SKINSHIP’s “Snake” struts with theatrical empowerment after a toxic relationship

The rage from being wronged by someone once so close to you makes your blood boil. Theo Spark, the former WOOZE frontman, channels this fervour in his latest solo single “Snake” – a punchy, vengeful takedown of a former friend and ex. Thunderous guitar solos, terrorising synth stabs, and fiery Tears for Fears-indebted vocals bring the brutality home. “I wish I hadn’t fallen for that snake,” Spark screams with wrath, exactly expressing the sinking feeling of realising the wrong person hurt you badly.

Spark spins this on its head, however, by ending on a brighter key change: “We all have better luck next time / You can be my beautiful mistake,” he belts out. Spark ends up empowered by the dissolved relationship, projecting his drive to move forward out to the world. “My mission is for people to have a good time,” he says on his musical intent. “It’s my maximalist escapism, especially with the shit that’s going on in the world right now. Even though the songs may come from a sad or dark place, it’s reshaped as something good and fun.”

Fearlessly powering through adversity gives SKINSHIP its larger-than-life vigour. Spark reveals going solo came “out of necessity” when he and former collaborator Jamie She ended WOOZE quite sourly. The situation compelled him to reinvent, building on WOOZE’s eclectic dance-punk and enhancing his prowess from backing for art-rockers HMLTD.

To bring his vision to life, self-described as “George Michael having a head-on collision with Nine Inch Nails,” he sought out producer Clarence Clarity, who previously worked with HMLTD, while finishing the WOOZE album. His maximalist pop sound perfectly heightened the intensity of “Snake” and Spark’s other tunes. “I consider him part of the band; he’s such a genius,” Spark raves about Clarence Clarity’s input. “[The solo music] kind of started with him. I think he’s definitely levelled up my game, just by being in his orbit.”

As the primary stage focus, Spark is finally confident in delivering a more energetic, physical performance. He’ll go crowd surfing, wield his electric guitar like an axe, and scale the venue’s walls without missing a beat. It’s an iconic boundary-breaking spectacle living up to his project’s name – a Korean term combining “skin” and “kinship” – which he’s always wanted to do. Spark explains why he took it easy for so long: “I was maybe a bit too shy and inept when I was younger. Now with [SKINSHIP], I was like, ‘Let’s turn the dial up a bit more.’ It’s way more fun for me in a kind of selfish, masturbatory way.”

The image Spark has settled into is similarly captivating and “just as important, if not more so than the music.” Deviating from WOOZE’s intriguing all-yellow looks, Spark is often pictured in a minimalist, chic, and sleek ensemble – sometimes bare-chested too. It’s his way of honouring his “fiercely Korean blood”: “I want to represent that, and so most of the clothes I have, they’re just bought in Korea.”

With around 60 to 70 songs under his belt, Spark has got his future as SKINSHIP sorted. Now the heavy lifting is curation. Still, that’s an achievement, creating that music has helped lift Spark out of very dark times and will for others as he unveils even more. He’s bravely done it on his own terms: “Music is like my therapist, my journal, and everything wrapped up into one.”