Darlington ska outfit, The Skapones, are preparing to release their new album so Lee Allcock caught up with frontman, Paul Williams, to speak about recording in their hometown, releasing music in the USA and Mexico and more.
So, we hear that you’re starting to work on your new album. Tell us more…
It’s coming along nicely. We’ve probably got 17 tracks to choose from so far including four that are recorded and we have seven rhythm tracks down. We would have probably been finished if it wasn’t for COVID-19 but we started recording again at the end of September.
How will it differ from your debut? And what similarities will we find?
The new album is called ‘Northern Gods’. There seems to be a bit of a Doors influence creeping in on this new album and if it’s intentional or not, I don’t know. The content will echo the first album because it’s what we are: political, social, love, romance and anger – it’s all there.
Where did you record the record and why?
At our favourite studio at The Forum in Darlington as it’s a great place to do it. We have always supported the venue as they have always supported us and putting our money back into the place for services seems the right thing to do. We’ve seen great venues going to the wall during this bizarre period and we wouldn’t want that to happen to The Forum.
And how has lockdown affected the release?
Well, it simply means that everywhere was shut including the rehearsal spaces and studios so we couldn’t move forward – but we have kept busy online. The government’s utter distaste for the entertainment industry is evident with no real effort made by them to do anything concrete. The “cash injection” was a joke for an industry that makes billions for this country and not many venues at a grassroots level, the ones that legends start out at, are getting any of that and are having to either shut or get rid of staff.
You’ve also just released your first single in the USA and Mexico. It sounds like you’ve been busy…
Yes, incredibly busy, because it’s important to keep the band profile ticking over until comes a day we can hit the ground running again. Eric Abbey runs Abbey Productions in the USA and we met him and played with his band in Detroit, where he is based, on our USA Tour last year. He releases cool cuts of Jamaican reggae & ska and when he asked if we’d like to do a double A-sided 7” vinyl on his label, it was a no brainer. And then Spinning Riot Records in Mexico picked it up to distribute over the South Americas which was just awesome.
And all being well, what can we expect from you in the remainder of 2020 and moving into 2021?
Well, 2020 is pretty much finished, I think. I mean, we have a few socially distanced gigs this year, one recent one in Pickering North Yorkshire went down well and was well conducted, but that’s about it.
And for 2021, we are already amassing plenty of work: our dates have been rescheduled for The Beat’s 40th anniversary UK tour next year so that’s something to look forward to, especially after we played with The Specials on their 40th anniversary tour last year. We’re also playing the Supernova Ska Fest in West Virginia, USA in June, and when we land back in the UK, we’re straight off on The Beat tour. We’re also releasing a retro version of the first album, ‘Cradle To Grave’, on cassette with bonus tracks, we’re recording a track for the 2020 Specialized charity album then we’ll be onto finishing the new album.
To find out more about The Skapones, head to theskapones.co.uk.
