Skism
Thomas Stephen Petais (born 14 January 1982), known professionally as SKisM (stylised SKisM), is a British-born electronic music producer and former touring DJ from London. His recorded work sits with heavy bass styles — deathstep, drumstep and dub-influenced dubstep/riddim — and he is also a record label executive.
Public records and interviews place SKisM’s active period as a producer and touring DJ from the mid-2000s through 2021. In 2009 he co-founded Never Say Die Records and later helped found Disciple Records; both label roles are part of his transition from frontline performance to label and executive work. He officially stepped back from producing and retired as a DJ/producer in 2021. Recent public information indicates he currently resides in Australia.
Musically, SKisM’s output is anchored in the heavier end of bass music. His tracks emphasize half-time, stomping drum patterns and low-frequency weight consistent with deathstep and drumstep, combined with dub/dubstep-style delays and sub-bass modulation. On releases attributed to him, the arrangements favour sharp, punchy snares and kick/snare interplay that push low-end energy without losing mid-range aggression.
As a producer, SKisM’s sound commonly features aggressive distortion on basslines, layered mid-range growls and tight transient control on drums to preserve clarity at high volume. He frequently uses drop-focused arrangement: sustained build, a chartered break into a bass-heavy drop, and careful automation of filter and pitch to shape the drop’s motion. Atmospheric use of delay and reverb on pads and vocal stabs gives contrast to dense, distorted low-end sections — a practical approach for club and festival playback.
In performance he earned the description “the DJ’s DJ” in press and interviews for his technical multi-deck approach. That label reflects a reputation for multi-source mixing and live manipulation rather than single-deck setlists: juggling edits, blends and layered drops to deliver continuous high-energy sets. Those multi-deck skills informed his production choices, where engineered transitions and DJ-friendly arrangement cues appear across his catalogue.
Concrete career milestones: co-founding Never Say Die Records in 2009, releasing the Rise Of The Idiots EP in 2009, the Down With The Kids single in 2010, and The Division in 2012. He was active on the international touring circuit through the 2000s and 2010s before stepping away in 2021 to concentrate on label management and executive roles tied to the labels he helped establish.
Public accounts do not list an extensive roll-call of named influences, but his work and label activity place him squarely within the heavier UK bass and dubstep currents of the late 2000s and 2010s. Press references to his multi-deck technical approach and his role founding Never Say Die and Disciple are the clearest documented connections to the scene and other artists within it.
Since retiring from producing and performing in 2021, SKisM has focused on label and executive work built on the catalogue and infrastructure he helped create; contemporary records and interviews list his residence as Australia.
