Nicholas Skelton

function: director
company: DJ Skunk

participation in

WOMEX 2003
WOMEX 2004
WOMEX 2005
WOMEX 2006
WOMEX 2007
WOMEX 2008
WOMEX 2009

Profile of Nick Skelton aka DJ Skunk

"Positive and high energy dancing music from all around the world is what draws people to DJ Skunk's gigs."

"When it comes to World Music I don't know anyone who has a larger or better collection of dance tracks than DJ Skunk"

My strap line is "come ready to dance….." and people of all ages certainly do just that. From 7 to 70 they can't resist the grooves I play, be it hip hop from Cuba, African techno, Gypsy rumba, Asian breaks, Balkan Brass, Brazilian Drum n'Bass or old skool Jamaican reggae.
I grew up listening to pirate radio and on a musical diet of Motown, soul and rock and my early heroes include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana. In order to hear new music, I used to bunk off school to get to see those famous 60s' films Easy Rider and Woodstock. This led on to my going to many varied concerts in London in the 70's to widen my musical taste. Osibisa's memorable gig at a packed, and swelteringly hot, Imperial College, where Stevie Wonder guested on drums, remains one of my highlights. At that time, I always eagerly awaited the arrival of the new Santana album.
Through my Jamaican girlfriend and contact with the Anglo-Caribbean community in Bath I became immersed in the sounds of ska and reggae by hearing Desmond Dekker, Prince Buster, The Ethiopians and early Bob Marley and the Wailers. I love to dance and also believe that dancing feeds the soul; so these artists' music fuelled my passion.
In the early 80's I connected with an African music-loving neighbour and was introduced to the sounds of King Sunny Ade, Gasper Lawal and Fela Kuti. I now had a whole new continent of music to explore and this was helped along by listening to Andy Kershaw's radio programme. I was always looking for new music to explore and dance to and the dawning of the World Music genre gave me access to an even wider musical spectrum.
By now friends were asking me to play a session at their parties and then sometimes to bring my own sound system as well.
I invested in a more powerful sound system and started to play out more widely, at house parties, events and at the infamous Arts Cafes in Cambridge, where I collected the name DJ Skunk.

I've now played in a whole variety of places in and around Cambridge; at the Junction for Global Grooves and at the Peterborough Sambabash, also at Brazilian and Capoeira nights at the Boatrace, at salsa nights at the Man in the Moon and at Café Afrika, supporting Afrobeat, Afrocubism and Salon Darbuka, to name a few.
I was a regular at CALABASH! African night on Tuesdays at the Devonshire Arms and I've been a resident DJ at La Raza restaurant regularly playing an Eclectic Latin and World mix and also at The Fez Club and now twice a month play at Jazteka at The Fountain Inn, where the music mix is dancefloor Latin, Mestizo, Balkan, Afrobeat, Brazilian and Desi beats.
I have hosted and played my mix of World and Roots on stage at the Cambridge City Council's Summer Sunday for the last six years and also for the yearly Heart of the World Festival at the Cambridge Corn Exchange.
More recently, I've been involved in 209Radio- the community radio station in Cambridge (now on 105FM) - and have co-presented the weekly world and roots show Clubglobal for the past three and a half years. I've also presented Passport- a world and roots show for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire over the last three years.
I see World Music as the most exciting musical genre today with many other types of music borrowing from it and wanting to fuse with it.
Music is an ancient, spiritual and universal language and World Music has a hopeful future as a way of countering racism and the polarisation of peoples across the world by both terrorists and warmongers. Support it!
For playing at parties, gigs, and other events etc. I can be contacted on 07815 126227, or by email at nick@djskunk.co.uk

Why not visit WWW.djskunk.co.uk
and Clubglobal on www.209radio.co.uk and locally on 105 FM