Basement Jaxx Brief History

The making duo of Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton launched several of Britain's most appreciated and pleasant progressive house anthems of the '90s from their base in South London. Before they met (at a Thames riverboat party structured by Buxton), Ratcliffe ridged to the deep Latin funk of War and George Duke while Buxton was turned on to Chicago house. The pair shaped Atlantic Jaxx Records in 1994 and was certainly privileged to count among fans of their first discharge none other than DJ legend and Basement Jaxx authority Tony Humphries, who played 'Da Underground' from the EP on his New York mixshow time after time during 1994-1995. For their second release, Ratcliffe and Buxton employed vocalist Corrina Josephs, who later became almost a member of the team herself.

The 1995 single 'Samba Magic' was chosen up for allocation by Virgin, and in time, Basement Jaxx was drawing admire from all corners of the American and British house centre of population as one of the top house production units. The pair spent much of 1996 working on remixes (for the Pet Shop Boys, Roger Sanchez, and Lil' Mo' Yin Yang among others), then launched a third Basement Jaxx Extended Play. One track from the EP, 'Flylife,' became a Top 20 hit in England after being re-launched by Multiply in mid-1997, and the single proved one of the most well-liked anthems of the year on the global club scene. Late that year, Ratcliffe and Buxton released a compilation of their most crucial Atlantic Jaxx sides.

After being courted by several main labels, Basement Jaxx signed to the independent XL Recordings (also home to the Prodigy) and readied their debut full-length, Remedy, for a 1999 release. Second album Rooty followed two years later, an outgrowth of the duo's similarly named club night. 2003's Kish Kash and 2006's Crazy Itch Radio followed, while Singles was a well-timed stopgap launch between the two albums. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide