Skam Records is an independent Electronic and IDM record label based in Manchester, England, founded by Andy Maddocks around 1990. Skam also runs a smaller sub-label called 33.
Skam's first 12-inch single is rumored to have never been officially released, only distributed as a promo. This self-titled debut from Lego Feet (Sean Booth and Rob Brown, now commonly known to be the pioneering duo
Autechre); approximately 100-150 copies are believed to exist. The label followed with two 12" records from a project known as
Gescom, whose members vary between each release. It is widely believed that Booth and Brown of
Autechre are staple members, however.
Other early Skam releases came from the likes of Freeform,
Bola, Jega and
Boards of Canada. These first ten label releases are commonly regarded as classic electronic records, during which Skam was at its prime and include
Boards of Canada's '
Hi Scores' EP and
Gescom's 'Keynell'.
Skam entered the full-length market in 1998 with the releases of
Soup by
Bola and '
Music Has The Right To Children' by
Boards of Canada, the latter being jointly released with
Warp Records, both of which have praised by the IDM community as classic recordings.
A recurring feature on the packaging of Skam releases is the name of the label printed in braille.