Skin Mechanix : The Blog

Actually, the fresh start began late last year with the release of three pilot videos, all featuring new music from SkinMechanix. And here’s the good news. I actually managed to sustain that output. Another new video is almost done and this one’s a good one. It’s not ready yet. It needs a few more hours in the cooking pot before I’d be happy releasing it but... part of me wants to release it anyway, so that I can move on to the next project. And then the next. I’ve switched tack. I no longer just sit on stuff until it’s ready. I want to just push it out there and then move on. This is about continuous development.

Looking back to my last update, dated 23rd March 2023, it’s obvious I wasn’t in a good place either physically or mentally. That much was obvious. Yes, I deleted that post because it wasn’t a fair representation of where we are today and it made very depressing reading anyway. At the time, I was struggling with the whole work/life balance thing and both Jules and I had experienced back-to-back chest infections. So not good.

However, two days later I posted that update, my blood pressure spiked and I spent the night in Durham Hospital. The Doctor called it a Hypertensive Crisis. I need to get my blood pressure down. After that episode, 2023 just spiralled into one massive problem after another. Problems at home. Problems at work. Both Jules and I had some additional health problems. We also suffered a major bereavement, which knocked the whole family for six.

So, just as 2023 was winding down, I got back into the habit of writing and releasing music. Just a change of attitude, I guess coupled to a determination not to become just another also ran. Another strong element was the introduction of the Electronic Music Open Mike night in Sunderland. Suddenly, we had a new outlet for off-the-wall electronic music and that seems to have ignited a major fire under my backside.

I released three videos towards the end of 2023. I dubbed them The Psychosis Series and they’re available on YouTube. [I’ve included links below] I’ll be the first to point out that they’re a) not my usual style and b) not very polished. But still, they’re out there. I broke through the blockages. It’s just me attempting to find a new work flow or perhaps even re-discover my original workflow.

Here’s the good news. I’m working on a live set for next month’s Electronic Music Open Mike at The Ship Isis pub in Sunderland. It’s been more than four years since I last gigged so this is a real adventure.

Again.

I also did a quick review of some of the tracks I have sitting around, a few of which I’d forgotten existed. Strange, I couldn’t even remember what Scream if you want to... was or when I wrote it or even how I wrote it. The same applies to The Gate. I remembered after I read my own diary and that provided enough clues to track down the original Logic sessions.

Nevertheless, I was glad to see the back of 2023. I really was.

So, goodbye and good riddance to 2023. Hello 2024.

Update : This page is undergoing a refresh over the next couple of days. Expect some (minor) changes...

A few short words about the forthcoming changes to the way we work.

First off, as detailed below, we're culling our SoundCloud page. This process has already started.

Secondly, all of the tracks presently available on SoundCloud will be re-worked and finished off over the next eighteen months. Thereafter, the will appear on our BandCamp page as formal releases, complete with full artwork and extensive sleeve notes.

Thirdly, there is no thirdly.

Welcome to the New Blog.

It's just like the Old Blog but without all of the smart-assed 'writing'. Just music. Nothing else. What we're doing. What we're not doing. Gigs. Release info. That sort of thing.

No more wide-eyed introspection. No more excuses for not delivering the new album. No more pontificating from upon high.

Just... you know... SkinMechanix stuff.

Work in Progress

At present, I'm re-working a large collection of unreleased tracks which span the last fifteen years or so. These include sets from:

• The Awakenings concerts (2008, 2012, 2014 & 2016)
• The Prohibition Concert (2016)
• The Never Mind the Ramones events (2016 & 2017)
• The Northern Electric Festival (2018)
• The Little Buildings support slot for Tunnel Club (2019)
• Jenny's 30th birthday concert (2019).

These recordings were never formally released. I'm not sure why they were abandoned. Just one of those mysteries, I guess. Anyway, after three years of very little activity, we're doing music again.

I've just re-mixed and polished-up the guitar-heavy The Art of Falling, originally called Shiloh. I'm still not happy with the mix but you knew that already. no? Next up, Glorianna, a moody piano piece from around 2016, produced and performed for the Ramones events. The original versions of Shiloh and Glorianna are still on Soundcloud if you're interested.

Where is this going? Is a new release on the horizon? I have no idea. Truthfully, I don't know. I just want to get back to doing music again.

Soundcloud

A word about our Soundcloud pages. Like most social media workspaces, our Soundcloud pages seem to generate very little interest and zero income. Maybe two or three plays per month, at most. Rightly or wrongly, there's a general perception amongst consumers that free-music has no real value, even to the artists, which is why they give it away for free, right?

I think this is wrong. Soundcloud make a lot of money off the back of their artists through advertising and they have never, ever paid us a single penny in the ten years we've been with them. That situation is unacceptable.

So, from next month, we're going to start removing our music from Soundcloud and put it where it will generate some income, or some interest, ideally both. The platform of choice is obviously Bandcamp. They do pay. We'll still post the occasional demo piece or a rough concert mix but our catalogue will mostly disappear from Soundcloud by the end of the year.

Cheers, David