Send "Basement Jaxx " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 It's almost funny that an act like Basement Jaxx-- shameless populists, almost panderingly so at times-- can be so divisive. It's dance music overloaded with bubblegum divas and post-rave special effects created in an era when "minimal" has become a goddamned genre. (Lady Gaga can sell bubblegum diva and post-rave special effects as pop but she has personality-driven media appeal and brutally obvious songwriting.) But while they've continued to give subtlety the finger, the Jaxx have tightened up in recent years, doubling down on their hooks while clearing away the sonic clutter. For instance: 2009's streamlined Scars was originally meant to be a double album; Zephyr-- 33 minutes of synth washes, ethnographic pastiches, and soft-rock jams-- is the heretofore assumed scrapped second disc.Zephyr may seem slight, but, in theory if not practice, it affirms that Basement Jaxx refuse to limit themselves, and that's their main gift to 21st century dance music. Which is kinda perverse when you consider Zephyr could be sold as the Jaxx's "downtempo" album, a genre that all but prides itself on ruthlessly enforcing its well-known limits. On my first listen to Zephyr, I thought: This is the most antic "ambient" album of all time. On the second I was reminded of one of those Sublime Frequencies comps where a jackleg ethnographer recorded a few days' worth of indigenous radio, collaging the results together. Call it Radio South London 2009, maybe: The Jaxx have taken the borderless wash of sound around them-- on the airwaves and in the market stalls-- and given it a new coat of Jaxx-ian glitz. Whether it's moody balearic guitar ("Peace of Mind") or ersatz Middle Eastern soundtrack music ("Alkazaar"), the Jaxx have infused sounds both currently hip and perennially winning with their usual wit and flash....full text |
| State |
| For all his international acclaim and house-tinged pop smashes, Basement Jaxx’s Simon Ratcliffe still comes across as extremely down to earth. Defying the fame-related party clichés tracks like the notoriously raucous ‘Where’s Your Head At’ lead you to expect, Ratcliffe still lives in the same corner of Brixton in which he once – together with partner in crime Felix – launched the ‘Rooty’ club night that set Basement Jaxx on the long road to international notoriety. Ratcliffe summarizes the area he lives in as “far from glamorous”, and his studio apartment as “probably not big enough” now that he’s bringing up a three-year-old daughter. He still cycles to work every morning, and dismisses the five-star perks that come with being part of a noted touring band as “great, but you have to keep your feet on the ground”. This down-to-earth attitude to fame goes a long way to explaining why ‘Jaxx are so rarely in the press for anything other than their music, and why – a decade down the line – they’re still as influential as ever. If you ask Simon for tour stories, he’ll admit there have been a few wild times (“but you can’t live like that all the time, we try to keep our sanity in check”), and – highlighting the abundant female singers accompanying the group – portrays the atmosphere as “almost mothering. If we were just blokes together we’d probably be a bit more naughty. But there’s a really good chemistry, all kinds of characters”. The pumping live show and manic videos are not so much a portrayal of the duos lifestyle, but “in a spirit of fun, humor, imagination and experimentation”. All, it seems, is not quite as chaotic as public image has led us to believe....full text |
| Mydadrocks |
| Zephyr is described by Basement Jaxx as “a Soundscape”. The original idea for the recent album “Scars” was to make a double album - one CD of the ambient, ethereal & mellow side of the Jaxx output and the other comprised of their more traditional floor fillers. In the end, the band decided to release “Scars” as a stand alone album but wanted the “soundscape” to be available shortly after. The tracks on “Zephyr” were recorded over a two year period in Berlin, New York, London and Bath and feature guest appearances from legendary Ethiopian musician, Mulatu Astatke, and New York jazz vocalist Jose James....full text |
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