My Creative Hero: Skream

Since leaving University back in 2015, and with a brief stint working in information technology, Chris followed his passion of working in the music industry. He has been working at Jukebox as an Account Manager since 2018, leading campaigns for internationally renowned festivals like We Are FSTVL, Time Warp, Hideout  Sonus, Dimensions  Terminal V  Previously he's also worked with artists such brands like Amnesia, elrow, Hospitality, Sankeys and artists Sam Paganini, Nico Morano, Luigi Madonna among others.

Since 2017, Chris has followed developments within the cryptocurrency and tech industries. In 2020, following the pandemic, blockchain and cryptocurrency PR has been a key staple to his PR work and he now heads up the Blockchain & Web3 division of Jukebox. Previously Chris has lead campaigns for blockchain and technology projects like KamPay  SeatlabNFT, Forj, Volta  Xceed and conferences like BlockDown (in Croatia) and the Metaverse Summit (in Paris).

LBB> Who would you say is your creative hero? 

Chris> Oliver Jones (Skream)

LBB> How long has he been important to you and what are your first memories of meeting him or coming across his work? 

Chris> Oliver’s impact on the dance music industry has been significant, he’s been important to me for as long as I’ve been interested in music. My passion for dance music and interest in working within the industry was realised in my early teens. I remember hearing his dubstep tracks and that’s what got me into his future releases and performances; it spurred me on to take the dive into blogging, writing and eventually working in music industry PR.

Several years later, I met Oliver whilst working on a project with a friend in Lincoln (UK) at a club night, we were recording for an interview and got to hang out for the evening before and after his set, it was an epic night!

LBB> If it’s someone you personally know or have met, how did you go about finding to learn more about him and his work?

Chris> I mostly followed his socials and regularly checked in to catch his sets from various festivals on Youtube. After several years working in the music industry, we’ve now crossed paths a few times including last years’ festival season at Hideout Festival in Croatia, he played an extended b2b set with emerging talent, Ewan McVicar, a real highlight of the festival.

LBB> Why is he such an inspiration to you? 

Chris> His versatility and adaptation to change is largely unmatched, he’s not just been in and around the music industry for the best part of 20 years, but he’s been at the very forefront of it and that’s not by chance. From pioneering the dubstep sound, through to crafting garage, disco, house and techno productions; his workrate is unmatched compared to many. He was one of the first DJ’s to also champion the very notion of an all nighter event, in his case his aptly named ‘Open To Close’ parties.

LBB> How does he influence you in your approach to your creative work? 

Chris> I touched on this in the previous answer, but I would highlight his versatility and work rate. In my own creative approach I follow trends closely in the music industry and the wider world - things have changed drastically for a variety of reasons over the past few years and in response I've adapted appropriately. Perhaps an overly obvious but important point is workrate, without this it’s impossible to make progress, so with every campaign, this is central to my success.

LBB> What piece or pieces of his work do you keep coming back to and why?

Chris> Some of my listening highlights to share from Oliver would be classic productions of his such as Midnight Request Line and his remix of La Roux’s In For A Kill through to other releases like You Know, Right?