This morning, Skinshape is welcoming us aboard his creative ship, you’d better be ready to weigh the anchor, sailor boys! From the Horn of Africa to foggy pirate havens, from the peaceful lands of England to the abyssal depths of the oceans, let yourself be guided by our guest, through awesome storms and mysterious sea creatures, all down to faraway places. Set sail!
Skinshape is the project of London-based multi-instrumentalist and producer William Dorey. Initially, Dorey wanted to use samples, as a way to bring his 1960s-0s Funk, Soul, Reggae and Afrobeat influences forward, to create instrumental Hip-Hop and Trip-Hop tracks. As he bought a tape-machine with his student loan and started to record his own drum break samples, his sound turned out to be a kind of stoned, psychedelic folk. With all elements being recorded by Dorey, Skinshape sounds like the perfect partner for a solo Sunday morning expedition.
Skinshape’s selection
Aamina Camaari - Rag waa Nacab Iyo Nasteexo (Men are Cruel and Kind)
Skinshape: ” This song and sound is like nothing I’ve ever heard. It has a deep synth-led hypnotic groove, overlaid with the sweet psychedelic vocals of Aamina. Who would have thought this came from 1980s Somalia? I could listen to this groove all day. “
Ralph Vaughan Williams (LPO violin by Sarah Chang) - The Lark Ascending
Skinshape: ” I think I first heard this in the car one day. My mind followed that violin into many other dimensions in the minutes that followed. There is something so quintessentially English about this piece, it’s like the sound of my land, my green hills and my childhood. An emotional listen. “
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Skinshape: ” This has always been a favourite of mine. The lyrics are amazing and the 90s production is also amazing. It’s a shame that The Verve never were allowed to make any money from it after the Rolling Stones court case. “
MailTape’s selection
Skinshape - Life As One
Jules: ” I was introduced to Skinshape’s music by a close friend who sent me his most famous song,‘I Didn’t Know’. I remember being left with such a feeling of calmness. Then, when I listened to his third album ‘Filoxiny’ released last November, this other song caught me. Although ‘Life As One’ starts with the same relaxed atmosphere, the end is full of melancholy. “
Hilary Woods - Prodigal Dog
Jules: ” This song is taken from ‘Colt’, Hilary Woods’s debut album she spent 2017 writing and recording in an abandoned flat she was living in at the time. Jazz drums, classical strings and sensuous synth work slowly wrap and surround the piano melody to design majestic spaces while the Irish singer’s voice sounds like a siren’s. “
Para One - Finale (Music To And From Naissance Des Pieuvres)
Jules: ” Jean-Baptiste de Laubier is mostly known, by his artist name Para One, as a DJ and a rap and electronic music producer. He met the film director Céline Sciamma while they were both stuyding at La Fémis and since then Para One has scored most of her films. The soundtrack of Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lilies) is an aerial synthesizer melody which imbues the movie with a mysterious and singular poetry. “
Corte Real - Opium
Jules: ” I discovered this song on a music compilation from the french and francophone label La Souterraine, and immediately felt captived by this exotic and soft voice. It sounds like the pirate tales or the great adventure books our parents were reading to us, at a time when lost islands and treasure hunts were everything we needed to dream about. “
That’s it for this morning. As always thank you so much for embarking with us on our every Sunday journey! Much love and respect to Skinshape for his Sunday selections, and to Camille Célestin for her stunning illustration.
