Do Your Thing (Basement Jaxx song)

"Do Your Thing"
UK cover
Single by Basement Jaxx featuring Elliot May
from the album Rooty
Released	24 February 2003 (2003-02-24)
Genre	Big band jazz
Length	4:24
Label	XL
Songwriter(s)	Simon Ratcliffe Felix Buxton Blue Mitchell
Producer(s)	Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx Australiansingles chronology
"Get Me Off" (2002) "Do Your Thing" (2003) "Lucky Star" (2003)
Basement Jaxx UKsingles chronology
"U Don't Know Me" (2005) "Do Your Thing" (2005) "Hush Boy" (2006)

"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 February 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. ^[1]

Composition and video

The song samples the track "Fungii Mama" from Kenny Barron's album Lemuria-Seascape (1991). The song's music video was directed by Kim Gehrig, in her directorial debut, and features people in a park wearing shirts which mirror the song lyrics. ^[2]

Critical reception

The song is included on the 2011 experimental live album Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest , for which it was recorded, at the Muziekcentrum van de Omroe in Hilversum, the Netherlands, on 3–5 November 2010, with a trumpet solo by Ruud Breuls. ^[3]

Reviewing the album for The Independent , Andy Gill said: "'Do Your Thing' is very New York in flavour, a big-band jazz groove led by piano, the audience clapping along with the rattling percussion as brash trombones and sinuous saxophone take brief solos before the strings whip the piece to its conclusion." ^{[4] [5]}

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA) [6]	33

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Scotland (OCC) [7]	34
UK Singles (OCC) [8]	32
UK Dance (OCC) [9]	1
UK Indie (OCC) [10]	6

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [11]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Australia	24 February 2003	CD	Remote Control	[12]
United Kingdom	26 September 2005	12-inch vinyl CD	XL	[13]

References

1. "Elliot May". bimm.ie.
2. "» Bill Sound Bites". Soundbitesnyc.com. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
3. Basement Jaxx and Metropole Orkest - "Do Your Thing" (live performance at Eindhoven, 2010) on YouTube
4. Andy Gill (14 July 2011). "Album: Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest, Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest (Atlantic Jaxx)". The Independent . Retrieved 11 May 2016.
5. "Basement Jaxx - Metropole Orkest - Do Your Thing". 14 September 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2016– via YouTube.
6. "Basement Jaxx feat. Elliot May – Do Your Thing". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
7. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
9. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
10. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
11. '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000001A-QINU`"' "British single certifications – Basement Jaxx – Do Your Thing". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 5 August 2022.
12. "Basement Jaxx – Do Your Thing". Remote Control Records. Archived from the original on 23 June 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
13. "Do Your Thing". XL Recordings. Archived from the original on 24 March 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2022.