By Keith Walsh 
As the spawning ground for a myriad of varieties of synth-based pop music, the 1980s are frequently revisited by artists in the 2020s. Los Angeles-based Second Skin are very intentionally influenced by the 80s, and that’s an awesome thing. Second Skin has authentic 1980s vibes built upon the solid songwriting and performances that make for good music.

I chatted (via email) with vocalist Brian DaMert, who is also the lead guitarist and mixing engineer of the band. Second Skin’s debut single “Colder” has chilly 80s vibes built with a treasure trove of vintage analog synth gear. True to the era, “Colder” (and the debut album by Second Skin, to be released in the near future) relies on lots of studio wizardly, details about which DaMert shared with me.

DaMert tells me: “’Colder’ was recorded at two studios. The original framework was done at our studio. Once we took the song as far as we could with our own equipment, we brought the session over to our friend Matia Simovich at Infinite Power Studios located here in Los Angeles. Matia is a producer and is extremely knowledgeable about synthesizers and has done sound design for Roland and Dave Smith.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY_UffYowWE

DaMert continues: “First we reprogrammed the drums using his LM-2 (a Linn Drum Machine) so that it would play the song in one take to achieve the desired swing. Then we used the Moog Source with modified Encore MIDI which helps add movement to the bass when chasing the sequence. From there we beefed up the chorus with some Emulator, Prophet 5 and OB-8. For effects we glued the drums together with his Lexicon 480L, spaced out the synths with the Eventide H7600. And ran the vocals through his RE-201 Space Echo. We tried to keep the process as authentic as possible. We will post a behind the scenes video of the process, so please check out our Instagram and Facebook!”

I asked DaMert about the band’s lineup. “Second Skin is a collaboration between myself and Brian Tarney. We share a lot of the duties in terms of production and playing of instruments. The main difference is that I’m the vocalist, lead guitarist and engineer. I did the mixing on our Patriarchy remix of “It Goes Fast,” (available on Spotify)  but with “Colder” we had Matia Simovich at Infinite Power Studios bring it home for us.”

DaMert tells me that Second Skin uses ProTools, and some Arturia VSTs, the latter mostly in the songwriting demo stage. I noticed a Fender Strat in the “Colder” video.  “Yeah,” DaMert tells me, “we love these 1980s Japanese-made Squiers….we used a couple on the album.”

I asked DaMert about the upcoming album and plans to play live when clubs open up. “The album is done,” he says. “We are vaccinated and ready to go! Keep your eye out in the fall – we will have a show or two lined up.”

DaMert provided me with plenty of info for synth aficionados about the vintage instruments used on “Colder.”  He says “We are using vintage gear for every element of ‘Colder.’ The rhythm section is comprised of a Linn Drum LM-2 and Moog Source. The chorus pads are a combination of Sequential Prophet 5, Oberheim OB-8 and Emu Emulator III. Lead sparkles are provided by the Sequential Prophet VS.”

I eagerly await the debut album from Second Skin.

Second Skin On Spotify
Second Skin On Bandcamp
Second Skin On Instagram

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