Skibunny

SKIBUNNY: THAT NAME RINGS A BELL...

Some of you will know about Skibunny from the legendary weekly parties they ran in Belfast (Skibunny has built a following among Belfasts hipsters. Recommended: NME; The groundbreaking and downright charismatic Skibunny: BBC RADIO 1; Edgy and optimistic: THE LIST; It's the best place to go out in Northern Ireland: ACROSS THE LINE, BBC RADIO ULSTER)

Some of you probably went to many of the amazing gigs Skibunny promoted (The Go! Team, Sparklehorse, Guided By Voices, MakeUp, James Yuill…).

You may even have one of their mix CDs, which after being played by Radio1’s Rob Da Bank (“Absolutely wicked!”) took the Skibunny DJs to places like Tokyo, Osaka, New York, Austin, Prague, as well as festivals like Glastonbury, T in The Park, Rockness and Bestival.

Perhaps you’ve come across one of their many remixes –including Paloma Faith (Epic), Tilly & The Wall (Moshi Moshi), Dag For Dag (Saddle Creek), ASIWYFA (Smalltown America).

Let’s face it, it was only a matter of time before they became a band…

“Hugs” the debut album, released 27th Sept 2010 on Smalltown America.

SKIBUNNY is TANYA Mellotte (vocals, guitar, keys) and MARK Gordon (vocals, bass, guitar, keys). With one eye on tunes and one on the dance floor, “Hugs” is 40 minutes of bittersweet electronic guitar-pop beating with an uplifting heart, sitting somewhere between NEW ORDER, GOLDFRAPP and THE CURE, ranging from the washed-out bliss of Aah Ooh to the crunching stomp of recent EP lead track Walk Don't Walk, and including a re-imagining of the Afghan Whigs track Milez iz Ded. The album’s central theme is about wanting more than your lot, about taking risks in life and love, and if it doesn’t work out? You pick yourself up, dust yourself down and do it all over again, but this time a little bit better.

Hugs also features guest vocals by MAPS and Kaori Tsuchida from THE GO! TEAM.

PRESS

DROUND IN SOUND: Opener ‘Aah Ooh’ can’t quite decide what it wants to be - flirting with electronica and folk in equal measure - but is conversely all the better for it, partly in thanks due to its terrific outro...

JIM GELLATLY'S NEW MUSIC: (HUGS is) an absolute joy!

STATE MAGAZINE:Hugs is a slice of electronic, euphoric pop; a musical sound for the digital age... If Hot Chip and the Postal Service float your boat then Hugs should bring joy to your ears.

THE IRISH STAR: A polished debut album that recognises the strength of a great pop song.

THE IRISH NEWS: A pretty engaging collection of thoroughly contemporary bionic indie-pop, a buoyant brew of synth-powered minimal beats, bleeps and emotive melodies.

BBC Radio 1 Introducing with Huw Stephens
For the second hot day of hot music busy-ness, I start with Northern Ireland's Skibunny; promoters, remixers, dj's and a mighty fine band. They make a kind of disco-shoegaze sound, exhubarant and exploding into feisty tunes that sound good. Later, General Fiasco and Fighting with Wire will play, showcasing the wealth of NI's current new bands.

The Irish Times, On the Record blog
I’ve known of Mark and Tanya for many years as Belfast indie club DJs and promoters, but didn’t realise until recently that they were also two-thirds of a band called Skibunny. Fine, top-drawer crunchy electro-rock with big choruses which shout in your ear about a party going on in a house six streets away.