Brighton was where Nathan Vinall grew up before making records as Skynet, his name for drum and bass. In 1997, Vinall and Shaun Morris, better known as Stakka, formed Stakka & Skynet; their first work together had been under the name Psion. The duo released the track “Black Dawn” and went on to establish Audio Blueprint and run the Underfire imprint. Skynet’s production is associated with dark, neurofunk-influenced drum and bass, a sound that became central to his work with Stakka and as a solo artist.
In 2001, Stakka & Skynet released the album Clockwork. Its collaborators included Keaton, Shimon, DJ Red, DJ Friction and DJ Skinny. The partnership later ended, with Vinall carrying on as Skynet. Among the tracks associated with his drum-and-bass work are “Underground,” “One Speed,” “Mind Eraser,” “Fractal” and “Slave.” His releases have also appeared on C4C Recordings, PROGRAM, Invisible, Soul Trader Records and MethLab Recordings. The track “Hologram” was a collaboration with Machinecode.
Vinall stepped away from drum and bass around 2004. During the decade that followed, he spent time in America working across hip-hop, pop and R&B, including pop work with Babyface and his team at Brandon’s Way Studios. He later returned to making drum and bass. In 2008, Skynet released the single “Altitude 2008 Remixes” on Shogun Audio, with Friction and Stakka. The track brought him back into a scene where his earlier work had included both solo production and records made with Stakka.
Skynet’s later releases included the 2015 single “L.T.D EP Vol 1” on Soul Trader Records, alongside Chewy Jetpack, Random Movement and Surplus. In 2020, he released the single “Pressurized/Stone Cold” on the same label, in collaboration with Silence Groove. These releases followed his return to drum and bass after his years working in America, adding further collaborations to a career that had begun with Stakka and the Psion name.