Tom Skinner

If you’re looking for a definition of a modern musical chameleon, Tom Skinner is the perfect example. The London-based drummer, producer, and composer can rein in wild jazz improvisations one day and drive the rhythm behind some of the biggest icons of contemporary rock the next.

Skinner’s path to the top was anything but straightforward. It led from a childhood fascination with anything that made noise, through loud metal clubs and the heart of London’s jazz avant-garde, all the way to major festival stages.
Born in London in 1980 into a musical family — his mother was a concert pianist — Skinner first sat behind the drum kit at the age of nine with a clear goal: to start a rock band. As a teenager in the 1990s, he fell hard for grunge and extreme metal, with bands like the fiercely uncompromising Napalm Death among his major influences. While this may seem like an unusual starting point for a future jazz star, Skinner recognized in the brutality of metal the same raw energy he would later find in the avant-garde jazz of Ornette Coleman. He carried this intensity with him to the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he met key future collaborators, including saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings. Together, they co-founded Sons of Kemet in 2011. This was no polite afternoon tea. With two drummers, a tuba instead of a bass, and ferocious saxophone lines, Sons of Kemet created a sound that was as much jazz as it was ritual dance or rave culture. Their breakthrough album Your Queen Is a Reptile (2018) was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize. It was here that Skinner refined his signature style — no unnecessary ornamentation, just pure, hypnotic rhythmic force.

While jazz audiences had long been aware of Skinner’s brilliance, the rock world took full notice in 2021, when he became a core member of The Smile, alongside Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. Far from being a hired hand, Skinner was embraced as an equal creative partner, bringing a new looseness and dimension to the music. Their chemistry proved so strong that the band released three albums in quick succession, two of them — Wall of Eyes and Cutouts — appearing in 2024 alone.

When not touring with global stars, Skinner devotes himself to his own projects. For many years, he performed under the alias Hello Skinny, borrowed from a song by the cult American avant-garde group The Residents. In 2022, he released his first album under his own name, Voices of Bishara, fully embracing his love of sonic experimentation. Recorded live in a single room with friends — including Shabaka Hutchings and leading London avant-jazz saxophonist Nubya Garcia — the album was later cut apart and reassembled into new loops and soundscapes, resulting in a hypnotic blend that feels both contemporary and timeless.

Even in his forties, Skinner shows no signs of slowing down. In autumn 2025, he released his second solo album, Kaleidoscopic Visions, dedicating its pieces to people close to him. The music carries a relaxed, at times meditative atmosphere, marked by richly flowing harmonies and melodic lines. This very repertoire will be presented by Tom Skinner at JazzFestBrno, in the unique setting of Brno’s Water Reservoirs.