Finding common ground between vintage New York disco, dub, electronics, and jazz, Hello Skinny is a studio project led by percussionist Tom Skinner, who served as composer, producer, and arranger for the sessions as well as playing most of the instruments on the project's early releases. A frequent collaborator with Zero 7 who had also played sessions with Martin Speake, Sam Lewis, and Two Banks of Four, Skinner launched Hello Skinny (named after a tune by the Residents) in July 2012 with the release of its first mixtape, Smash + Grab, which included contributions from Rowdy Superstar, Shabaka Hutchings, and Trudie Dawn Smith. The first proper album from the act, simply called Hello Skinny, followed in March 2013; once again, Skinner handled most of the instrumental chores, though Hutchings and Smith once again made guest appearances, as did Tom Herbert, Nick Ramm, and Byron Wallen. September 2013 saw the release of a limited-edition EP, Revolutions, which featured two new tracks ("Revolutions, Pt. 1" and "Revolutions, Pt. 2") along with remixes of three selections from the Hello Skinny back catalog. Skinner put Hello Skinny on the back burner for several years as he involved himself with other projects, including performing with the Owiny Sigoma Band and Sons of Kemet. After meeting Peter Zummo, a trombone player and composer who had worked with Arthur Russell on several of his groundbreaking experimental disco recordings in the '80s, Skinner opted to revive the Hello Skinny rubric. Featuring Zummo working alongside Skinner, Watermelon Sun, Hello Skinny's second full-length album, was released in 2017. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi