Skindred

But as the year unfolded, Skindred flipped from cult curiosity to mainstream success: the ‘Smile’ album shot to #2 in the UK charts, they headlined their own packed out Wembley Arena, became proud winners of Best Alternative Act at the MOBO Awards, and topped the bill on different Glastonbury stages two years in a row. The irresistible ‘Gimme That Boom’ was their first calling card, soundtracking sporting events on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring in EA Sports’ ‘Madden 25’ game, and the song they performed on ‘Later… with Jools Holland’.

The dilemma that comes with such a breakthrough is: how can you possibly top that?

For Skindred and the upcoming ‘You Got This’ album, the answer turned out to be deceptively simple. You come out fighting with a lean, all-killer-no-filler set that distils everything that people love about the band - hard-hitting slammers, mega addictive hooks, earwormy soundclash elements, and dancehall vibes destined to ignite festivals and live shows across the globe.

And in Benji, they have the ultimate frontman — a man whose wild enthusiasm is instantly contagious, delivering the album’s other great strength: an adrenaline shot of pure motivation. His phenomenally powerful vocals are balanced with lighter, melodic moments of emotion that champion self-belief, resilience, and finding joy in the small things that make life worth living – he’s the loudest life coach you’ll ever meet.

The first spark of inspiration came when gym-devotee Benji saw a man struggling to complete his exercises as he started his rehabilitation after a stroke. The personal trainer told him, “You got this,” and the mood completely lifted.

“I was watching from a distance, and I could see the struggle and the pain, but in that moment, I knew he had got this,” recalls Benji. “It’s such an empowering statement and it applies to so many battles that everybody faces: it could be a recovery from a stroke, or it could be studying for your exams at school. For me, having songs that lift people who are going through tough times is the most important thing. I feel like that's what I'm put on this planet to do.”

The title track wastes no time in powering up that agenda, with Mikey Demus’s wrecking ball riffs bouncing as drummer Arya Goggin detonates a characteristically full-throttle rhythm. Meanwhile Benji lurches between uncompromising toasting and delivering hooks that Arya says they “love to hammer home to the crowd because it’s so unifying.”

‘Can I Get A’ lightens the tone, with Benji leading a one-man call-and-response inspired by Johnny Rotten and Chuck D that’s absolutely built for their renowned audience participation. But strike below its pop core and gospel backing harmonies and you’ll uncover a mini autobiography in song. It takes Benji back to being orphaned as a child, and how he was raised in poverty by his older brother who was little more than a kid himself.

“It’s me as a child seeing my friends with all these amazing things that people take for granted that I never had,” he begins. “I was eleven years old and was worried what my life would become. A lot of kids where I lived got into trouble and ended up in prison. I was just gonna grab that microphone and see where it would take me. I want to empower people to know that you can be what you want to be. Don't spend your life worrying about what you haven't got. Live your life because now is the time.”

That spirit of defiance is something all three members share in different ways. Mikey recalls picking up a guitar as an escape and a creative outlet from being an outcast in school. Arya admits to being so focused on music that he never had a plan B. But what they achieved isn’t some kind of cosmic ordering bullshit - they’ve grinded to play every gig to near perfection and take the time to appreciate everyone who shows an interest in what they’re doing.

Elsewhere on the record, the sun-kissed ‘Broke’ sits in the lineage of The Clash or Rancid’s detours into dub and ska and, alongside ‘Give Thanks’, brings the dancehall vibe that made the ‘Smile’ album live favourite, ‘L.O.V.E. (Smile Please)’, so electrifying. At the other extreme, ‘This Is The Sound’ is one of their most ferocious moments and ‘Born Fe Dis’ does, well, everything. As Mikey laughs, “We threw the kitchen sink at that one with all this ear candy,” citing details ranging from a mouth harp to the whipcrack of a lasso. “We imagined we were watching a movie trailer for a weird ragga-metal cowboy western.”

The midway highlight is ‘Glass’, Benji’s memorial to the many people he has lost along the way. It comes across like a blend of the haunting atmospherics of The Specials with the charged emotions of Killswitch Engage’s ‘Rose of Sharyn’. “A lot of people who really empowered me have passed over. I know I've lost a piece of my heart but they're going to be with me for eternity for the encouragement they’ve given me. I'm never going to lose that.”

It’s also a tribute to his late friend, the Black Roots drummer, Trevor Seivwright. He was the man who encouraged a young Benji that he could be into punk rock as well as R&B and reggae.

It all adds up to ‘You Got This’ sounding like a band who are hyped with their upturn in fortune and eager to make the most of the opportunity. The only pressure, notes Arya, was “on yourself to be the best that you can.” Benji credits Arya with bringing more ideas to the process than ever before, while Mikey’s songwriting was heightened by what he had subconsciously learned while collaborating with numerous external projects.

Production came from the Grammy-winning Jay Ruston, who Arya admires for having the songwriting chops to work with ‘80s power ballad master Desmond Child, while also producing Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Mike Patton’s, Mr Bungle. “It was working with someone who didn’t just stay in one lane, which is exactly what Skindred has always been about.”

So now it’s all about Skindred’s future. There are big plans incoming, especially live, where Arya has seen the audience evolve into a mix of youngsters attending their first gig alongside the two generations above them. Benji is dreaming of Coachella or a prime Pyramid Stage slot at Glastonbury. But Mikey comes at the question from a different angle.

“When you start a band, you don’t think for a second that you’re going to headline Wembley. I don’t feel like we made it happen; the audience made it happen by committing to be there and travelling so far to come. When you’re in a band you’re always looking at the next thing and it can be hard to be like, wow, what’s happening right now is amazing. There are still so many people out there who should know us but have never heard of us. So, we’ve got this whole fight ahead of us still.”

So, for Skindred, the ‘Smile’ wave of discovery was just the start of more adventures to follow. Where it takes them is yet to be written, but one thing is certain: they got this.