Life & Love

The studio project of British instrumentalist/producer Will Dorey, Skinshape blends atmospheric trip-hop with '60s and '70s funk, reggae, soul, and psych-rock influences. An ex-member of Palace and producer for Horus Records, Dorey has garnered buzz for his albums, including 2015's Oracolo, 2017's Life & Love, 2020's Umoja, and 2022's Nostalgia.

Born in 1991 in Swanage, Dorset, England, Dorey first became interested in music in his teens listening to bands like Pink Floyd and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, as well as various Afrobeat, British psych rock, and reggae bands. In 2012, he co-founded the alt-rock band Palace, appearing on the group's early EP's and 2016 full-length. It was during this period that he also launched Skinshape, heralding the project with a 2014 eponymously titled debut and 2015's Oracolo. In 2017, he parted ways with Palace to focus on his solo work. That same year, he released his fourth album, Life & Love. Filoxiny arrived a year later, followed in 2020 by no less than two albums, Arrogance Is the Death of Man and Umoja. Along with Skinshape, Dorey is a DJ and has recorded and remixed tracks for Wah Wah 45s, Mystikal Roots, and Dloaw & Co, as well as his own reggae-centric Horus Records. In 2022, he returned to his work as Skinshape for Nostalgia. ~ Matt Collar