Welsh Rock bandSkindredis all set to thrill Pune at The Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2013! We caught up with them for a quick chat about their new album, ‘Kill The Power’, expectations from the Indian crowd, and more. Read on!

Eight Octaves: Greetings from Eight Octaves! You’ll be performing in Pune forThe Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2013; what are your expectations from the crowd?

Skindred: It’s our first time in India so we’re excited to see what the crowds have to offer us! I hope you guys are ready to jump, dance and do the Newport Helicopter! We know that the music fans of India are hungry for live music so we’re psyched to be bringing our flavour to your door!

Eight Octaves: What’s your set going to be like, for the day? Perhaps more songs from your new album?

Skindred: We’ll be doing a few live favourites, a few new ones. We try to give a good spread of what Skindred is all about, and with 5 albums worth of songs, that gives us a lot to choose from! Rest assured it’ll be the show of the decade that’s sure to get people talking.

Eight Octaves: What’s your new album, ‘Kill The Power’, about? How is it different from your previous works, in terms of the lyrical theme and music?

Skindred: We really wanted to make a varied, dynamic album that wasn’t just a couple of singles at the front and a load of fillers, so we really put a lot of thought and care into making every song as good as it could be. There’s a few songs that are gonna be instant Skindred jump-the-fuck-up crowd pleasers, but we also created some huge rock anthems; collaborating with Russ Ballard (who wrote “God Gave Rock N Roll To You” and “Since You’ve Been Gone” amongst others) on a couple of songs was a life changing experience. We really believe ‘Kill The Power‘ is our best record to date, and truly shows the bands wide versatility. Lyrically it is some of Benji’s best work to date, he really pushed himself to visit places he’d never been, it’s an exciting, honest, and heartfelt album which we think our current fans and new fans are gonna be really excited about. 

Eight Octaves: You used a lot of dubstep, hip hop and drum and bass elements in your last album ‘Union Black’, as compared to the others; will we be seeing those elements in ‘Kill The Power’ as well?

Skindred: Being fans of a myriad of styles keeps Skindred fresh & different to a lot of other bands out there – whether we’re doing crushing guitar riffs, pulsating reggae baselines or frantic electronic stuff we have tried to make every element of our music as cutting, aggressive, and meaningful as possible. 

Eight Octaves: You guys fuse a lot of elements to create a unique musical style, which you call ‘Ragga Metal’; Benji Webbe refers to your musical style as ‘nu-reggae’. Would you like to elaborate on this?

Skindred: Terms get thrown around on the Internet a bunch, to be honest we don’t brand ourselves as anything too heavily, as long it sounds like Skindredwe’ll get behind it. Ragga and Metal are just 2 parts of a large equation that makes us tick. We draw from a wide pool of influence and we’re all into different things, we’re not 4 scene kids who all dress the same or listen to the same copycat bands, so when we make music together all kinds of stuff comes out. It’s really rewarding to be part of something truly unique. 

Eight Octaves: This will be your first time in India; how do think you’ll like it? What’s on your to-do list (not counting the gigs!)? Is there any place in particular that you’d like to check out?

Skindred: I hope we get to do a bit of tourist stuff, things like the Taj Mahal. I’m hoping we get to see all we can in the time we have. India has been on everyone’s checklist of places they’d love to visit so you’d better believe we are very, very excited. We hope it’s the start of a regular thing! We love taking our music everywhere. 

Eight Octaves: Have you listened to any Indian artists lately?

Skindred: I love that India has a rich cultural heritage musically and artistically, and that so many of our biggest inspirations were influenced heavily by all of it. We can’t wait to have our own taste, and learn more about current stuff evolving from the country. As we travel to new places we learn that there’s much to be gained from local and current music scenes – I know that India has an exciting underground of talent that deserves real exposure, I’m looking forward to experiencing that first hand. 

Eight Octaves: What’s next on the cards for Skindred?

Skindred: We have a ton of shows lined up to support our new record, including a European and UK headline run. Summer festivals next year are falling into place as we speak, plus a US tour is currently being planned. We wanna go everywhere! We are also making videos for the upcoming singles from ‘Kill The Power‘. It’s gonna be a ride!

Eight Octaves: Finally, what would you like to say to your fans, and the many young up and coming bands in India?

Skindred: To all the young musicians and bands, stay true to yourselves and do what you do! Perfect your craft and give it your best, every time. Be original and set your sights on the skies! We would love to thank the Indian fans & promoters for believing in what we do and inviting us to your country. We are honoured to be headed your way! On a personal level, we are massively excited to visit, let alone perform for you. I know that the Indian crowds give it their all so I can’t wait to see the Indian people show other countries how it’s done!