The video is pretty great too.

Remedy had a sweaty album cover that demanded being placed face-down to avoid parental detection, and it also had a singularly obnoxious song on it that might well be seen as the forefather to Reynolds’s “digital maximalism”. “Jump n’ Shout” (see above) has a clattering house beat, incongruous wobbling and kettle-whistling sound effects, and a totally reckless parping lead synth. Did I mention MC Slarta John’s incomprehensible rapping, which vomits all over syntactical conventions?

Somehow, in spite of the panoply of competing elements (there’s even a beautiful, eastern-sounding melody buried somewhere deep in the mix), Buxton and Ratcliffe pull it off. The song is so ridiculous, you can’t help but fall for its charms. Call it the ADHD puppy that’s simultaneously yelping, biting, scratching and urinating on your leg, which you nonetheless take into your home.

<3 <3 <3

Scars CD Cover

Yup, my favorite house duo from the UK is back with a new CD.  Got it on Friday and have been listening ever since.  Scars is a perfect example of why I like their music so much: variety and quality of production.  This CD has stylings of all different kinds of music: from Hip Hop, Electronica, DnB, Ethereal, World Music, etc., etc., not to mention, the traditional Basement Jaxx take on House music.  Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton are two of best producers of music ever- they focus on using new sounds, layering throughout the songs and creating tracks that you can feel.  Two definite stand outs from Scars that will get play in clubs and probably remixed by DJs:  Raindrops and Feelings Gone.  Raindrops is probably one of the best videos I have seen in a long time- beware some nipple action goes on. 

This CD fights for the best Jaxx album, but I still LOVE Rooty.  I continue to listen to it all the time, even though it came out like 8 or 9  years ago.

P.S.  I love the CD and Single Covers- this one is from the single “Feelings Gone“  featuring an awesomely punchy pachyderm with its feather headdress and Daft Punk-esque eye shield.

Bei der Hinfahrt gerieten wir am Freitag zuerst in einen Megastau in Wien, wollten uns die Stimmung dadurch aber nicht vermiesen lassen. Nach knapp ein und halb Stunden kamen wir mittags endlich in Wiesen an. Nachdem wir ein sehr schönes Plätzchen für unser Zelt fanden, machten wir uns langsam auf den Weg zum Stage-Bereich. Wir wurden zu VIPs gekürt (mit goldenen shiny Bändern), sahen uns auf der überdachten Tribüne ein wenig um, beschlossen dann aber trotzdem runter in die Menge zu gehen. Bei so einer schönen Location und vielen genialen Musik-Acts kann man ja nicht einfach nur langweilig herumsitzen – da muss das Tanzbein geschwungen werden!

Meine persönlichen Top 3 des ersten Festivaltages am Nuke 2009:

1.) Basement Jaxx: Wow, das nenne ich mal eine Hammer-Show! Felix Buxton & Simon Ratcliffe waren nicht alleine nach Wiesen gekommen – 3 absolut stylische und stimmgewaltige Ladies unterstützten sie. Los ging’s mit dem Song „Good Luck“ und wer da nicht von der ersten Minute an ausflippte und wie wild zu tanzen begann, musste wohl taub und blind gewesen sein! Ich hatte das Glück mit Clara in der ersten Reihe zu stehen, obwohl das teilweise wegen den grellen Flashlights die ins Publikum gerichtet waren, eher mühsam war. Zu so einer abgefreakten Bühnenshow gehören solche Lichteffekte aber irgendwie einfach dazu… Die drei Ladies präsentierten nicht nur ihre schrillen Outfits, machten Stimmung, sangen und rappten, nein, nein, sogar Krumping und Ballett- Einlagen wurden vorgeführt. Basement Jaxx brachte die Menge zum Toben und sorgte dafür dass wir uns alle nach der Show, trotz unserer durchgeschwitzten Klamotten, einer Art Kish Kash-Where’s you head at-Trance befanden!…GRANDIOS!

2.) Jan Delay: Den sympathischen Hamburger habe ich nun schon Jahre nicht mehr auf der Bühne gesehen und war deshalb sehr gespannt auf seinen Auftritt. Schon eine Viertelstunde vor der Show standen die Leute bereits vor der Bühne um sich einen Platz in den ersten Reihen zu sichern. Seine Band, Disko Nr.1, jammte ein wenig bis Jan Delay mit schwarzen Hut auf die Bühne hüpfte und „Türlich, Türlich“ zum Besten gab. Der Einstieg war perfekt  und das Publikum war kaum noch zu halten. Dann folgten zwei von Jan neu-interpretierten Songs – Backstreet Boys‘ „Everybody (Backstreet’s back)“ und Usher’s „Yeah“. Irgendwann fiel Jan Delay ein Flip Flop auf, der auf die Bühne geflogen kam. Er lachte und meinte: „Flip Flops könnt ihr dann später bei Moby werfen. Wir wollen BHs zugeschmissen bekommen!“. Bei „Vergiftet“ wurde Jan’s Wunsch erfüllt und der erste BH flog auf die Bühne. Die Performance von Jan Delay war gefüllt von alten Songs wie „Füchse“, einigen Liedern aus seinem „Mercedes Dance“-Album, aber auch Neues wurde präsentiert. In circa 3 Wochen kommt Jan’s neue Scheibe „Wir Kindern vom Bahnhof Soul“ in die Läden und da warten viele neue Sounds vom Ex-Beginner auf uns….Als Zugabe hatte sich Jan Delay auch was ganz Besonderes ausgedacht -> eine Dance&Freeze-Action! Mit „Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann“ verabschiedete sich dann Jan Delay vom Nuke! Unvergesslich! TOP!

3.) Calexico & Moby: Der dritte Platz muss geteilt werden. Am frühen Abend traten Calexico auf. Absolut geniale Musiker aus Amerika die es verstehen mexikanische Folk-Elemente mit Rock zu paaren und damit die Leute zu begeistern. Da packt man dann auch schon die Latino-Moves aus und tanzt bei der Zugabe dann auch noch Sirtaki! YEAH!…Bei Moby setzten wir uns auf die VIP-Tribüne da es unten einfach gesteckt voll war. Puh, Moby’s Show ist schwer zu beschreiben, aber er, seine Ladies an den Instrumenten und seine Background-Sängerin mit einem fetten Afro waren unglaublich! Und „Why does my heart feel so bad“ live zu hören, ist ein unbeschreibliches Erlebnis bei dem die Gänsehaut nicht ausbleibt!

Als Abschluss gibt’s noch einige Bilder vom ersten Nuke-Tag für euch:

Und weil es doch so viele Pics sind, hier noch eine zweite Slideshow:

Also was will man eigentlich mehr? Heiße Temperaturen, nette Leute, bombastische Bands und unvergessliche Shows…Das umfangreiche und wunderbar vielfältige Musik-Angebot am Nuke begeisterte und ließ die Festival-Besucher feiern, als ob es kein Morgen gäbe!…Apropos: Morgen geht’s dann weiter mit dem zweiten Tag voller Highlights! Jetzt hol ich erst mal ein wenig Schlaf nach

The first of two days was helmed by proven festival faves Basement Jaxx (who played the first Wireless in 2005), and offered three further stages of live music.

Wireless is very much a matinee rave-up, and by the afternoon the Hyde Park site was packed with festival-goers (in various states of sunburn and inebriation), and the main stage featured Jack Penate sweltering in a dreadful jacket (which he sensibly removed several numbers in).

Penate’s set offered a rollicking good time, with older numbers including Second, Minute Or Hour bearing up well alongside tracks from his more enthusiastically received recent second album Everything Is New.

His closing number, the excellent, hi-life-flavoured dance rhythms of Tonight’s Today, was a definite highlight.

The blazing sunshine didn’t stop crowds from checking out the sweaty indoor tents – in fact, the early evening set by The Streets proved a total roadblock. Meanwhile, over on the main stage, electro legend Afrika Bambaata and his three similarly chunky hype men were preaching about saving the earth, while they hurled plastic bottles of mineral water and inflated condoms at the audience. A surreal prelude to a blast of the refreshingly fizzy 1982 anthem Planet Rock.

Dizzee Rascal’s set didn’t need any diatribes or embellishment, because it was simply packed with brilliantly punchy, broad-ranging tunes and irresistible charisma.

Dizzee easily flowed from grime benchmarks such as his early hit Fix Up Look Sharp, through summer sizzlers like Flex (dedicated to the laydeez, and snapped up in response), and pop stormers including Dance Wiv Me.

Each of these numbers was greeted with delighted whoops of recognition, and everybody goes suitably crazy for Dizzee’s current single Bonkers – if this were an indoor concert, we’d have been bouncing off the walls.

It’s a shame that Dizzee didn’t hang around to guest with headliners Basement Jaxx – but then, original duo Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton are hardly short of willing guests. In the decade since they started touring, their live show has expanded to include a full backing band and a character-packed, mighty-lunged array of vocalists, of whom the charmingly cheeky Vula Malinga, MC Slarta John and the flamboyant Brendan Reilly just about stole tonight’s show.

Running along the same lines as their Roundhouse dates earlier this year, this was a high-energy, hits-packed experience from the opening tracks Good Luck and Oh My Gosh. The Jaxx’s rock ‘n’ roll aspirations have barely been concealed here – Ratcliffe is an accomplished guitarist, while Buxton can hardly be restrained behind his electronic decks before he’s grabbing the mic on tunes such as the latest single Raindrops – for which a trio of psychedelic ‘tribal’ dancers also shimmed onstage.

As with their Roundhouse date, the pacing of this set-list was slightly more problematic – the Jaxx have earned a reputation for non-stop entertainment, but the energy flagged discernibly when their vocalists left the stage to be replaced with a trumpet solo or a strangely ponderous mash-up.

The laser-illuminated finale of Where’s Your Head At and the perfectly carnivalesque Bingo Bango did sound even more storming in contrast, as the entire Jaxx collective (and some dancing gorillas) crammed onto the stage.

These old masters of club culture need to tighten up the interludes, but they are as always capable of real extravaganza.

Does it feel good to be back?

Yeah, just about. It’s all a bit tiring, actually. For instance, we just played the Isle of Wight Festival then had to be in Inverness the next day. They were both wicked gigs but 14 hours on a tour bus isn’t much fun.

You’re almost dance veterans now – is it all herbal tea and early nights after a gig?

You’re almost dance veterans now – is it all herbal tea and early nights after a gig?

I loved the video for single Raindrops

It’s by a fashion designer called Jess Holzworth. We wanted to make something beautiful and psychedelic. For a song called Raindrops there’s a distinct lack of water in the video – I think she forgot. Kanye West loves it and featured it on his blog so that’s cool.

What’s the deal with the new album, Scars?

It represents what the band has been through over the last decade – we’ve got the physical and mental scars to prove it. There’s the time I fell off the stage in South Africa in 2006 and cut my head open. On tour in Australia, our MC got deep-vein thrombosis and had to pull out of a load of shows. The emotional scars have kept us going and made Basement Jaxx stronger.

You’ve gone collaboration-crazy on the new record, even Yoko Ono…

Yoko’s on there because she is a fan of our music and I love her artwork. She’d be the first to admit she hasn’t got the best voice in the world but it was a great experience to have this iconic and charismatic 76-year-old in the studio.

Who else is on there?

Yo Majesty were a real handful – the lead singer was in the vocal booth and just pulled her top off and started growling. I’ve never been in a studio session like it. Elsewhere we’ve got Lightspeed Champion, Kelis, Santigold and Sam Sparro – I can’t imagine a line-up like that will ever be repeated again so we’re confident we’ve got something quite unique and beautiful.

It’s like the circus has come to town when you play live – how much planning goes into a show?

It’s a summation of years of doing stuff. When new hits come along, we look at ways to incorporate them into the set. We like to commission acts and artists to make our stage show as visual as possible. When we tour, it’s like a family, everyone mixes with everyone in a hippy, idealised way.

Did you ever think you’d be known as ‘Grammy award-winning Basement Jaxx’?

At the beginning, music was purely a hobby. I was working in an office and I didn’t think it would rub off on other people as much as it has.

Any tips for aspiring DJs looking to follow in your footsteps?

Do your own thing and don’t get tailed along with the pack. There’s this guy from Peckham on YouTube doing this thing called Don’t Jealous Me. It’s absolutely hilarious. He’s at college and when he gets home he sits in front of his computer making these ranting comedy sketches. Underground culture is alive and well and that’s where you should start.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I like the people who sound a bit like MGMT – Empire Of The Sun. It’s a bit weird but their videos are really like our artwork and it’s like: ‘Damn! We’ve been sitting on this album for ages and they’ve beaten us to it.’

Where can we see you guys over the summer?

Hyde Park in London for Wireless and the Big Chill in Herefordshire, which is one we’ve never done before.

What’s been your favourite place to tour?

Exit festival in Serbia, Benicàssim in Spain, Fuji Rock in Japan – all amazing. Oh and Coachella in the States is interesting.

Their concerts have grown instrumentally and visually more lavish, the duo have become confident performers (Ratcliffe is a fine guitarist, while Buxton has a blast on the mic), and the Jaxx house sound has stretched to electro-punk, grime, r’*'b, Balkan beats and more.

Basement Jaxx are back in London after a notable absence

They’ve been working on their fifth album, Scars, for a while (it’s set for a September release), so these rescheduled tour dates feel like an overdue return.

Expect to hear new single Raindrops (out in June): an exotic confection laced with rock melodies and a distinctive killer bassline. But their set-lists also boast classic tunes, nifty mash-ups and rambunctious guest vocalists – here they include gospel-trained Vula Malinga (the voice of their 2005 hit Oh My Gosh), MC ‘Slarta’ John (from their debut-album stormer Jump ‘N’ Shout), Brendan Reilly, Sharlene Hector and Rhonda Humphrey.

Although they’ve earned international status, Basement Jaxx remain passionate Londoners and their capital shows always feel especially spirited – a big shout out to the best city in the world. Arwa Haider

Tonight and tomorrow, The Roundhouse, 7pm, £22.50 (returns only).

Tel: 0844 482 8008. Tube: Chalk Farm

I got on Basement Jaxx a little late and only for one album.  I remember hearing the name being tossed around by people as that new hot underground “it” band when they first caught on.  I even remember hearing Janet Jackson saying she liked them on TV.  I had no idea who they were.

2003′s Kish Kash was the album that I gravitated to.  Part of the reason is that they featured Meshell Ndegeocello on 2 songs and, her, I am a fan of.  I also had heard JC Chasez, from N’Sync fame, was on another track, “Plug It In.”  I had picked up his Schizophrenic, an album I liked, where they produced a song I liked, “Shake It,” and wanted to see how he returned the favor on Kish Kash.  (I alway had secretly hoped he was the gay one before anyone came out.  He’s around my age and I do think he’s cute.  I thought we’d meet down the line in life and he’d be my man.)

So much for unhealthy fantasies, anyway, I picked up the album and I fell in love with it.  I remember a friend saying he didn’t like it and that it didn’t sound like other Basement Jaxx stuff.  I have nothing to compare to; I just know this album was genius to me.  I like that it is ensemble-y.  Not sure if they always feature different vocalists and artists because they seem to be more producer-dj-types, but it works well on this album.

I worked out (like, yeah, worked out to it) the hell out of it, but at the same it’s mellow, too.  So you can either dance to it until your soaking wet or just listen and groove to it sweat-free.  I like that it works at both levels. 

There’s no official video for “If I Ever Recover.”  This was all I could find out there on the internet  — posted and featuring photographs by some person named Stephanie Taylor.  This is definitely the stand-out track for me.  It doesn’t sound like the rest of the album in a good way.  I can listen to it over and over.  I also love the 2 Meshell tracks, so as a bonus you’re getting the track that closes the album, “Feels Like Home” (no official video, either).  The other is track 2, “Right Here’s the Spot.”  Oh, just go get the whole album!