the Skating Party

The Skating Party is the recording project and moniker of Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist, “Gregory James.” What started as a bedroom recording project has eventually led to several releases on vinyl, cassette, CD, lathe cuts, and of course, digital. The early Skating Party records leaned heavily on Prince-esque synths, LinnDrum programming, and hook-laden guitars in the like of the Cure meets the Cocteau Twins. In more recent years, the songwriting took a more atmospheric turn, with an emphasis on reverb-soaked vocals, repeating guitar lines, and live tribal drumming. 2020 marked more releases with Hidden Gem Recs, Fadeaway Radiate Recs (UK), and Shiny Happy Recs (Indonesia). The Skating Party was invited to perform on Shiny Happy Rec’s “My Secret World – Quarantine Sessions,” live stream. Throughout the year, a total of 78 artists from around the world would contribute to the broadcast, and digital compilation was released to summarize the performances by Shiny Happy Records. In 2021, the Skating Party release a critically claimed EP “Night Ruins,” on Spirit Goth/birthdiy records digitally and on tape in the states, and Melotron Recordings in Greece. A new full length is expected in 2023.