Skunk Anansie has been defying mainstream expectations about what legitimate rock music looks like for over 20 years. The U.K. foursome is fronted by Skin, the British Jamaican singer with a powerful voice that can be as demure as it is commanding.
The band is as known for their mix of futuristic and industrialized aggro punk and groove-laden heavy metal, as it is Skin's pointed commentary on race, sexuality, and politics.
In the U.K., they’ve enjoyed both chart success (at their peak in 2004, they spent a combined total of 141 weeks on the U.K. single and album charts), as well as a cult following since the release of their 1995 debut, Paranoid and Sunburnt.
For their part, Skunk Anansie is still going strong. In January, they released their sixth studio album, Anarchytecture, and from the sound of it the quartet of Skin, drummer Martin "Ace" Kent, bassist Richard "Cass" Lewis, and guitarist Mark Richardson are feeling refreshed and reinvigorated.
This new energy, as Skin suggests when The FADER catches up with her over the phone from her London home, will be the key in introducing their music to a new generation. “In Europe it’s easy,” she says about creating set lists that satiate longtime fans.
“We know what the hits are in each country; we know we want to play a bunch of new music, so we just find the right healthy balance. But in America, I have no idea.”
Something tells me they're up for the challenge. [Read More]
