Mike Skinner is most notably known for his work with The Streets, a hip hop group hailing from the UK. They shocked the world with Original Pirate Material, a raw and emotionally striking record that dove into the experimental side of both the electronic and hip hop worlds.
That was back when Miley Cyrus and I were still wearing pigtails to school, and in this present day, The Streets for the most part has been shelved (as a project), and members have moved on to bigger and better things. For Skinner, this has largely meant focusing on instrumentals and live DJ performances. His newest work is called “Know There’s No,” a track that borrows from various styles and combines to create something uniquely him.
There are heavy hip hop influences carefully embedded into the track, and is reminiscent to the likes of RJD2. The sampled voice brings a level of heaviness to the track before evolving into a beautiful piano riff that is as addicting as it is mesmerizing. While I’m not sure I’d be ready to call this track Skinner’s magnum opus, he’s definitely been working on refining his sound into something great, and it will be a pleasure to see where he heads to next.