Jump to content

Ski Oakenfull

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ski Oakenfull
Ski Oakenfull by Dobie (musician) in 2024
Ski Oakenfull by Dobie (musician) in 2024
Background information
Birth nameDominic Oakenfull
OriginSevenoaks, Kent, United Kingdom
Genres
Occupation(s)Music producer, keyboard player, educator
Years active1990-present
Labels
Websitewww.skioakenfull.com

Dominic "Ski" Oakenfull (best known as Ski Oakenfull) is an English music producer, keyboard player, and educator. His nickname "Ski" was given by his bandmates in The K-Creative who named him after the dance music artist Adamski. In 2019 Ski interviewed Adamski for a deconstruction video[1] for pointblank Music School.

Career

[edit]

Collaborations

[edit]

Ski Oakenfull was a member of The K-Creative,[2] who signed to Gilles Peterson's record label Talkin' Loud in 1991,[3] and their single Feed The Feeling / Three Times A Maybe reached #58 in the UK Singles Charts in 1992.[4] After the group disbanded, Oakenfull was a member of Raw Stylus, and then played keyboards with Galliano until 1997,[5] and again on their 2024 album Halfway Somewhere.[6] He has also performed with Incognito,[7] Kylie Minogue,[8] The Bays, and Milton Jackson.[9]

Solo work

[edit]

Oakenfull released his debut album Life Changes in 2000.[10] Muzik rated it 4/5 and praised its mix of house, disco, soul and jazz-funk music styles.[5] All Music rated it 3/5, and described it as "bringing back to life one of club/dance's most trendy circuits dating back to the early '90s."[10] The album featured single Where Did The Love Go?,[11] and Fifths, with the latter becoming the most played unplaylisted track on MTV Europe at the time.[5] He also produces and releases music under the alias Ayota,[12] a project that explores ambient, downtempo, and Japanese-influenced electronic soundscapes, blended with field recordings and vocals. The project's debut album, Helicopter Cuts,[13] was released in 2007[14] on Third Ear Recordings in Japan where it became the Tower Records ambient album of the year.[14]

Education work

[edit]

In 2012 Oakenfull began teaching at pointblank Music School, and later became a Certified Trainer[15] of music production software Ableton Live.[3] He is now Head of Education and Curriculum[16] at the school, where he oversees the design and management of its music degree programmes. Oakenfull is also widely recognised for his in-depth breakdowns of iconic tracks known as 'deconstructions'[17] which he often presents live at festivals and conferences such as IMS,[18] Sonar+,[19] ADE,[20] and AVA.[21]

Record label

[edit]

Oakenfull is also label manager and owner of Primaudial Records,[22][23] an independent label he founded in the early 2000s to release his own material and selected projects by other artists. The label has served as a platform for Oakenfull's creative output, ranging from house to ambient and jazz.[citation needed]

Select discography

[edit]

Solo albums

[edit]
Date Title Record label
2000 Life Changes Columbia France
2005 Rising Son Barely Breaking Even / Pony Canyon
2021 Short Circuits Primaudial Records

Solo singles, EPs and compilation tracks

[edit]
Date Title From album Record label
1994 Ain't Gonna Justify feat. Chezeré - Black on Black
1994 Realise Your True Potential (with Ife Piankhi) One Hell Of A Storm (Versemongers Meet Soundcreators) Tongue & Groove
1997 Montreux à Marseille Sun Sun: Ceci N'Est Pas Une Compilation Columbia
1998 Tress-Cun-Deo-La feat. Valerie Etienne Sun Sun: Ceci N'Est Pas Une Compilation Columbia
2000 Fifths (Including Jazzanova remix) Life Changes Columbia / INCtraxx
2000 Undercover Life Changes Columbia
2001 Where Did The Love Go? feat. Marc Anthony Life Changes Columbia
2003 Slo Fix Italian Style Voulme 2 Jalapeno
2007 Heavenly feat. Chi Turner (Yam Who? Mix) 12 Inches of Pleasure Part II Barely Breaking Even
2007 New Orleans Under Attack EP - Primaudial Records
2007 Illuminations EP - Primaudial Records
2007 Live at Maida Vale EP - Primaudial Records
2007 Winter feat. Valerie Etienne[24] Winterhouse compilation Starbucks
2008 The Look of Love feat. Valerie Etienne[25] The Look of Love compilation Starbucks
2009 Love Meeting Love feat. Valerie Etienne - Primaudial Records
2009 Love Meeting Love feat. Valerie Etienne (Remixes) - Primaudial Records
2010 Thousand Knives EP - Primaudial Records
2020 Terms and Conditions[26] Digging the KPM Vaults KPM

Charts

[edit]
Date Release Chart Peak

position

2001 Where Did The Love Go? Club Chart Top 40 (UK) 18[27]
2005 So Beautiful feat. Chi Turner Tokio Hot 100 (Japan) 87[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cooke, James (2019-03-13). "Watch Adamski and Ski Deconstruct 'Killer' ft. Seal". pointblank Music School's Blog. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  2. ^ Rhodes (2024-05-28). "Ski Oakenfull Reinvents Classic Sounds with the Rhodes V8 Pro". Rhodes Music. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  3. ^ a b "Feature in Computer Music Magazine Feb 2022 [Full unedited interview]". www.skioakenfull.com. Feb 2022. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  4. ^ "FEED THE FEELING/THREE TIMES A MAYBE". Official Charts. 1992-03-07. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  5. ^ a b c Foster, Lee (April 2001). "Ski Oakenfull - Life Changes". Muzik (71): 55.
  6. ^ Clements, Steve (2024-06-30). "Galliano Interview". Brighton Source. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  7. ^ Rick, Nowlin (30 March 2006). "For the record - INCOGNITO 'Eleven' (Rice/Narada Jazz/ Virgin/EMI)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. W-16.
  8. ^ "Can't Get You Out Of My Head on SNL | Ski Oakenfull Official Website". www.skioakenfull.com. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  9. ^ Sumsuch, Will (2023-02-23). "Milton Jackson: The Mixdown Interview". 5 Magazine. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  10. ^ a b Life Changes - Ski Oakenfull | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-03-02
  11. ^ "REVIEWS - FOR RECORDS OUT ON 28 MAY 2000" (PDF). Music Week: 10. 19 May 2001. ISSN 0265-1548.
  12. ^ "Ayota | Ski Oakenfull Official Website". www.skioakenfull.com. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  13. ^ "068 – Ayota – Helicopter Cuts - AmbientExotica.com – Music Reviews of Ambient, Vaporwave & Tiki Exotica Albums". www.ambientexotica.com. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  14. ^ a b "Helicopter Cuts, by Ayota". third ear recordings. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  15. ^ "Ski Oakenfull | Certified Training | Ableton". www.ableton.com. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  16. ^ Flores-Trevino, Greta (2023-02-03). "Ski Oakenfull, Head of Education & Curriculum, Certified as an Official Ableton Trainer -". pointblank Music School's Blog. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  17. ^ "A Selection of Ski's Tutorial Videos | Ski Oakenfull Official Website". www.skioakenfull.com. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  18. ^ Beamish, Ben (2020-07-09). "Point Blank's Ski Oakenfull Deconstructs Avicii's "SOS" at IMS College Malta". EDM House Network. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  19. ^ Staff, XLR8R (2018-07-13). "Watch Ski Oakenfull Breakdown "Feel Good Inc." by the Gorillaz". XLR8R. Retrieved 2025-04-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "The producer's guide to ADE 〰". ADE. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  21. ^ "AVA London 2025 | 20th - 22nd March". AVA Festival 2025 | Tickets & Line-Up. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
  22. ^ Music Week directory, 2014 : the comprehensive guide to the UK music industry and Associated Service Companies (44 ed.). Music Week. 2014. p. 43. ISBN 9780957106109.
  23. ^ "Primaudial Records | First in sound". www.primaudialrecords.com. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  24. ^ "Winter | Ski Oakenfull Official Website". www.skioakenfull.com. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  25. ^ "The Look Of Love | Ski Oakenfull Official Website". www.skioakenfull.com. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  26. ^ Various - Who Sampled Presents Digging The KPM Vaults, 2020-12-01, retrieved 2025-04-09
  27. ^ "All The UK Dance Charts". Music Week: 21. 12 May 2001.
  28. ^ "SKI OAKENFULL FEAT. CHI TURNER". MusicID. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ski_Oakenfull&oldid=1289335407"