# A.Skillz
**A.Skillz** is the professional name of Adam Mills, an English breaks DJ and producer who combines funk and soul, the backbone of old-school and golden age rap, with flashes of drum'n'bass and dubstep in his party sets.[1](https://themusic.com.au/features/askillz/o9K0t7a5uLs/01-07-14) Discogs lists his real name as Adam Mills, with name variations including A. Skillz, A-Skillz, Skillz, and Adam 'Skillz'.[2](https://www.discogs.com/artist/176442-A-Skillz) He broke through with the 2003 album *Tricka Technology*, made with fellow Finger Lickin' Records artist Krafty Kuts, and has since built a career on genre-agnostic mash-up DJ sets and his own Jam City label.[1](https://themusic.com.au/features/askillz/o9K0t7a5uLs/01-07-14) His own site describes him as "a true party rocker behind the turntables", mashing the music that inspires him "into a unique cocktail, infused with his own signature flavour of funk".[3](http://www.askillz.co.uk/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Adam Mills[2](https://www.discogs.com/artist/176442-A-Skillz) |
| Nationality / field | English breaks DJ and producer, funk-based party sets[1](https://themusic.com.au/features/askillz/o9K0t7a5uLs/01-07-14) |
| Breakthrough | *Tricka Technology* with Krafty Kuts, 16 tracks, 53m 59s, released 1 June 2003 on Finger Lickin' Records (FLRCD008)[4](https://fingerlickin.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/flrcd008/a-skillz-krafty-kuts-tricka-technology) |
| Own label | Jam City, described by Mills as "electro soul"[5](https://themusic.com.au/features/a-skillz-cyclone/ieyanZyfnoE/17-12-15) |
| Biggest documented chart peak | "We Got Fun" on Jam City, global Beatport peak number 10, released 10 November 2017[6](https://www.bptoptracker.com/artist/a-skillz/212329) |
| SoundCloud plays | Over six million; support from Jazzy Jeff, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, and Zane Lowe[3](http://www.askillz.co.uk/) |
| Recent Shambhala appearance | Shambhala Music Festival 2025[7](https://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/artists/askillz-5c524) |
| 2026 festival bookings | Four UK festivals, one of them a headline slot, including Boomtown and Moovin (headliner)[8](https://setlineapp.com/artists/a-skillz) |
## Career and formation
Mills started out as a drummer in a band with his brother. The pair moved from four- and eight-track tape recorders to [Pro Tools](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-tools), and Mills says the first track he put together was "Tricka Technology", which became the title track of the album with Krafty Kuts.[9](https://beat.com.au/a-skillz/) Digging into hip hop drew him from drums to turntablism, and he was loosely identified with nu-skool breaks, the late-1990s collision of breaks and heavy progressive house.[1](https://themusic.com.au/features/askillz/o9K0t7a5uLs/01-07-14)
The meeting that shaped his career took place in 1999, in Krafty Kuts' record store in Brighton.[10](https://www.varietyisthespice.com/musicjournalism/skillz-krafty.html) Krafty Kuts, roughly a decade older, has extensive solo credits as a producer and DJ.[10](https://www.varietyisthespice.com/musicjournalism/skillz-krafty.html) Mills brought the track he had made with his band's recording software to the Brighton shop; Reeves liked it, asked to cut a dubplate, and played it out.[11](https://www.funkyj.com/tag/askillz/)
The partnership produced a run of releases. In May 2003 the pair issued the 12-inch single "Peaches", featuring Los Angeles rapper Droop Capone and singer Yolanda, backed with the [James Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brown)-sampling title track "Tricka Technology".[10](https://www.varietyisthespice.com/musicjournalism/skillz-krafty.html) Apple Music's biography dates the first "Tricka Technology" 12-inch to 2002, with the album following in 2003.[12](https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/a-skillz/33545083) The label page dates the album itself, a 16-track breaks record running 53 minutes 59 seconds, to 1 June 2003 on Finger Lickin' Records.[4](https://fingerlickin.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/flrcd008/a-skillz-krafty-kuts-tricka-technology) Collaborators on the album included Droop Capone, Ashley Slater of Freak Power, Real Elements, Kurtis Blow, TC Izlam (son of [Afrika Bambaataa](https://www.edgepedia.org/afrika-bambaataa)), and Dr Luke.[4](https://fingerlickin.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/flrcd008/a-skillz-krafty-kuts-tricka-technology)
The [Kurtis Blow](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurtis-blow) session was recorded in person: Mills and Reeves traveled to New York and recorded the vocals in a studio.[9](https://beat.com.au/a-skillz/) "Gimme The Breaks" featuring Kurtis Blow was the album's first single.[4](https://fingerlickin.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/flrcd008/a-skillz-krafty-kuts-tricka-technology) Amsterdam Dance Event credits the 2003 debut album, issued alongside Finger Lickin' labelmate Krafty Kuts, with nods to influences including [De La Soul](https://www.edgepedia.org/de-la-soul), James Brown, and [Jurassic 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/jurassic-5).[13](https://www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl/en/artists-speakers/a-skillz/17201/) He counts Glastonbury 2003 among his favorite gigs, and he closed Field Day in Sydney on New Year's Day 2004 for 25,000 people.[10](https://www.varietyisthespice.com/musicjournalism/skillz-krafty.html)
## Mash-up style and technique
His DJ approach is deliberately genre-agnostic. When nu-skool breaks declined as a scene, Mills was unaffected; as of 2014 he was mixing drum'n'bass, dubstep, and trap and held Breakspoll "Best DJ" recognition.[1](https://themusic.com.au/features/askillz/o9K0t7a5uLs/01-07-14) Shambhala's artist page describes his 2025 sets in similar terms: rooted in funk, soul, hip hop, rock, and bass music, and packed with his own re-edits, remixes, and original productions.[7](https://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/artists/askillz-5c524) One broadcast artifact marks the style's reach: his [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) mini mix is, according to his website, the only mix ever played on every daytime show on [BBC Radio 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-1) in the UK.[3](http://www.askillz.co.uk/)
## Discography and labels
Finger Lickin' Records was his early home. Beyond the album, he released more than ten 12-inches in the Insane Bangers series, a bootleg-oriented imprint he started with Krafty Kuts, and mixed *Freshtraxxx*, a compilation of Finger Lickin' releases.[12](https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/a-skillz/33545083) • [11](https://www.funkyj.com/tag/askillz/) Beatport's catalog currently lists 29 A Skillz tracks on Finger Lickin Records and 5 on Jalapeno Records, including "Tricka Technology 2013 Remix".[14](https://www.beatport.com/artist/a-skillz/2960/tracks)
Mills runs Jam City, a label he describes as "electro soul".[5](https://themusic.com.au/features/a-skillz-cyclone/ieyanZyfnoE/17-12-15) A documented Jam City release shows the label's funk network in action: in 2015 Mills, with Stickybuds, remixed German funk band The Mighty Mocambos' "It's The Music", featuring Afrika Bambaataa.[5](https://themusic.com.au/features/a-skillz-cyclone/ieyanZyfnoE/17-12-15)
Selected later releases with dates, as cataloged by Qobuz:
| Release | Label | Date |
|---|---|---|
| "Happiness" / "Ain't It Funky" | Finger Lickin | 18 July 2011[15](https://www.qobuz.com/fi-en/interpreter/a-skillz/552214) |
| "Drop the Funk" | Jam City | 14 April 2014[15](https://www.qobuz.com/fi-en/interpreter/a-skillz/552214) |
| "Turn It Up (feat. Ad-Apt)" | Jam City | 8 June 2015[15](https://www.qobuz.com/fi-en/interpreter/a-skillz/552214) |
| "7 Day Weekend" | Jam City | 9 September 2016[15](https://www.qobuz.com/fi-en/interpreter/a-skillz/552214) |
| "We Got Fun" | Jam City | 10 November 2017[6](https://www.bptoptracker.com/artist/a-skillz/212329) |
His collaborations extend well beyond the Krafty Kuts era: Finger Lickin' Management lists work with Kurtis Blow, Dr Luke, Nasa, Krafty Kuts, DJ Numark, Beardyman, Nick Thayer, and [Z-Trip](https://www.edgepedia.org/z-trip).[16](https://fingerlickinmanagement.co.uk/artists/a-skillz/)
## Tours and festival appearances
Canada's [Shambhala Music Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/shambhala-music-festival) is a recurring offbeat booking for him, and he holds a monthly residency at Dubai's Zero Gravity with Krafty Kuts.[5](https://themusic.com.au/features/a-skillz-cyclone/ieyanZyfnoE/17-12-15) The festival's own artist page documents his 2025 performance there, framing his sets as a journey through funk, soul, hip hop, rock, and bass music built from his own re-edits and remixes.[7](https://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/artists/askillz-5c524)
In the UK his calendar mixes festivals with club shows and boat parties. Setlist.fm logs one show in 2024 and four in 2025, including Rifflandia in [Victoria, British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-british-columbia) on 13 September and a show at The Prince Consort in Brisbane on 29 November.[17](https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/askillz-3de215f.html) Nibley Festival booked him as Saturday headliner of its Vinyl Frontier stage in 2024.[18](https://nibleyfestival.co.uk/lineup/n2024/a-skillz/)
The 2026 season followed the same pattern. Setline records four UK festival bookings in the 2026 season, one of them a headline slot, including Boomtown (12–16 August, Winchester) and Moovin (12–14 June, Marple Bridge, where he held the headline slot).[8](https://setlineapp.com/artists/a-skillz) His tour listing runs from 12 August to 10 September 2026 and includes Concorde 2 in Brighton (15 August) and The Dutch Master Boat Party at Greenwich Pier in [East London](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-london) on 5 September.[19](https://concerts.hypebot.com/artist/a/132841-a-skillz) • [20](https://www.loudmemories.com/concerts/a-skillz-at-dutch-master-greenwich-pier-london-uk-on-05-september-2026-13093734)
## How it compares with his peers
Mills' position inside the funk-led breaks network rests on two distinctions. The first is durability. Nu-skool breaks, the scene he was loosely identified with, declined, but he kept mixing drum'n'bass, dubstep, and trap and carried Breakspoll "Best DJ" recognition.[1](https://themusic.com.au/features/askillz/o9K0t7a5uLs/01-07-14) Optimal Breaks, a specialist breaks platform, describes him as emerging from England when big beat, breakbeat, and party-rocking hip-hop hybrids were feeding into one another, known for balancing technical DJ craft with a broad party approach within the funk-heavy UK breaks continuum.[21](https://www.optimalbreaks.com/en/artists/a-skillz)
The second is the relationship with Krafty Kuts. The two broke out together with the 2003 joint LP, but in the twelve years after *Tricka Technology* they built largely separate careers and rarely toured as a duo, while keeping the shared monthly Zero Gravity residency in Dubai.[22](https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/zero-gravity-monthly-residents-krafty-kuts-and-a-skillz-on-coconuts-and-fresh-mixes-1.88150) Mills names his peers in the same field as Fort Knox Five, All Good Funk Alliance, and Malente.[11](https://www.funkyj.com/tag/askillz/)
## Recent developments
The documented record since 2023 is one of steady touring rather than new label ventures. Setlist.fm logs a single 2024 show, followed by four 2025 appearances, including Rifflandia in Victoria, British Columbia.[17](https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/askillz-3de215f.html) The Shambhala Music Festival booker returned him in 2025.[7](https://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/artists/askillz-5c524) In 2026 he carried a headline slot at Moovin among four festival bookings, then moved into club and boat-party dates including Concorde 2 in Brighton and The Dutch Master at Greenwich Pier.[8](https://setlineapp.com/artists/a-skillz) • [19](https://concerts.hypebot.com/artist/a/132841-a-skillz)
## By the numbers
The quantified record of his career: over six million [SoundCloud](https://www.edgepedia.org/soundcloud) plays, with support from Jazzy Jeff, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, and [Zane Lowe](https://www.edgepedia.org/zane-lowe).[3](http://www.askillz.co.uk/) "We Got Fun" on Jam City, released 10 November 2017, reached a global Beatport peak of number 10; his "Radio Free DC" remix with Krafty Kuts reached a genre peak of 51 on 19 November 2013.[6](https://www.bptoptracker.com/artist/a-skillz/212329) Beatport lists 29 of his tracks on Finger Lickin Records and 5 on Jalapeno Records.[14](https://www.beatport.com/artist/a-skillz/2960/tracks) His debut album ran 16 tracks over 53 minutes 59 seconds.[4](https://fingerlickin.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/flrcd008/a-skillz-krafty-kuts-tricka-technology) He played to 25,000 people closing Field Day in Sydney on [New Year's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-day) 2004.[10](https://www.varietyisthespice.com/musicjournalism/skillz-krafty.html) In 2026 he held four festival bookings, one of them a headline slot.[8](https://setlineapp.com/artists/a-skillz)
## References
1. [A.Skillz On Getting The Queen Seal Of Approval (The Music, 2014)](https://themusic.com.au/features/askillz/o9K0t7a5uLs/01-07-14)
2. [A Skillz Discography | Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/artist/176442-A-Skillz)
3. [A.Skillz official website](http://www.askillz.co.uk/)
4. [A. Skillz & Krafty Kuts, Tricka Technology | Finger Lickin'](https://fingerlickin.kudosrecords.co.uk/release/flrcd008/a-skillz-krafty-kuts-tricka-technology)
5. [Producing Skillz And Paying Bills (The Music, December 2015)](https://themusic.com.au/features/a-skillz-cyclone/ieyanZyfnoE/17-12-15)
6. [A.Skillz - Beatport Top Tracker](https://www.bptoptracker.com/artist/a-skillz/212329)
7. [A.Skillz - Shambhala Music Festival](https://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/artists/askillz-5c524)
8. [A.Skillz Festival History & Past Lineups - Setline](https://setlineapp.com/artists/a-skillz)
9. [A-Skillz - Beat Magazine](https://beat.com.au/a-skillz/)
10. [Interview with A. Skillz and Krafty Kuts (Innerloop, July/August 2004)](https://www.varietyisthespice.com/musicjournalism/skillz-krafty.html)
11. [Askillz, FunkyJ.com interview](https://www.funkyj.com/tag/askillz/)
12. [A. Skillz, Apple Music (biography by Andy Kellman)](https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/a-skillz/33545083)
13. [A.Skillz, Amsterdam Dance Event](https://www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl/en/artists-speakers/a-skillz/17201/)
14. [A Skillz Music download | Beatport](https://www.beatport.com/artist/a-skillz/2960/tracks)
15. [A. Skillz Discography - Qobuz](https://www.qobuz.com/fi-en/interpreter/a-skillz/552214)
16. [A.Skillz – Finger Lickin' Management](https://fingerlickinmanagement.co.uk/artists/a-skillz/)
17. [A.Skillz Concert Setlists | setlist.fm](https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/askillz-3de215f.html)
18. [A Skillz - Nibley Festival](https://nibleyfestival.co.uk/lineup/n2024/a-skillz/)
19. [A.Skillz Concert Tour Dates & Shows: 2026-2027 | Hypebot](https://concerts.hypebot.com/artist/a/132841-a-skillz)
20. [A-Skillz - Dutch Master - Greenwich Pier, London. 05 Sep 2026](https://www.loudmemories.com/concerts/a-skillz-at-dutch-master-greenwich-pier-london-uk-on-05-september-2026-13093734)
21. [A.Skillz, Optimal Breaks artist page](https://www.optimalbreaks.com/en/artists/a-skillz)
22. [Zero Gravity monthly residents Krafty Kuts and A.Skillz | The National](https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/zero-gravity-monthly-residents-krafty-kuts-and-a-skillz-on-coconuts-and-fresh-mixes-1.88150)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Electronic dance music (EDM) and rave culture › Artists, groups, and people: Electronic dance music (EDM) and rave culture › Rave, jungle, drum and bass, UK garage, and breaks artists*
*Initially written Sep 19, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 19, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license