There are very few universal truths in skateboarding. Whether helmets are cool, the merit of frog graphics, or even the standing of Jenkem itself are all up for debate. However, one thing remains undisputed: Toy Machine’s Welcome to Hell is a landmark skate video. It’s a gritty, American-dystopian masterpiece featuring an all-star team.
Instead of rehashing its well-known qualities, let’s delve into the realm of music and explore what this iconic video could be like with its original heavy metal soundtrack replaced with a thoughtfully crafted ambient jazz score.
That’s precisely what Canadian multi-instrumentalist Joseph Shabason has done. His re-score, Welcome to Hell, is a transformative experience, compelling us to reconsider the vital role of skate video soundtracks. It also introduced a new genre of music to me, something I had previously overlooked.
Before you rush to defend your love for Ozzy Osbourne, take a moment, listen to Shabason’s re-score, and keep an open mind.
Joseph Shabason, the multi-instrumentalist behind the "Welcome to Hell" re-score, holding a saxophone
The Genesis of a Musical Journey
What sparked your passion for music, and was skateboarding a factor?
Skateboarding significantly broadened my musical horizons. Watching skate videos, especially the 411 series, exposed me to diverse genres, including hip-hop, rap, punk, emo, and classic rock. I was particularly drawn to the incorporation of softer tracks, like those from Promise Ring or Mineral, within the videos. It was fascinating to experience the transition from a Pharcyde track to a Promise Ring song, a juxtaposition that felt both chaotic and compelling.
Classical jazz isn’t typically associated with “cool” or rebellious music. Did you ever find it challenging to reconcile your love for jazz with your skateboarding identity?
For a long time, while I was deeply engaged in studying jazz and the saxophone, I struggled to see where I fit in. I dedicated a lot of time to it, but the music I listened to outside of my studies was primarily indie rock. This created a sense of disconnect, where my passion for jazz felt detached from my real life.
I had a kind of existential crisis, questioning the relevance of my musical pursuits, particularly my saxophone studies. There was a period when I stopped playing the saxophone entirely. My perspective shifted when I started playing with the band Destroyer. It was the first time I realized the saxophone could exist within a musical landscape that I truly enjoyed, outside of generic gigs at weddings or cocktail parties.
The Collaboration
What was your reaction to Ed Templeton’s invitation to re-score the video and collaborate with him?
It felt surreal. Toy Machine and Ed Templeton are iconic figures in skateboarding. They represent the pinnacle of cool, with their graphics, ads, and videos. I’ve admired his career since I was a kid, so getting his approval was a huge thrill, I was genuinely excited like a kid.
How did the re-scoring process work? Did Ed provide you with the raw skate clips?
It was a low-tech process. I downloaded the video from YouTube because no high-quality versions are available. After muting the original music, I composed new music. However, muting the video also eliminated the skateboard sounds, which are essential to the viewing experience.
So how did you bring back the skate sounds?
I hired friends to sound design every skateboard noise.
Seriously?
Yes. Every single sound, every push, grind, and snap, was created from scratch. The original multi-tracks are unavailable, so everything was sound-designed by hand.
Where did these sounds come from? Were they from recordings of skateboarding or were they created with instruments?
The guys I hired, Drew Thomas and Quinn Hoodless, are people I skate with. They used a skateboarding sample pack as a base. They then modified these samples, using reverbs and pitch-shifting techniques, to match the diverse tricks and environments within the video.
A still from "Welcome to Hell" showing a skater performing a trick with an urban background
The Silent Film
What was it like watching the video in silence for the first time?
It was jarring but revealing. It highlighted how integral the original music was to the video’s overall feeling. This understanding informed my approach to the new score. It needed to be either great or terrible, as music is so crucial.
It was especially strange to watch Jamie Thomas’s aggressive, singular part in complete silence. It felt empty. This emphasized the need for a deliberate approach to music choices and tempos.
Which part was the most challenging to score?
The most challenging parts were Jamie Thomas’s, Mike Maldonado’s intro, and Ed’s part. These were key parts of the video. The intro, with its dystopian American flag and fast-food imagery, needed something to set the tone. If I had messed up the intro, I knew viewers would just turn it off.
I wanted something strange and driving to capture the feeling of a messed up American dystopia. It had to be different but still feel nasty and driving. Once the band got into it, I knew I had it right.
Some recordings were created with musicians playing along to the video for the first time. What were those sessions like?
Most of the musicians involved had never seen a skate video before. Their reactions were priceless. They were amazed by the tricks in the video, most of which, by today’s standards, wouldn’t even make it into a part. The skaters were doing basic tricks, but they were big and to someone unfamiliar, they were really exciting. Watching the musicians react in real-time and make music based on what they were seeing was cool.
“Watching people who were never exposed to skateboarding as a kid, watching them stop playing and grab their balls, was fun to see.”
What was the wildest reaction you witnessed from a musician?
The bail section was the most shocking. These guys, all in their 30s and 40s, had a visceral reaction to it. I grew up watching it and always thought it was fun. But seeing it with fresh eyes I thought, “This is crazy!” like, Ed breaks his neck and bruises his balls. Seeing people who’d never been exposed to that kind of thing before, clutching their junk, was hilarious.
A black and white photo of a skateboarder mid-trick, conveying the raw energy of skateboarding
The Music
The bail section has one of the most beautiful melodies in the entire score. What was your thought process?
I wanted to create a counterpoint to the visuals, opting for a peaceful, serene feel instead of playing into the chaos. I also wanted to incorporate a random element. I found a YouTube video of “30 Seconds of Skateboard Noises,” and after using some tape delay effects, transformed it into an ambient texture, using skateboard noises as ambience within the song.
How would you score a slow-mo, weed-doused Supreme montage?
I think you go full abstract, creating the most ethereal, almost ambient sounds. Someone sent me a clip of an Andrew Skateshop video where they used one of my ambient tracks, and it worked really well. The spacious track, with no beat, was the perfect fit. I think for a Supreme montage, you do the same, pure art.
I attended a couple of “noise” shows in college, which were the first time I thought someone was pushing experimentation too far. Do you think musicians can take it too far, to the point where their music goes from experimental and cool to just plain bad?
Absolutely. I’ve seen free bands, especially with saxophone players squealing and drummers going crazy. It feels impressive on some level, but it’s so far out there that it loses its appeal.
I aim to give listeners enough substance in my music. I appreciate melodies and chord structures. I enjoy making weird sonic choices that listeners can focus on without losing the broader audience with excessive experimentation.
“I’m hoping to find that people soften with age. As you get older you become less obsessed with defining yourself by a genre or style.”
Realistically, what percentage of people will start your re-score and turn it off within the first five minutes?
I hope not many, but probably a good amount, right? I think there’s gonna be a lot of die-hard Toy Machine fans who’ll hate it.
I’m hopeful that people become more open-minded with age. As you get older, you tend to define yourself less by genre or style and become more open to new experiences. I hope those who grew up with Welcome to Hell, the 37 to 45 year-olds, will give it a listen and think, “Wow, this is weird.”
Even if they don’t like it, my goal was for it to be different and compelling enough that people would check it out, and revisit the video in a fresh way.
A black and white photo of a skateboarder performing a trick, showing the style and skill of skateboarding
Breaking the Rules
Are there any “illegal” things in jazz that you have to avoid, similar to how some tricks in skateboarding are considered illegal?
It’s funny, but jazz musicians often regurgitate material, creating a pastiche of something that was already done before. Doing a recycled version of a Miles Davis riff is the “illegal” move.
The musicians who interest me are the ones who challenge the genre and look for ways to add, subtract or just fuck with the established norms and sounds. They are creating something entirely unique.
“If you’re just ripping off Miles Davis and other low-hanging fruit trying to be cool, that’s the illegal move.”
How do you stand out stylistically as a musician?
For a long time, I was chasing trends, trying to emulate what was cool, but I was always behind the curve. To stand out, you have to consciously create music that is unlike anything you’ve heard before. I want my music to have familiar touchstones that place it within a genre, while also having elements that are tweaked so that it feels like a commentary on that genre rather than a caricature of it.
I’ll never be the most technical saxophone player, but I have my own specific skillset, and I’m good at experimenting with sound. I’m good at realizing something conceptually, and then figuring out how to give it a distinct feel or how to take something away to give it more space.
I want to name a few instruments featured in the re-score, and you tell me what trick they make you think of.
[Laughs] Love it. OKBass guitar.
Big ollie.
Violin.
Three-flip.
Trumpet.
In the context of the record, because of the dubbing, it reminds me of a long boardslide. Effortless.
Saxophone.
Carving around the street, but with style. Like bank skating, where you’re surfing.
Keyboard.
On this album, I think of it as ledge skating. It can be aggressive, but at times it’s really angular and staccato.
A black and white photo of a skateboarder on a ramp, highlighting the interplay of skater and environment
Diving Deeper
For someone who is checking out Welcome to Hell with your soundtrack and is having one of their first experiences with ambient jazz, where should they look if they like it?
For ambient specifically, check out Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Wetland, Gigi Masin’s Wind, and Midori Takada’s album Through the Looking Glass. Brian Eno is the godfather of ambient music; he was the first person to call it ambient music. There was a guy in the early 1900s, Erik Satie, who called his music Furniture Music. It was supposed to be like furniture, blending into the background. Brian Eno was the most pivotal figure. These were the ones that got me stoked.
“I think music is going to be one of the ways in which skate parts keep progressing.”
For the weirder, harder jazz tracks, listen to Miles Davis’s Rated X, and his entire album Get Up With It. It’s a mind-melter and it heavily influenced my musical decisions over the years. It’s so aggressive and full of bold decisions.
Is this the nerdiest thing you’ve ever done?
[Laughs] No, I grew up playing jazz. I’ve done way nerdier things, but this is definitely the most “inside baseball” thing I’ve ever done. Part of my reason for doing it was to engage with people outside of my usual audience of ambient music listeners. I wanted to engage with a community that is vibrant, cool, and creative. Even though it’s super nerdy, connecting with people was my goal.I think it would be awesome if people did more original soundtracks for these iconic videos. They’ve inspired so many people, and the idea of keeping them untouchable is wrong. Re-engage with them, fuck with them. They will never be reproduced, but if you keep writing new music for them you can revisit them in so many different ways. I believe music will become one of the key ways that skate parts keep progressing.
Interview by: Ben Komins
Photos by: Colin Medley
