[1] Four of the group's songs, "Up to Our Necks in It" (1995), "Weightlessness" (1997), "Home" (1999), and "Kick in the Door" (2000) were listed in the annual Triple J Hottest 100.
Del's departure in late 1996 marked a stylistic shift from funk and rap to more melodic funk-based rock.
[5] In early 1992, the "Skunk" trio met Larkin brothers, Aya and Del, and thus the search for vocalists was complete.
[5] After a few gigs the Larkins joined the band—renamed Skunkhour after a 1958 poem of the same name by American Robert Lowell—with Aya on lead vocals and Del as a rapper.
[2][3][7] They gained popularity on the Sydney live music scene and by early 1993 they supported United Kingdom acid jazz group, Galliano, on a local tour.
[8] Skunkhour signed with independent label, Beast Records, to release their self-titled debut album by July that year, which they had self-produced.
They signed an international deal with UK label, Acid Jazz Records, which released Feed in Europe to a "positive response".
[9] Del completed the tour, then quit to become an in-house artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios in Australia.
Aya told Dino Scatena of The Daily Telegraph that "What was best for him was best for us because his malaise might permeate the band and I would much rather he leave and we be strong and revitalised rather than try to perpetuate an old chemistry that wasn't working".
[3][1] The Sun-Herald's Peter Holmes described it as "a massive leap forward" from the "clichéd, choppy funk material" of their first two albums, concluding: "Skunkhour's overall feel is heavier, the grooves are deeper and the arrangements a little rockier".
[14] Working with producer Steve James, they began recording songs in studios and kitchens, then signed a deal with Universal Music.
[4][16] It, too, received favourable reviews, with The Sunday Telegraph's Kathy McCabe declaring: "It would be a travesty if this album didn't elevate Skunkhour to their deserved position of Australia's best funk-rock band.
[17] In November 2001, six months after the album's release, Skunkhour disbanded, frustrated by a lack of support from Universal,[8] which was experiencing upheavals in Australia.
Aya told Ritchie Yorke of The Sunday Mail that the difficulties with the label meant the band was unable to maximise its opportunities.
There's been major restructuring of two record companies we've been with and with that, a broom goes through a whole lot of projects and we were caught in the wash a couple of times".
[26][27] The band reassembled to play their debut album Skunkhour in full, plus a second set of hits and favourites, at The Metro in Sydney on 30 April 2016.
[28] After positive reviews and reception from fans in 2016, Skunkhour returned to The Metro on 27 May 2017 to perform Feed in full,[29] again with a second set of material from other releases.