DJ History: Damian Harris on Founding Skint Records, Creating Fatboy Slim & the Big Beat Boutique | A DJ's Journey Ep 18

DJ History from the architect's chair. Damian Harris founded Skint Records, designed the Fatboy Slim logo, started the Big Beat Boutique, and A&R'd Norman Cook into the biggest DJ on the planet. Now he tells his side of the story.From punk gigs with his brothers in Canterbury to acid house in Brighton, from living with Norman Cook to watching "Santa Cruz" become Skint's first release — Damian traces the full arc. He walks through the A&R instinct that signed the Lo-Fidelity Allstars in two minutes flat, the night he played a Justice remix in his office and said "this is the future," and the moment he walked away from the label he built.This is the companion episode to Ep 17 (Fatboy Slim). Same story, other side of the desk. First label boss on A DJ's Journey.Damian now runs Vicious Charm, his own independent label.🎧 Subscribe to The Crate Letter: adjsjourney.beehiiv.com📸 Instagram: @dj.deckard  Chapters:  00:00 Introduction to Damian Harris and Skint Records  03:42 Musical Beginnings: Punk to Hip Hop  12:19 Art School and Early DJ Experiences  16:53 Brighton: A Musical Hub  17:41 Life with Norman Cook  21:20 The Birth of Big Beat and Skint Records  30:13 A Historical Coincidence: The Birth of Skint Records  31:51 Transitioning to Label Ownership  35:05 The First Releases: Building a Foundation  37:15 Instinct and A&R Decisions: The Early Years  39:32 The Promise of Lo-Fi All-Stars  40:43 The Big Beat Boutique: Origins and Evolution  45:42 The Big Beat Boutique Era: A Cultural Shift  49:26 Balancing Multiple Roles: DJ, Producer, and Label Owner  51:40 The A&R Pipeline: Finding New Talent  54:29 Curating the Big Beat Sound  57:08 The Evolution of Breakbeat: Diverging Paths  01:01:48 The Evolution of Breakbeat and DJ Culture  01:02:42 The Rise of Fatboy Slim  01:05:40 Navigating Success and Pressure  01:08:44 The Shift in Musical Genres and Personal Growth  01:13:11 Challenges in Creating Iconic Albums  01:17:57 The Difficult Decision to Leave Skint Records  01:18:27 Exploring New Ventures and Creative Freedom  01:21:04 Returning to Skint and the Changing Music Landscape  01:26:03 Future Aspirations and the Vision for Vicious Charm  #DJHistory #SkintRecords #FatboySlim #BigBeat #BigBeatBoutique #DamianHarris #MidfieldGeneral #Brighton #UKBreakbeat #ADJsJourney  #DJCulture #IndependentLabel