Questions with Skip Curtis

We talked to Skip Curtis, a man we first knew as the guitarist and lead vocalist of punk band Plinth. A man who constantly seems to be working some way or another within the music industry. We took him up to Cardiff’s Wenallt and got him to chat to us about the producing role he plays on the local scene.

Tell us a little bit about your self, what made you want to go into producing?
I think the biggest thing was that I couldn’t focus on one genre of music. I was into too much, and when you’re in a band you can’t play a reggae song one day and a punk song the next, so it was kind of that you had a lot more freedom to express yourself through other people in all different genres of music, which was the main thing that attracted me rather than just playing the same set of ten, twelve songs day in, day out.

When did you decide?

I guess I always knew really, from when I was about 15 or 16, from playing in a band I always had a feeling that I wanted to do more rather than just be in a band. Then I guess when I turned 18 I really decided now was a time to really make a move into it. You’re still young really at the end of the day.

Does it help playing in a band? Do you feel you might have a higher edge than other producers who have never seen or worked from the band side of the industry?

Yeah and no I think, because some producers are studio happy producers and they know the ins and outs of all the software and the gear and a lot more the engineering side of production which I lack because I’ve learned my trade through live music and writing music rather than recording it. So in a way I think it helps a lot more because I’ve been there doing the live thing. I know enough obviously, so I guess it’s kind of a double edged sword really, but it has helped.

What have you been up to recently?

Any new acts on your hands we should look out for?

We have some remixes coming out in the summer with a friend of mine actually, who’s a DJ called Stalker Seal, his remixes are unbelievable. He’s only just come into the game so we’re going to fine tune his remixes with him. I’m working with a guy from Brighton called Rizzle Kicks, who are again really talented artists. Looking forward to doing a lot of stuff with them over the summer.

I’m working with a singer Elicia Jones, she’s a brilliant singer. We’re probably going to cut her an EP first over the summer. I’ve got a couple of tracks myself that I’m going to release and low key stuff under a different name.

Do you think there’s anything bands should take on board or tips for first time recording?

One of the big things is choose the right studio, don’t just go to a studio because it’s down the road. Ask around other bands and ask around where they’ve recorded. Find other bands you like with good records and find out where they’ve been, because you’ll know the engineers, all the producers who you work with are going to be the right people to work with. The other thing is, make sure you can play in time with each other because if you can’t, recording will just drag on, it’ll cost you more money and it won’t sound good at the end of the day. So don’t rush into recording. Make sure you’re a tight enough band first.

Tell us about what studios you use?

Well, I’m kind of being a bit hypocritical here, but I grew up in my local studio and I’ll be forever in the mans debt. A guy called Lyndon Price at Red Rock studios and he’s basically showed me the way. I used to sit and write with him, he was an absolute stand up guy. His studios are up in Blackwood in South Wales and he’s one of my heroes!

Also relaunched a studio in Cardiff Bay with a few guys I work with called The Loft Studios. Some really nice kit in there, good vintage material. They’ve got some amazing vintage synths in there.

Is there a certain way you think the music industry needs to move in and expand in order to survive?

I think it will always survive, but maybe not with the financial clout it always had. I think indie labels are now playing a bigger role. I mean proper indie labels not some guy with a myspace page who signed a band by just shaking their hand at a gig. I mean the proper indie labels. I have a lot of respect for Lock Jaw Records, they’ve done a lot of work. I chat to the label manager quite a lot and they do things the right way. So you need people like them, a formation of guys who are going to take things seriously and do things the right way on a independent budget on a local scale. They’re the ones who are driving the music industry forward.

If we just get local people doing things the right way it’ll be alright. Technology will change, the industry will change and it’ll resurface. I don’t know why people are always trying to rip each other off. Promoters trying to rip bands off, bands trying to rip promoters off and it’s just ‘why?’, you’re all apart of the same scene.

Do you have a favourite style of music you prefer to produce?

Not really, like I said earlier I’m into so much stuff, I guess purely from my ability point of view in playing and singing I’d never be able to tear a guitar solo or I’d never to be able to really understand screamo bands because I can’t sing screamo. But at the same time if a screamo band came and said ‘Skip, we want you to produce our record’, maybe my sort of spin on it would make it sound something completely different that they might love or they might hate it. That’s just the way the game is. But I don’t think I could really specify anything, I guess I’m into so much stuff and open, and I listen to and play so much music that not really anything.

Do you ever find studying at uni can sometimes conflict with your work outside and how do you go about it?

It doesn’t really conflict, it kind of just takes over. I mean the music takes over my work. So I guess maybe the academic side does suffer a little bit, but as long as you do enough to get by. But going about dealing with it I think it’s just about managing your time really. I’d like to say you spend nine till five but it’s more like nine till eleven doing uni work and then the rest of your time you just make your music, listen to music, talk to people about music. It just takes over your life but I wouldn’t want it any other way I guess!

Words & Photos: Nadine Ballantyne