Music

The Skamonics

The Skamonics are a London based group of jazz musicians who can play ska, and ska musicians who can play jazz. Originally a purely instrumental band, they have found a much wider audience since adding vocals. But their irreverent repertoire and a proven ability to fill dance floors is unchanged.

The Skamonics trace their musical roots to the birth of ska.

When Jamaica’s sound system owners wanted to end their reliance on US imports in the 1960s they turned to the island’s jazz musicians. From a blend of New Orleans rhythm and blues, mento – Jamaica’s own calypso style, Rastafarian drumming and the musicians’ own jazz and swing roots came forth ska.

The unique combination of offbeat guitar chops – the ska – and a driving drum rhythm could take almost any tune and use them to keep people dancing until dawn.

The pioneers of ska were a horn-led instrumental band – the Skatalites. Even if the label says something else, there’s a good chance that on any Jamaican record from the 1960s that it’s still the Skatalites, moonlighting with a different producer.

They wrote their own tunes, reworked jazz standards, borrowed pop songs and even raided the classical repertoire. Anything was fair game. Not only did they record in their own right, but were the backing band on almost every classic ska vocal.

The Skamonics fast-forward the same attitude 45 years. They play their own horn-drenched versions of many of the classic ska songs such as Israelites and My Boy Lollipop, but also have the advantage of 45 extra years of popular music to raid, ensuring that they are no simple 60s tribute band.

And of course they also add the influence and repertoire of the 1980s two-tone movement, which did not just look back to the music’s 60s roots, but added a contemporary angle.

So at a Skamonics gig you will certainly hear some ska evergreens such as Man in the Street and Alley Cat Ska, composed and recorded by the Skatalites in the 1960s (and on the Skams’ cd). But you will also hear a wide range of covers. These can range from those played by the original ska musicians such as Guns of Navarone and jazz standards such as Fly me to the Moon to covers of two-tone classics from the Specials and Madness.

But what is likely to be most memorable will be completely unexpected ska versions of  classic songs – many from the 1980s – newly arranged by the Skamonics such as Tainted Love, Kylie’s Can’t get you out out of my head and 99 Red Balloons.

The Skamonics appeal is the same that first filled 1960s Jamaican dance floors –
a driving rhythm section underneath, with tight arrangements, thrilling horns and
quality improvisation on top.

Ska has the rare advantage of appealing across the generations, which is why the Skamonics win repeat bookings at cool London clubs but also play a wide range of function gigs, particularly weddings.

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