Skinny Pelembe

Skinny Pelembe
Born	(1990-08-26) 26 August 1990 (age 34) Johannesburg, South Africa
Origin	Doncaster, England
Genres	Avant-pop alternative rock electronic rock neo soul psychedelia alternative R&B Afrobeat post-punk
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	2016–present
Labels	Brownswood Recordings Partisan Records
Website	skinnypelembe.com

Doya Beardmore (born 26 August 1990), known professionally as Skinny Pelembe, is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has released two albums Dreaming is Dead Now (2019) and Hardly the Same Snake (2023).

Early life

Beardmore was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to an English father from Birmingham and a Mozambican mother. Concerned about Apartheid, under which interracial relationships were illegal and stigmatised, the family relocated to Doncaster, South Yorkshire when Beardmore was three.[1]

Career

As a teenager, Beardmore played in garage bands. He taught himself guitar and production.[2]

Beardmore self-released his debut single "Mindset is Fear" in 2016 followed by his debut EP Seven Year Curse in 2017.[3] After joining Gilles Peterson's Future Bubblers programme, Beardmore's second EP Sleep More, Make More Friends was released in 2018 via Peterson's label Brownswood Recordings,[4] featuring collaborations with Yazmin Lacey, Hejira, Bernardo, and Emma-Jean Thackray, as well as the single collection "Spit/Swallow" and "Toy Shooter". Beardmore featured on the BBC Music Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds.[5] He also played at the Great Escape Festival,[6] Latitude Festival, and the 6 Music Festival and had gigs supporting Nightmares on Wax and Unkle, and at Rough Trade with Dry Cleaning and Dana Gavanski.[7]

Produced with Malcolm Catto and via Brownswood Recordings, Beardmore released his debut album Dreaming is Dead Now in May 2019[8] and the single "I'll Be On Your Mind".[9] He played at the Green Man Festival[10] and Sŵn in Wales and had headline dates supported by Elsa Hewitt.[11] He recorded a cover of Andrew Hill's "Illusion (Apparition)" for the Blue Note Records tribute jazz album Blue Note Re:imagined in 2020.[12] He was commissioned to write a song for South Yorkshire in 2021.[13]

Beardmore moved to Partisan Records in 2022.[14] In 2023, Beardmore released his sophomore album Hardly the Same Snake[15] and third EP Deadman Deadman Deadman, the singles "Oh, Silly George"[16] and "Don't Be Another", and a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Who by Fire" with Beth Orton.[17] Beardmore made his Glastonbury Festival debut that summer.[18] He also performed at Bluedot Festival,[19] Deer Shed Festival and London Calling, returned to Reeperbahn and Sŵn, and embarked on tour.[20][21] The music video for "Don't Be Another", directed by Jai Moseley, was nominated for Best Alternative Video – UK at the 2024 UK Music Video Awards.[22]

Artistry

Beardmore's sound has been described as an eclectic "collage" of different genres and "genre agnostic",[23] and that "singling out any one influence… is an impossible task".[20] During Beardmore's childhood, his father would play folk and country acts, his brothers introduced him to hip-hop, while his maternal family influenced him towards Afro-soul.[3] Beardmore first drew upon drum and bass,[24] developed as an artist on the UK garage scene and studied the Beatles and the Beach Boys.[25]

In 2017 and 2019, Beardmore named Fela Kuti, Neil Young, CAN, Madlib,[3] My Bloody Valentine and IG Culture as influences,[26] as well as The Lijadu Sisters and Andrew Hill.[2]

Other artists Beardmore has praised include The Only Ones, René Aubry, Frank Zappa,[27] The Jam, The Style Council, Blossom Dearie, and The Animals.[28]

Discography

Albums

• Dreaming is Dead Now (2019)
• Hardly the Same Snake (2023)

EPs

• Seven Year Curse (2017)
• Sleep More, Make More Friends (2018)
• Deadman Deadman Deadman (2023)

Single

• "Mindset is Fear" (2016)
• "Spit/Swallow" / "Toy Shooter" (2018)
• "I'll Be On Your Mind" (2019)
• "Illusion (Silly Apparition)" (2020) (Andrew Hill cover)
• "Like a Heart Won't Beat" (2022)
• "Oh, Silly George" (2023)
• "Don't Be Another" (2023)
• "Who by Fire" (2023) with Beth Orton

References

1. Daniel Dylan Wray (1 May 2023). "'A big chunk of my motivation is vengeance': Skinny Pelembe, the musical don of Doncaster". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
2. Ravens, Chal. "Skinny Pelembe on Sample-Mining, Madlib & Studio Experiments". Spitfire Audio. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
3. Thomas, Katie (10 October 2017). "Skinny Pelembe is a Globe-Trotting Singer, Producer, and MC With a Psychedelic Sound". Complex. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
4. Spice, Anton (1 August 2018). "Skinny Pelembe announces new Brownswood EP on limited vinyl". The Vinyl Factor. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
5. "Skinny Pelembe - Spit/Swallow (Reading + Leeds 2018)". BBC Reading + Leeds. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
6. Hobbs, Mary Anne (11 August 2018). "Skinny Pelembe on Doncaster". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
7. "Skinny Pelembe Concert History". Concert Archives. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
8. Taylor, Chris (24 May 2019). "Skinny Pelembe's Dreaming Is Dead Now is a chameleonic thrill". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
9. Kalia, Ammar (16 March 2019). "One to watch: Skinny Pelembe". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
10. Auton, James (3 August 2019). "Festival Report: Green Man 2019". God is in the TV. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
11. "New Skinny Pelembe dates this autumn". Brownswood Recordings. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
12. "Poppy Adjudha, Nubya Garcia, Skinny Pelembe and more on the lasting legacy of Blue Note". Crack. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
13. Bateman, Stephanie (18 March 2021). "Five minutes with: Skinny Pelembe - recognising the positive role of community choirs". Doncaster Free Press. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
14. Farrell, Margaret (23 November 2022). "Skinny Pelembe Shares a Vibrantly Soulful New Single "Like a Heart Won't Beat"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
15. Alex James Taylor (1 March 2023). "Skinny Pelembe's new record sees him step out of his comfort zone and into the beat". Hero. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
16. Murray, Robin (18 January 2023). "Skinny Pelembe's 'Oh, Silly George' Is Exhilarating". Clash. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
17. Grow, Kory (14 September 2023). "Beth Orton and Skinny Pelembe Find New Skin for the Old Ceremony in Leonard Cohen Cover". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
18. "amz Supernova with live music from Nova Twins, Weyes Blood and Skinny Pelembe". BBC Radio. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
19. Ivens, Charlie (27 July 2023). "Young Fathers bring the soul to Jodrell Bank Observatory for Bluedot Festival". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
20. Nugent, Annabel (15 October 2023). "Doncaster musician Skinny Pelembe: 'Not everything needs to be such a woe-is-me thing'". The Independent. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
21. Potton, Ed (4 May 2023). "Skinny Pelembe review — this Doncaster boy will change lives". The Times. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
22. "UK Music Video Awards 2024: all the nominations for this year's UKMVAs". Promonews. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
23. "Skinny Pelembe". Boogie Drugstore. 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
24. Todd, Bella (18 February 2019). "Meet Brownswood Recordings' latest star, Skinny Pelembe". Redbull. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
25. Vinti, Mike (22 May 2019). "Rising Music Star Skinny Pelembe Introduces Himself and His Debut Album". Another Man. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
26. Finnamore, Emma (30 April 2019). "Against The Grain: Meeting Skinny Pelembe". Clash. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
27. "Fifteen Questions Interview with Skinny Pelembe". Fifteen Questions. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
28. "Skinny Pelembe, Musician – Doncaster". Fred Perry. Retrieved 20 January 2025.