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EDITORIAL:
MUSIC
The Remodelers
House Music Duo Basement Jaxx Hits
the Road with Special Blend
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by gerald poindexter
 Everyone
wants their first time to be special and under the best circumstances.
Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton of the UK-based, DJ-producers known
as Basement Jaxx, certainly did. But their plan to launch their
first official U.S. tour on September 11, took a back seat to terrorism.
They, like other artists, contemplated "What now?"
“There’s part of me that thought ‘Is this really
an appropriate time to go to America and be playing party music?’
But then I thought well, ‘yeah...it is, of course it is.’
This is what people need right now. I think it’s what they
want,” said Ratcliffe, speaking recently from London.”
Although admittedly, on the outside looking in, Ratcliffe senses
the current vibe in the States. He hopes that therapeutic values
prevail when the second stop on the Jaxx’ tour reaches San
Diego this Monday night.
“It’s important to get back to celebrating life. Music
can free you. It can make you feel happy and better and enhance
your life. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Intentionally or not,
Ratcliffe’s words recall “the music’s gonna set
you free,” a line from Chicago house music pioneer Marshall
Jefferson’s dance classic “House Music Anthem.”
Liberating the minds and bodies of many people, in many nightclubs
worldwide, was the role Ratcliffe and Buxton assumed when they formed
in 1994,.
The duo’s first album, “Remedy,” spawned the classics
“Red Alert” and “Jump N’ Shout,” and
introduced crowded dancefloors to the Jaxx’ progressive, fresh-sounding
take on house music. Gone was any dependence on house’s traditional
4/4 patter and 124 BPM thump. The Jaxx performed a personal makeover
on the typically underground genre, as if it were a tired, self-esteem
starved guest on “The Jenny Jones Show.” By the time
they were finished, the music had a glossy sheen and renewed vigor.
Critics pointed to Ratcliffe and Buxton’s adept production
tricks, combined with a healthy infusion of sassy, screaming divas,
Latin and reggae vibes, and quirky noises from nowhere. For many,
including the Jaxx, it became hard to call it house music anymore.
So what is it?
“It’s not house music, really. We were inspired by the
old house masters. Hopefully, what we’re doing is the way
house should develop and mutate. In the beginning we were trying
to copy Masters at Work, Mr. Fingers, Fast Eddie....” As a
reminder, he adds that “We have rock influences, pop, reggae,
R & B – all these are in this sort of mixture.”
Each element is displayed on “Rooty,” their current
studio album (“Atlantic Jaxx Recordings: A Compilation,”
a collection of early, hard-to-find singles, was released earlier
this month). Released in June, “Rooty” is just as spirited
as its predecessor. “Romeo,” the lead single, featuring
Jaxx protégé Kele Le Roc, assures listeners that sass
and attitude are still in high supply. Meanwhile, “Where’s
Your Head At” is an electronica-meets-Metallica fusion that
sends a clear message.
“We’re edging slightly away from club music. We’ll
make our music DJ-friendly, but we’re trying to be more ambitious
with our songs,” said Ratcliffe. Ultimately, “It’d
be nice if people recognize our music as Basement Jaxx music...that
we have our own, personal sound.”
People already do. Like Janet Jackson – almost. “We
almost did a track for Janet Jackson’s album (her current,
multiplatinum “All For You”),” Ratcliffe reveals.
“She asked us to send her a couple of ideas. So we sent her
a track, which she turned down. It turned out to be “Get Me
Off,” which is one of the strongest tracks on our album. So
it worked out all right anyway. But it would have been nice to do
something with her.”
Minus Miss Jackson’s seal of approval, they’ve forged
ahead, accepting accolades from others. They were recently in contention
for the UK’s prestigious Mercury Music Prize, but lost out
to PJ Harvey. The nomination alone, an honor typically reserved
for alternative rock acts, speaks volumes to their credibility.
For now, they seek only the public’s approval, hitting the
hit road like those alt-rock acts – except with turntables,
computers, musicians, singers and dancers – whatever it takes
to make Basement Jaxx music, which for lack of specifics, Ratcliffe
says is: “...something that sounds futuristic. There’s
a ‘dope factor.’ It has to sound dope, it has to sound
cool.”
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