skint Records is only five years old. In that time it’s also produced landmark albums from Bentley Rhythm Ace, Lo Fidelity All-Stars and the Midfield General himself and propelled dance music forward by being fun but not moronic and interesting without being inaccessible. Like all great, taste-making independent labels, Factory, Creation, Mo-Wax, Skint Records simply consumes and reflects the life of its boss.

Harris believes Skint’s elusive, trend dodging profile is also down to being based in Brighton, not the compulsory centre of operations, London. “Here we can be ourselves,” he says, “Without anyone watching.”

Skint’s own future will be based on the same faith, enthusiasm and self-belief that’s taken them so far already. The future looks bright with new signing like Ralfe Band and Lucky Jim taking the label down another more band led path. “If you want to make your mark there's no point just latching onto something and sticking with it. You have to keep moving the goal posts.”