WORDS: PAUL SULLIVAN, PHOTO: SHAUN BLOODWORTH
SOMEBODY SKREAM
THE MAN LIKE SKREAM, AKA OLLI JONES, MIGHT
BE ONLY 19 YEARS OLD, BUT HE’S ALREADY
BEEN DROPPING KILLER TUNES FOR FIVE YEARS,
COMING UP THROUGH THE DUBSTEP RANKS VIA
RELEASES ON BIG APPLE, TEMPA AND TECTONIC.
It was his 2004 tune ‘Midnight Request Line’ – an between hip hop and dub and kick-starting a docu- “The tune was made with the ladies in mind,” he ad-
eerie, tech-edged anthem to urban paranoia – that ment that’s full of suspense and paranoia. mits. “They seem to react well to a vocal. It’s like the
thrust him into the media spotlight, a place he vocal is still ruff, but it’s kinda sing-a-longy too. The
has happily occupied ever since. Winning favour The nightmarish motifs are alleviated now and again biggest misconception is that the dubstep raves are
with a range of DJs, from Gilles Peterson and Mr. though, in particular by cuts like ‘Check It’, (Skream’s a hall full of men but it’s just not like that. If you go
Scruff to Ricardo Villalobos and Wiley, ‘MRL’ was current smash, featuring dancehall MC Warrior to the clubs now they’re a real mixed crowd. It might
a major catalyst in dubstep’s ascendance from the Queen) and ‘Summer Dreams’, a tune that’s all be because the sound is more catchy these days,
underground. languorous live trumpet and skippy two-step riddims, or maybe people are just ready for it now. There’s
and which lies completely at the other end of the lots of variety and it appeals to everyone, men and
Since then, Skream has continued to drop high mood spectrum. women alike…”
profile releases like the ‘Skreamizm’ series (Tempa),
and spin jaw-dropping sets at the country’s top “’Check-it’ has had a blinding reaction,” says Olli. “It’s The scene in general has been going from strength
nights, like DMZ and FWD>>. Now his fame is my biggest tune in at least four months. It was made to strength since it emerged from the underground
about to spread even wider with the release of his with Warrior Queen in mind, actually. I wanted her to a year or two ago, helped along by the likes of
debut album: ‘Skream!’ vocal it before she even knew about it, and around Skream and also Mary Anne Hobbe’s famous
the time it was finished her agent got hold of me DubWarz show. Not only is Skream open to working
“I wanted people to understand what I’m doing,” he through Mary Anne Hobbs and said they wanted to with vocalists, he is currently remixing a techno tune
explains. “To hear what I’ve been up to and where do a track, so that was cool. I finished the track and by Mark Ashton (‘Root Dyed Dark’), pondering more
my sound is coming from. I wanted to put out a mix when she was available to do the vocal it was like a remixes of Ricardo Villalobos and Missy Elliott, as
of new tracks and older favourites like ‘Colourful’, triple bonus.” well as working with scene luminaries like Benga
which I think needed to be heard. I just wanted to and Mala (Digital Mystikz) and Hijack.
get a hefty amount of tracks out there and repre- Tunes like ‘Check It’ are rare on the dubstep scene,
sent the sound well…” but its general acceptance suggests we might be Oh, and there’s the next edition of his ‘Skreamizm’
hearing more of them. Once the domain of moody series of course. Is he excited about the future?
‘Skream!’ certainly represents. The scene’s first males, the scene has certainly opened up a lot in “Foreign listeners and press are picking up on the
real full-length, it’s typically tense and reassuringly the last couple of years, with more and more gals sound,” he says, “and record sales from overseas are
dark, vaguely illuminated by the glow of city neon checkin’ the sound and enjoying the unique flavour getting bigger, so yeah. It’s gonna be like, after the
and infused with narcoleptic waves of Jamaican of nights like FWD>> and DMZ. Skream obviously album, hit ‘em again with some bangers! No let up!”
bud. Opening track ‘Tortured Soul’ creeps up on you has no qualms in catering for this wider audience.
like a crack-addled stalker, blurring the boundaries
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K57_Skream.indd 57 17/10/2006 17:14:00
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