Basement Jaxx

Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They first rose to popularity in the underground house scene of the mid-1990s,<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">Template:Cite book</ref> but would go on to find international chart success and win Best Dance Act at both the 2002 and 2004 BRIT Awards.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref> Some of their most successful singles are "Red Alert", "Rendez-Vu", "Romeo", "Where's Your Head At", "Do Your Thing", and "Good Luck".Template:Citation needed

History

Background

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.<ref>Leicester Mercury Monday 19 December 1960, page 5</ref><ref>Leicester Mercury Monday 27 July 1964, page 8</ref> His father was originally from Leigh, Staffordshire, the second son of James Buxton,<ref>Staffordshire Sentinel Friday 9 October 1964, page 6</ref> who died in 1969.<ref>Staffordshire Sentinel Friday 12 September 1969, page 7</ref> In the early 1960s, his father was the assistant Anglican chaplain of the University of Leicester,<ref>Leicester Mercury Thursday 21 May 1964, page 5</ref> moving to Ibstock in May 1969.<ref>Leicester Mercury Saturday 24 May 1969, page 24</ref> 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<ref>Loughborough Echo Friday 21 November 1986, page 73</ref><ref>Loughborough Echo Friday 17 April 1987, page 70</ref> on 27 April 1987,<ref>Loughborough Mail Wednesday 29 April 1987, page 1</ref> with a ceremony conducted by the Bishop of Leicester, on Tuesday 5 May 1987.<ref>Loughborough Echo Friday 8 May 1987, page 63</ref> His father retired in April 1998.<ref>Loughborough Echo Friday 5 December 1997, page 4</ref><ref>Loughborough Echo Friday 1 May 1998, page 87</ref><ref>Loughborough Echo Friday 29 October 1999, page 90</ref>

Felix Buxton studied Engineering Design at the University of Exeter.

1992–1998: Formation

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.<ref name="McLean">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="rooty_name">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref name="Conway">Template:Cite web</ref>

An important milestone for Basement Jaxx's career was their role as the opening act for successful French dance group Daft Punk's Daftendirektour.<ref name="Perpetua">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="Lestrade">Template:Cite web</ref>

1999–2001: Remedy

In 1999, the group released their first full-length album, Remedy. It included the singles "Red Alert", "Jump n' Shout", "Bingo Bango", and "Rendez-Vu", which is Basement Jaxx's highest UK Singles Chart entry to date, at number 4.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Basement Jaxx also released Jaxx Unreleased, a compilation album of B-sides, remixes, and other assorted material, in 1999. 2000 saw them release Camberwell, another release of new material.

2001–2004: Rooty

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."<ref name="McLean" />

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The duo produced "Shake It", a song from JC Chasez's Schizophrenic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Failed verification

2006–2010: Crazy Itch Radio and Scars

Buxton performing at the LA Weekly Detour Music Festival in 2006

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.<ref name="ScarsAlbum">Template:Cite web</ref> The band was also interested in getting Grace Jones to add vocals to the new album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album was released in September 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first single "Raindrops" preceded it in June 2009. The band recorded at the Bizspace centre in Coldharbour Lane, in Loughborough Junction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Also in 2009, their album Zephyr was released.

In 2010, the duo released the non-album single "Dracula".

2011–present: Attack the Block and Junto

Ratcliffe performing at the 2013 Orange Warsaw Festival

2011 saw the duo collaborating twice: with Metropole Orkest for the live album Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and also with Steven Price for the soundtrack to the 2011 film Attack the Block.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2011, Simon revealed the pair were working on a new album – hinting that some tracks were already appearing in their DJ sets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pitchfork1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

"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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

"What a Difference Your Love Makes" was released as a single on 30 September 2013.<ref name="pitchfork1"/> The single's accompanying video was released on Vevo on 7 August 2013. It was directed by Damian Weilers and shot in South Africa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 1 May 2014, Basement Jaxx released a new song for the album called "Unicorn" on SoundCloud.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 19 May 2014, Basement Jaxx officially announced their seventh album, Junto, which was released on 25 August 2014 through Atlantic Jaxx and PIAS.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In July, the duo released the first lead single off the album, "Never Say Never". The music video, directed by Saman Kesh,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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" (likely an allusion to Siri), developed by the Japanese scientist Nobuhiro Takahashi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other projects

Basement Jaxx in 2016

In addition to their own work, Basement Jaxx have become in-demand remixers. Their more prominent work includes remixes of "4 My People" by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, "Everyman… Everywoman…" by Yoko Ono, "Like I Love You" by Justin Timberlake, and "She Wants to Move" by N.E.R.D, which was included as a B-side on the follow-up single "Maybe." They also collaborated with Janet Jackson on unreleased songs for her Damita Jo album.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sophie Ellis-Bextor, as well as The Botz and Garold Marks, have stated they are fans and would like to collaborate with Basement Jaxx in the future.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2021, the duo remixed Australian singer Kylie Minogue's 2020 single "Say Something", which can currently be found on YouTube;<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref> additionally, it will be available on the deluxe version of Minogue's latest album—entitled Disco: Guest List Edition—from 12 November 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, their track "Close Your Eyes", sung by Linda Lewis, was featured in the Japanese CGI anime movie Vexille.

Felix Buxton appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 23 September 2013 – the opening episode of Series 27, on Noel Fielding's team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2021, they composed the title music for the CBeebies series What's On Your Head?.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="Iqbal">Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref name="Panisch">Template:Cite news</ref>

Basement Jaxx's music has been described variously as house<ref name="Allmusic"/> and big beat<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> over the course of their career. Prince's influence has also been found on their music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "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."<ref name="Panisch"/>

Awards and nominations

Antville Music Video Awards Template:Award table |- | 2005 | "U Don't Know Me" | Best Video | Template:Nom Template:End

Billboard Music Awards Template:Award table |- | rowspan="2"| 2000 | rowspan="2"| Themselves | Top Hot Dance Club Play Artist | Template:Nom |- | Top Hot Dance Club Play Artist – Duo/Group | Template:Won Template:End

Brit Awards

Template:Award table |- | rowspan="3"| 2000 | Themselves | Best British Dance Act | Template:Nom |- | Remedy | MasterCard British Album | Template:Nom |- | "Red Alert" | Best British Single | Template:Nom |- | rowspan="2"| 2002 | "Where's Your Head At" | Best British Video | Template:Nom |- | rowspan="2"| Themselves | rowspan="2"| Best British Dance Act | Template:Won |- | 2004 | Template:Won Template:End

D&AD Awards Template:Award table |- | 2002 | "Where's Your Head At" | rowspan="2"| Direction | Template:Won |- | 2006 | "Oh My Gosh" | Template:Won Template:End

DanceStar Awards Template:Award table |- | 2000 | Themselves | Best House Act | Template:Won Template:End

Denmark GAFFA Awards Template:Awards table |- | 1999 | Themselves | Foreign New Act | Template:Nom |}

Grammy Awards Template:Award table |- | 2005 | Kish Kash | Best Dance/Electronic Album | Template:Won |}

GQ Awards Template:Award table ! Ref. |- | 2001 | Themselves | Band of the Year | Template:Nom | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:End

Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards

Template:Award table |- | 2007 | Crazy Itch Radio | Best Dance Recording | Template:Nom Template:End

International Dance Music Awards Template:Award table |- | rowspan=2|2000 | rowspan=4|Themselves | Best New Dance Artist (Group) | Template:Won |- | rowspan=3|Best Dance Artist (Group) | Template:Won |- | 2003 | Template:Nom |- | 2005 | Template:Nom Template:End

Ivor Novello Awards Template:Award table |- | 2000 | "Rendez-Vu" | rowspan=2|The Ivors Dance Award | Template:Nom |- |2002 | "Where's Your Head At" | Template:Nom Template:End

Kiss Awards

Template:Award table |- | rowspan="3"|2005 | rowspan="2"|Themselves | Hottest Producer | Template:Nom |- | Best Group | Template:Nom |- | Live at Glastonbury | Live Vibe of the Year | Template:Nom Template:End

MTV Europe Music Awards

Template:Award table |- | rowspan="2" | 1999 | rowspan="3" | Themselves | Best UK & Ireland Act | Template:Nom |- | rowspan="2" | Best Dance | Template:Nom |- | 2001 | Template:Nom |- | 2002 | "Where's Your Head At" | Best Video | Template:Nom Template:End

MTV Video Music Awards Japan

Template:Award table |- | 2002 | Themselves | Best Dance | Template:Nom |- | rowspan="2" | 2015 | "Back 2 the Wild" | Best Collaboration | Template:Nom |- | Themselves & Team Syachihoko | Best Live Performance | Template:Won Template:End

MVPA Awards

Template:Award table |- | 2002 | "Where's Your Head At" | Best Directional Debut | Template:Won Template:End

NME Awards Template:Award table |- | rowspan=2|2000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | rowspan=2|Themselves | Best New Act | Template:Nom |- | Best Dance Act | Template:Nom Template:End

PLUG Awards Template:Award table |- | 2007 | Crazy Itch Radio | Electronic/Dance Album Of The Year | Template:Nom Template:End

Popjustice 20 Quid Music Prize

Template:Award table |- | 2005 | "Oh My Gosh" | Best British Pop Single | Template:Nom Template:End

Q Awards

Template:Award table |- | 1999 | Themselves | Best New Act | Template:Won |- | 2001 | "Romeo" | Best Video | Template:Nom Template:End

UK Music Video Awards

Template:Award table |- | 2014 | "Mermaids of Salinas" | Best Pop Video – Budget | Template:Nom Template:End

Viva Comet Awards Template:Award table |- | 2002 | "Where's Your Head At" | Best International Video | Template:Won Template:End

Discography

• Remedy (1999)
• Rooty (2001)
• Kish Kash (2003)
• Crazy Itch Radio (2006)
• Scars (2009)
• Zephyr (2009)
• Junto (2014)

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US dance chart

External links

• Template:Official website
• Artist Site at Ultra Records
• Artist Site at Interscope RecordsTemplate:Dead link