Basement Jaxx: Basement Jaxx back on the beats with tour, 'Scars'

Basement Jaxx, the British duo responsible for some of the most infectious dance floor anthems of the last decade, is following the release of its latest studio album with a series of rare North American DJ dates this fall, including tonight at the Congress Theater.
For "Scars," the group's fifth album, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe enlisted Yoko Ono, Kelis, Santigold, blue eyed soul newcomers Sam Sparro and Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Amp Fiddler and Bellrays singer Lisa Kekaula, among others.
The album kicks off with an operatic intro before the title track's stuttering half time beats compete with the band's signature kitchen sink of noise. "Twerk" is an electro-laden floor-filler that riffs on "Maniac" from "Flashdance," anchored by a Yo Majesty rap. "She's No Good" turns Lightspeed Champion's vocal chant into a funkified call-and-response, while "Raindrops" gives Buxton's own vocals the Auto-Tune treatment. Ono lends her vocals to "Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)," while Santigold's ska-tinged track is called "Saga."
The group also recorded a second, still untitled set of "Pink Floyd-y, more ambient-y stuff," according to Buxton. "That's going to come out as probably a mini LP afterward, more for bathtime music."
Fans at tonight's show will see the band's massive, circus like show, which includes an ever evolving crew of 20 or so singers and dancers.

Basement Jaxx Embrace presents

Basement Jaxx are a critically acclaimed English house music duo comprised of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe that rose to popularity in the late 1990s. Started Basement Jaxx in Brixton, South London, UK in 1994, where they held a regular club night called Rooty, which would later become the name of their second artist album (Rooty). In addition to Rooty, their other albums include Kish Kash with the title track sung by Siouxsie, Remedy, The Singles and Crazy Itch Radio. Kish Kash won the 2004 Grammy for best dance album and was their most critically acclaimed album for its innovative sound. They also won BRIT awards in 2002 and 2004, both for Best British Dance Act. In addition to their own work, Basement Jaxx have become in demand remixers. Tracks such as 4 My People (which became a massive chart and club hit), PlayLike I Love You and PlayShe Wants to Move have all had the Basement Jaxx remix treatment.In 2005, Basement Jaxx headlined the UK’s Glastonbury festival as a replacement for Kylie Minogue. In 2006 they were support to Robbie Williamson Robbies “Close Encounters”-Tour.The production duo got their name from the location of the studio where they recorded their first EP - it was located in the basement of friends of Simon Ratcliffe. Currently the Tate Modern invited the duo to write music inspired by a piece of art featured in the gallery. Karel Appellis’s Hip Hip Hoorah! ended up being the inspiring work. There are only two places in the world you can hear it - in the gallery or its official site.

Basement Jaxx new music report

The “Christian Rock” pick in this week’s New Music Report (contributing editor Christian Hoard’s current fave) is Scars, the fifth album from British house duo Basement Jaxx. The group’s 2001 album Rooty featured the hit “Romeo,” which charted in the States thanks to its synthetic yet warm vibe, and Scars is their best album since then. All the tracks are all sung by guest vocalists including Santigold and Kelis, as well as smaller names like Paloma Faith, who takes the lead on “What’s a Girl Got to Do.” It’s a song that’s ready for an iPod commercial with its clipped disco groove, keyboard stabs and rejiggered New Orleans brass.
The beats on Scars are often stronger than the songs, but when Basement Jaxx get a hot beat and a hot tune together you get something magical: progressive pop. It is dance music that can venture into the cheesy — but it’s a good cheesy.

For Good Vibrations the Killers and Basement Jaxx

Headline to the Killers will Good Vibrations 2010 with Basement Jaxx and Armand Van Helden also joining the stellar line up.
In February is Good Vibration in Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast and Melbourne.
Also announced were Gossip, Busta Rhymes, Salt-N-Pepa, Friendly Fires, Z-Trip, Naughty By Nature, Plump DJs, Gym Class Heroes, Chas & Statud, Dave Deaman, DJ Craze, Chuckie, Art vs Science, Bass Kelph, Sam Obernik and Killaqueenz.
Dates are:
Sydney, Centennial Park - Saturday 13 FebruaryPerth, Claremont Showground - Sunday 14 FebruaryGold Coast, Parklands Showgrounds - Saturday 20 FebruaryMelbourne, The Nursery, Flemington Racecourse – Sunday 21 February

Basement Jaxx: Adam Ant Inspiration Felix Buxton reveals

Basement Jaxx returning dance giants have revealed their childhood love of Adam and the Ants.
Basement Jaxx began life as a group of DJs on London's always bustling dance scene. The turntablists quickly realised that they knew their dancefloor better than anyone and began crafting their own tracks.
Chart stardom followed before the duo decided to take a short break. This year with a new album returning, Basement Jaxx stunned fans with a series of sizzling festivals at RockNess and beyond.
Releasing 'Scars' towards the end of the summer Basement Jaxx topped a sensational comeback with more chart success. However in a new interview the band have revealed their childhood love of another chart star - Adam Ant.
"I was a massive Adam and the Ants fan until they got too silly and camp" Felix Buxton told Pitchfork. "But 'Kings of the Wild Frontier' was actually cool and tribal. He's got the great line in that song: "I feel beneath the white there is a red skin suffering from centuries of taming." I thought he was a real wild boy trapped in civilized society."
"I related to that growing up whenever I used to play cowboys and Indians I always thought the Indians were the cool ones."
The Basement Jaxx producer also revealed that he retains an admiration for The Police. "I was trying to work out which tribe I belonged to and I finally realized that I didn't belong in any of them, exactly."
"But I did like the Police because my sister's friend drew footages of them and I had these hand drawn pictures on my bedroom wall. I used to try and sing like Sting I could sound pretty much like him on a few songs because my voice hadn't broken yet. At this point, it's very uncool to like Sting because he's so pretentious. He's annoying but talented."

New Album Surrounded by Drama, Basement Jaxx

It's unlikely that Simon Ratcliffe will forget the night he spent sitting next to a crack freak with no legs. Surprisingly, the unfortunate man was the least of the Basement Jaxx member's worries. Ratcliffe was in New York for a recording session for the London based dance duo's fifth album, 'Scars,' which was released Tuesday, when he received a phone call informing him that his wife and baby daughter had been taken to a hospital. It was one of the rare occasions that Ratcliffe had his family with him while working, and the news was particularly disturbing as his daughter was only several weeks old. "It was actually stressful. It was particularly scary, her being newborn, they're such fragile little things," Ratcliffe tells Spinner. The sudden illness, which was due to a virus, had Ratcliffe so disturbed that he rushed to the hospital. "I spent the night in the emergency room at St. Vincent's hospital sitting next to a crack addict with no legs," he says with an incredulous sigh. His wife and daughter recovered and were fine. Did the incident or his colorful ER companion inspire any songs? "I didn't get a song out of it this time, but maybe for the next record," he laughs.Really, it was his Basement Jaxx Partner Felix Buxton's personal crisis that shaped the album. "Felix was writing were about the personal dramas in his life, mostly his efforts trying to find a good woman. Along the way he's had, yeah, dramatic moments," offers Ratcliffe. Still, the record isn't a mopey affair; Its upbeat vibe comes from living to tell the tale. "Part of life is picking yourself up and dusting yourself off and being proud of who you are. It's just living, actually."

'Musical collision' Basement Jaxx's

Basement Jaxx have revealed their new album Scars will be a "collision" of styles thanks to the change artists they have collaborated with.
Felix Buxton said: "The new album is obviously new, it's got elements of the early Basement Jaxx and it's got where we are now, and effectively, the guests we've got on there makes it a change musical collision than we had before, with people like Yoko Ono, Santogold and Sam Sparro.
"Obviously they all bring their vibe to the thing as well, so it's us going out into the world a bit more rather than just being stuck in Brixton."