Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
DAMIAN HARRIS (SKINT / VICIOUS CHARM RECORDS) speaks with ROBERT LUIS as part of the MAPS, ADVICE & STORIES series. Part 1 of 2.
Damian shares stories about his A&R and label journey from working in record shops to releasing the first Fatboy Slim album and the subsequent situations to navigate when you have an artist who becomes huge, and working other genres of music within that space. Revealing how he was about to be sacked by the record label he was working at but then convincing them to help him set up Skint instead!
Intro
1.10 Working in a record shop with Ross Allen and taking opportunities to be around the music industry
2.30 Observing older brothers being in a punk band and releasing their own music on their label and watching them glue sleeves together
4.00 Damian and Robert meeting in Brighton
4.30 Damian working at Loaded Records
5.30 Having people with business knowledge was helpful
6.20 The process of working at a label to then having a label.
7.20 How Damian was about to be sacked by Loaded but then convinced them to help him do his own label Skint
10.20 Advised to find first three records before releasing any music
11.00 Damian worked harder than he had to date
12.55 The first release by Fatboy Slim
14.00 Influence of Brighton club nights going on at the time including the night Robert was running and DJing at.
15.00 Trying to do something a bit different at the time to other labels but also being influenced by them
18.30 Different musical journey and different drugs happening at this time
20.00 Not being allowed to tell people who was behind Fatboy Slim but Norman being interested in doing something a bit different and Damian’s music pitch to Norman
22.20 The first release not doing that well.
23.00 Damian feeling a bit low about sales a couple of weeks after the first release but people beginning to support it.
24.00 The first few Skint releases
28.30 More demos start coming in
29.00 Releasing a club aimed tune from Fatboy Slim but following it with a more experimental release from Req.
31.00 Making a video for Everybody Loves A 303 that Norman hated and did not want to use. The learning curve as an A&R and label and the lessons learned from that.
37.00 The use of plugging companies.
38.30 How having a huge artist can affect how you feel about your label.
41.00 Trying to release music that not everyone would like
42.40 Major labels begin to approach Skint and using a PR company meant more press started happening
46.00 How an override works when an independent labels signs an artist to a major label.
46.30 The structure of the deals offered to Skint by major labels at the time
48.50 Realising they may lose artists if they do not work with a major. Which happened with Lamb.
53.00 Fatboy Slim getting very big
54.40 Damian describing the difference between Tru Thoughts and Skint’s spending
56.00 The MTV game and Lo Fi All Stars not wanting to play that game
58.00 Robert’s story about getting conned in the music industry with a track Fatboy Slim had remixed of his
1.04.00 How lots of things happened and everything exploded
1.06.30 Being in the charts
1.07.30 A&Ring Norman when he was on such a run
1.09.00 The liberating sound of Big Beat Boutique in its initial years
1.13.00 Fatboy Slim’s fourth album and what happened from an A&R perspective.
1.19.00 The success made Damian over think a lot.
1.20.00 The Praise You video and song
1.22.00 Damian concerned about doing too much “Big Beat” on Skint and then signing X-Press 2, Dave Clarke, Freq Nasty to Skint.
1.27.00 Suddenly finding the label spending more on releases than you should eg on videos. Spending big money on Midfield General video that did not work out.
1.32.00 Samples (whispered)
Damian Harris online:
instagram.com/_generalisation_
instagram.com/theviciouscharm
Website: theviciouscharm.com
Robert Luis online:
instagram.com/robertluis
facebook.com/robert.luis.5203
twitter.com/ROBERTLUIS
tiktok.com/@robertluisdj
robertluis.com
Tru Thoughts Online:
facebook.com/truthoughts
instagram.com/tru_thoughts
soundcloud.com/tru-thoughts
twitter.com/tru_thoughts
https://bsky.app/profile/truthoughts.bsky.social
DAMIAN HARRIS (SKINT / VICIOUS CHARM RECORDS) speaks with ROBERT LUIS as part of the MAPS, ADVICE & STORIES series. Part 1 of 2.
Damian shares stories about his A&R and label journey from working in record shops to releasing the first Fatboy Slim album and the subsequent situations to navigate when you have an artist who becomes huge, and working other genres of music within that space. Revealing how he was about to be sacked by the record label he was working at but then convincing them to help him set up Skint instead!
Intro
1.10 Working in a record shop with Ross Allen and taking opportunities to be around the music industry
2.30 Observing older brothers being in a punk band and releasing their own music on their label and watching them glue sleeves together
4.00 Damian and Robert meeting in Brighton
4.30 Damian working at Loaded Records
5.30 Having people with business knowledge was helpful
6.20 The process of working at a label to then having a label.
7.20 How Damian was about to be sacked by Loaded but then convinced them to help him do his own label Skint
10.20 Advised to find first three records before releasing any music
11.00 Damian worked harder than he had to date
12.55 The first release by Fatboy Slim
14.00 Influence of Brighton club nights going on at the time including the night Robert was running and DJing at.
15.00 Trying to do something a bit different at the time to other labels but also being influenced by them
18.30 Different musical journey and different drugs happening at this time
20.00 Not being allowed to tell people who was behind Fatboy Slim but Norman being interested in doing something a bit different and Damian’s music pitch to Norman
22.20 The first release not doing that well.
23.00 Damian feeling a bit low about sales a couple of weeks after the first release but people beginning to support it.
24.00 The first few Skint releases
28.30 More demos start coming in
29.00 Releasing a club aimed tune from Fatboy Slim but following it with a more experimental release from Req.
31.00 Making a video for Everybody Loves A 303 that Norman hated and did not want to use. The learning curve as an A&R and label and the lessons learned from that.
37.00 The use of plugging companies.
38.30 How having a huge artist can affect how you feel about your label.
41.00 Trying to release music that not everyone would like
42.40 Major labels begin to approach Skint and using a PR company meant more press started happening
46.00 How an override works when an independent labels signs an artist to a major label.
46.30 The structure of the deals offered to Skint by major labels at the time
48.50 Realising they may lose artists if they do not work with a major. Which happened with Lamb.
53.00 Fatboy Slim getting very big
54.40 Damian describing the difference between Tru Thoughts and Skint’s spending
56.00 The MTV game and Lo Fi All Stars not wanting to play that game
58.00 Robert’s story about getting conned in the music industry with a track Fatboy Slim had remixed of his
1.04.00 How lots of things happened and everything exploded
1.06.30 Being in the charts
1.07.30 A&Ring Norman when he was on such a run
1.09.00 The liberating sound of Big Beat Boutique in its initial years
1.13.00 Fatboy Slim’s fourth album and what happened from an A&R perspective.
1.19.00 The success made Damian over think a lot.
1.20.00 The Praise You video and song
1.22.00 Damian concerned about doing too much “Big Beat” on Skint and then signing X-Press 2, Dave Clarke, Freq Nasty to Skint.
1.27.00 Suddenly finding the label spending more on releases than you should eg on videos. Spending big money on Midfield General video that did not work out.
1.32.00 Samples (whispered)
Damian Harris online:
instagram.com/_generalisation_
instagram.com/theviciouscharm
Website: theviciouscharm.com
Robert Luis online:
instagram.com/robertluis
facebook.com/robert.luis.5203
twitter.com/ROBERTLUIS
tiktok.com/@robertluisdj
robertluis.com
Tru Thoughts Online:
facebook.com/truthoughts
instagram.com/tru_thoughts
soundcloud.com/tru-thoughts
twitter.com/tru_thoughts
https://bsky.app/profile/truthoughts.bsky.social
