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I’ve been listening to sugar sk*-*lls for a long time. I recall a performance years ago at the, now closed, Mercy Lounge where Ben Marcantel went on stage, plugged in a Gameboy and proceeded to blast the audience with his chiptune compositions. I’ve never seen anyone do that in Nashville before or after. I loved it.
Over the years, sugar sk*-*lls has morphed and explored other sounds; Marcantel was crafting AI compositions back in 2019, way before it was cool! Looking through the back catalog of works, you’ll encounter a number of collaborations. Matt Glassmeyer of Lambchop and Lindsay Johns of Nudity appear on “tethers.” Kyle Hamlett and Ryan Norris of Coupler appear on “Right Hand Hand.” G Seth West, Tye Bellar and Tom Senter of Financier appear on “Gini Rising” back in 2016.
That Financier collaboration grew into something more concrete. G Seth West and Tye Bellar started working with Marcantel more and more; eventually forming a new Voltron version of sugar sk*-*lls.
As the story goes, they met up every weekend and crafted dozens of songs; scrapping entire compositions, merging ideas together, exploring bigger and bolder sounds. They invited Cortney Tidwell to perform on a song and realized the intended track was not good enough - West remarking “we had a diamond on a paper plate.” They kept going, pushing their work further into something they loved to hear.
All of those efforts culminated into Star Time, the album that is released today. It’s the biggest record from sugar sk-lls yet. Not only because it’s a collaboration of three minds but the production is thicker, more immersive and more inviting of repeated listens. Most importantly, and possibly most overlooked, it’s also an incredibly emotional record. Every track features vocoder leading the way, which can be easily written off as just another instrument or, worse, a gimmick. But pay attention to the lyrics, there are incredibly poignant, introspective and moving moments from start to finish.
I’m incredibly proud to be involved with the release. I’ve been a fan of sugar sk*-*lls for so long and now I get to help spread the love to more folks. It’s a record that requires your attention to fully appreciate but will still yield enjoyment even if you’re blasting it as a dance track in the background. It contains multitudes.
Pick up the 2xCassette Rave Case and digital on Bandcamp or Stream and Share wherever you like to listen.
Over the years, sugar sk*-*lls has morphed and explored other sounds; Marcantel was crafting AI compositions back in 2019, way before it was cool! Looking through the back catalog of works, you’ll encounter a number of collaborations. Matt Glassmeyer of Lambchop and Lindsay Johns of Nudity appear on “tethers.” Kyle Hamlett and Ryan Norris of Coupler appear on “Right Hand Hand.” G Seth West, Tye Bellar and Tom Senter of Financier appear on “Gini Rising” back in 2016.
That Financier collaboration grew into something more concrete. G Seth West and Tye Bellar started working with Marcantel more and more; eventually forming a new Voltron version of sugar sk*-*lls.
As the story goes, they met up every weekend and crafted dozens of songs; scrapping entire compositions, merging ideas together, exploring bigger and bolder sounds. They invited Cortney Tidwell to perform on a song and realized the intended track was not good enough - West remarking “we had a diamond on a paper plate.” They kept going, pushing their work further into something they loved to hear.
All of those efforts culminated into Star Time, the album that is released today. It’s the biggest record from sugar sk-lls yet. Not only because it’s a collaboration of three minds but the production is thicker, more immersive and more inviting of repeated listens. Most importantly, and possibly most overlooked, it’s also an incredibly emotional record. Every track features vocoder leading the way, which can be easily written off as just another instrument or, worse, a gimmick. But pay attention to the lyrics, there are incredibly poignant, introspective and moving moments from start to finish.
I’m incredibly proud to be involved with the release. I’ve been a fan of sugar sk*-*lls for so long and now I get to help spread the love to more folks. It’s a record that requires your attention to fully appreciate but will still yield enjoyment even if you’re blasting it as a dance track in the background. It contains multitudes.
Pick up the 2xCassette Rave Case and digital on Bandcamp or Stream and Share wherever you like to listen.
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