Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1973) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1972). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK.[3] They first rose to popularity in the underground house scene of the mid-1990s,[4] but would go on to find international chart success and win Best Dance Act at both the 2002 and 2004 BRIT Awards.[5] Their most successful singles are "Red Alert", "Rendez-Vu", "Romeo", and "Where's Your Head At".
Felix Buxton's father The Rev Derek Major Buxton (4 February 1931 - 17 March 2022) was a Leicestershire vicar, who was ordained on Sunday 18 December 1960 in Leicester Cathedral.[6][7] His father was originally from Leigh, Staffordshire, the second son of James Buxton,[8] who died in 1969.[9] In the early 1960s, his father was the assistant Anglican chaplain of the University of Leicester,[10] moving to Ibstock in May 1969.[11] The Rev Buxton and wife Eileen moved from Ibstock (St Denys) with Heather, to St Paul's Woodhouse Eaves and St Mary's church in Woodhouse[12][13] on 27 April 1987,[14] with a ceremony conducted by the Bishop of Leicester, on Tuesday 5 May 1987.[15] His father retired in April 1998.[16][17][18]
In 1992, Simon Ratcliffe began releasing white label records, gaining him the attention of several music producers including LTJ Bukem and Goldie. The success of these releases enabled him to buy a few electronic musical instruments and set up a basic studio in a friend's mother's basement.
Ratcliffe and Buxton first met in 1993 through a mutual friend in a pub in Clapham, London. The two bonded over an appreciation of New York house music.[19] They released their first extended play called EP1 via the British independent record label Wall of Sound, with the help of its founder Mark Jones. The album went on to sell over 1,000 copies and was played on American radio by Tony Humphries in New York City.
Basement Jaxx began in Brixton, South London, in 1994, where Ratcliffe and Buxton held a regular club night called Basement Jaxx. The night was also held in a variety of venues including The George IV, The Crypt and The Junction. They were joined by DJs including DJ Sneak, Daft Punk, and singer Corrina Joseph. They mutated the night into an equally popular club called Rooty, the namesake of their second album.[20][21] Initially, the duo considered "Underground Oasis" as a name for the group, but the idea was scrapped reportedly after a friend informed them of a similarly named rock band that might "get big".[22]
An important milestone for Basement Jaxx's career was their role as the opening act for successful French dance group Daft Punk's Daftendirektour.[23] It was around this time that Basement Jaxx began collaborating with vocalist Corrina Joseph, a collaboration that resulted in the single "Fly Life", which was released by Virgin Records in 1997. Following the success of "Fly Life", the duo signed a record deal with XL, with whom they released their subsequent six albums.[24]
Their next album, 2001's Rooty included singles "Romeo", "Jus 1 Kiss", "Where's Your Head At?", and "Do Your Thing", which was featured in the film Bend It Like Beckham as well as Nickelodeon and Coca-Cola commercials. The music video for album opener "Romeo" is an homage to the Bollywood film style. "Where's Your Head At?" became an international hit in 2002, also known for its inclusion on the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider soundtrack. "Do Your Thing" was included in the video game SSX 3. Xxtra Cutz was released shortly after Rooty, containing B-sides from the album's singles. Span Thang and Junction, two EPs, were released in 2001–2002.
Basement Jaxx decided to close the Rooty club in May 2001 after it became "too popular."[19]
2003–2005: Kish Kash and The Singles
In 2003, Basement Jaxx released their third full-length album, Kish Kash, which included contributions from Siouxsie Sioux, Lisa Kekaula (of the Bellrays), Me'shell Ndegeocello, Dizzee Rascal, Totlyn Jackson, JC Chasez and Phoebe. From this album, the tracks "Lucky Star", "Good Luck", and "Plug It In" were released as singles. The track "Good Luck" was re-released in 2004, after exposure from being the theme to BBC's Euro 2004 coverage, and was also featured in the soundtrack of Just Married and Appleseed, an anime film released in 2004. Kish Kash was recognised the following year at the 47th Grammy Awards, winning Buxton and Ratcliffe the inaugural Best Electronic/Dance Album award.
Basement Jaxx's manager, Andrew Mansi, says Astralwerks chose not to renew its U.S. licensing contract with the duo.[26]
The duo produced "Shake It", a song from JC Chasez's Schizophrenic.[27]
In 2005, the duo released the number 1 compilation The Singles along with a video collection on DVD, comprising all the singles from their previous three albums, some earlier releases (featured on Atlantic Jaxx Recordings: A Compilation), and two new tracks, "Oh My Gosh" and "U Don't Know Me", which were both released as singles. The Singles (Special Edition) was also released, which contained the original compilation along with a bonus disc entitled Bonus Traxx, containing many previously unreleased tracks, as well as remixes of existing Basement Jaxx songs. The duo appeared as a headline act on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2005 when Kylie Minogue was forced to pull out after being diagnosed with cancer. Basement Jaxx played with a live band made up of artists who recorded the album. Drumtech-trained Nathan 'Tugg' Curran was on drums for Glastonbury and has remained a constant performer.[28][failed verification]
Their fourth studio album, Crazy Itch Radio, was released on 4 September 2006 in the UK, simultaneously with its first single, "Hush Boy". The album featured guest vocals by Martina Sorbara (credited as "Martina Bang"), Lily Allen, and Robyn. In 2006, Basement Jaxx were also one of the support acts for Robbie Williams on his 'Close Encounters' tour. For Cyndi Lauper's Bring Ya to the Brink in 2008, they produced and wrote the track "Rocking Chair". They also released a trilogy of EPs of new material, entitled Planet.
In 2009, Buxton revealed in a BBC Radio 1 broadcast that Basement Jaxx's forthcoming album Scars was completed and being mastered. Buxton stated that the tracks include guest appearances by Yoko Ono, Santigold, Lightspeed Champion, and Yo! Majesty.[29] The band was also interested in getting Grace Jones to add vocals to the new album.[30] The album was released in September 2009.[31] The first single "Raindrops" preceded it in June 2009. The band recorded at the Bizspace centre in Coldharbour Lane, in Loughborough Junction.[32]
In November 2011, Simon revealed the pair were working on a new album – hinting that some tracks were already appearing in their DJ sets.[35] At their first live show for several years at Chiswick House Festival in July 2012, the band performed some new material from their forthcoming album including the song "Diamonds". Possible tracks that were predicted to appear on the album according to Pitchfork include "Make.Believe", "Let's Rock this Road Together", "Back 2 the Wild", "We R Not Alone", "Galactical", "Power 2 The People", "Mermaid of Salinas", "People of Planet Earth", and "What a Difference Your Love Makes".[36][37][38] The band ran a contest through graphic design firm JDO, where the band will use the graphic identity (including the album and single artwork designs) that the winner created for their upcoming album and consequent promotional items.[39]
"Back 2 the Wild" was released as a single on 12 April 2013, with an accompanying video co-directed by Matt Maitland and Natalia Stuyk being uploaded to their YouTube account on 16 April, though the single ultimately did not appear on the upcoming album.[40]
"What a Difference Your Love Makes" was released as a single on 30 September 2013.[37] The single's accompanying video was released on Vevo on 7 August 2013. It was directed by Damian Weilers and shot in South Africa.[41] On 1 May 2014, Basement Jaxx released a new song for the album called "Unicorn" on SoundCloud.[42]
On 19 May 2014, Basement Jaxx officially announced their seventh album, Junto, which was released on 25 August 2014 through Atlantic Jaxx and PIAS.[43] In July, the duo released the first lead single off the album, "Never Say Never". The music video, directed by Saman Kesh,[44] is about the development of a "twerking" robot that is intended to save humanity from a world without dancing and features the robotic prototype simulation of human buttocks "Shiri" developed by the Japanese scientist Nobuhiro Takahashi.[45]
In 2021, the duo remixed Australian singer Kylie Minogue's 2020 single "Say Something", which can currently be found on YouTube;[48] additionally, it will be available on the deluxe version of Minogue's latest album—entitled Disco: Guest List Edition—from 12 November 2021.[49]
The duo were invited to write an exclusive piece of music to accompany a work of art they admired in London's Tate Modern museum, Karel Appel's "Hip, Hip, Hoorah!". The work was initially not available for sale, but later appeared on the album Zephyr.[50] In 2007, their track "Close Your Eyes", sung by Linda Lewis, was featured in the Japanese CGIanime movie Vexille.
In 2019, the duo composed the music for the CITV animated series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud. The duo also collaborated with The Sydney Metropolitan Orchestra for a live re-imagining of some of their classic songs.[52]
In 2021, they composed the title music for the CBeebies series What's On Your Head?.[53]
Musical style
In the past, Buxton's father did not let him watch Top of the Pops and played his children Austrian music and Japanese music instead. "He was always very proud of that we didn't watch Top of the Pops. [...] He thought that made me hungry and want it more," he said.[54] He was a big fan of American house music, which was difficult to get hold of in his hometown at the time. "I used to listen to Choice FM where the legends of the scene could be heard and went to Blackmarket Records in London’s Soho to try and find the sounds I was looking for."[55]
Basement Jaxx's music has been described variously as house[1] and big beat[56] over the course of their career. Prince's influence has also been found on their music.[57] "I remember when we first came to America, they had to work out which radio stations we could go to," Buxton says. "They said that in a way we were a bit for urban stations, we were a bit for pop stations. They didn’t know where to place us and things were very segregated back then."[55]
Kish Kash is the third studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released on 20 October 2003 by XL Recordings and Astralwerks. After a lengthy tour which caused them exhaustion and homesickness, they settled in their new studio and wanted to develop a fresh new approach, less reliant on grooves and samples and more focused on songwriting.
The Singles is the first greatest hits album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released on 21 March 2005 via XL. The album contains two new songs, "Oh My Gosh" and "U Don't Know Me", which were both released as singles. "Do Your Thing" was previously included on the 2001 Rooty album, but with the release of this compilation album, the single was re-released in the UK after the two aforementioned singles.
Remedy is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released in May 1999 by record label XL.
Rooty is the second studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released on 25 June 2001.
"Where's Your Head At" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released as the third single from their second album, Rooty, on 19 November 2001. The song is based on samples from Gary Numan's songs "M.E." and "This Wreckage". The song peaked at number nine in Canada and the United Kingdom, number 16 in Australia, and number 39 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, the band's only charting single on a non-dance music chart in the United States. The song ranked at number 83 on Pitchfork Media's list of the "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".
Crazy Itch Radio is the fourth studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. The album features Linda Lewis and Swedish popstar Robyn among the guest vocalists.
"Oh My Gosh" is a song by British electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released on 14 March 2005 as the lead single from the band's greatest hits album, The Singles. Vula Malinga and rapper Skillah are two vocals contributor in the song.
"Fly Life" is a song by English electronic dance music duo Basement Jaxx from their fourth extended play, EP3, released in 1996. The track was largely based on the 1996 single "Live Your Life with Me", which they produced for vocalist Corrina Joseph, their collaborator since 1995 in order to make "proper songs".
"Red Alert" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released on 19 April 1999 by record label XL as the first single from their debut album, Remedy (1999). The vocals from the track were provided by Blu James. It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and became their first number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. As of September 2023, the single has sold and streamed 600,000 units in the United Kingdom, allowing it to receive a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Good Luck" is a song by British electronic music duo Basement Jaxx featuring vocals from Lisa Kekaula of American band the Bellrays. It was released on 5 January 2004 as the second single from their third studio album, Kish Kash, and reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the US Hot Dance Club Play, and number 22 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. The song was nominated in the Best Dance Recording category at the 47th Grammy Awards.
"Bingo Bango" is a song written and recorded by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx for their debut album, Remedy (1999). The track, which contains a sample of Bolivar's "Merengue" and as a result, Jose Ibata and Rolando Ibata are credited as songwriters, combined dance music with various elements of Latin music. It was released by XL Recordings as the album's fourth single on 27 March 2000, and later became the duo's third No. 1 song on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart. The song also peaked at No. 6 in Iceland and No. 13 in the United Kingdom.
"Plug It In" is a song by British electronic music duo Basement Jaxx featuring American singer JC Chasez, formerly of NSYNC. It was released on 29 March 2004 as the third single from their album third studio album, Kish Kash (2003), and debuted at its peak of number 22 in the United Kingdom the following month. The song also charted in Australia and Ireland, reaching numbers 43 and 45 respectively. There are various versions of the song, including a radio edit which was featured on the duo's first greatest-hits album, The Singles (2005).
"Get Me Off" is a song by British electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. The song was originally intended for Janet Jackson after she contacted the duo to collaborate for her seventh album, All for You. "Get Me Off" was released on 17 June 2002 as the fourth single from their second studio album, Rooty (2001). The song reached number 22 in the United Kingdom, number 43 in Australia, and number 47 in Ireland. It is their only single from 1996 to 2005 that wasn't included on their greatest hits album, The Singles (2005).
"Romeo" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released as the first single from their second studio album, Rooty (2001). British R&B singer Kele Le Roc provides the track's lead vocals while Corryne Dwyer sings the background vocals. The song was released on 4 June 2001 as the first single from the studio album.
Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest is a collaborative album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx and Dutch orchestra Metropole Orkest. The album features of older Basement Jaxx tracks rearranged for an orchestra with participated vocals from Vula Malinga, Sharlene Hector, Brendan Reilly, Oli Savill and Lisa Kekaula.
Junto is the seventh studio album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released in August 2014 by record labels Atlantic Jaxx and PIAS. It is the duo's first full-length album since Zephyr in 2009, and was announced on 19 May 2014. The title is taken from the song "Power to the People". The album sees a departure from the dark tone of their previous album Zephyr.
"Hush Boy" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It was released in August 2006 by record label XL as the first single from their fourth studio album, Crazy Itch Radio (2006). It reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart and number 39 in Australia.
"U Don't Know Me" is a song written and produced by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. The Bellrays' lead singer Lisa Kekaula, who has previously appeared on Basement Jaxx's 2004 single "Good Luck", also co-wrote and contributed the song's main vocal. "U Don't Know Me" was described as a rock song with "kiss-off" lyrics that were similar to "Good Luck". On 13 June 2005 XL released the track as the second single from their greatest hits album The Singles. Later editions of the compilation replaced the album version with the "JaxxHouz Radio edit" which was also featured in the song's video.
"Do Your Thing" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx. It originally appeared on their second studio album, Rooty (2001), and was released as a CD single in Australia in 2003, reaching number 33 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In the UK, it was released in September 2005 by record label XL, when it reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. The lead vocals are sung by Elliot May.
"Back 2 the Wild" is a song by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx, released on April 12, 2013, via London-based independent label 37 Adventures. The song was written and produced by group members Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton while Korean artists Baby Chay and Miss Emma Lee contributed the vocals. At the time of the release, "Back 2 the Wild" was intended to be the lead single of their then-upcoming seventh studio album entitled Music, but the idea was eventually scrapped. The group instead released Junto (2014), which deluxe edition features the song's Korean version and remixes.
↑ Evan Sawdey (21 September 2009). "Basement Jaxx: Scars". Pop Matters. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
↑ Hoskyns, Barney (19 February 2006). "Genius in short". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
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