Jamie xx and Gil Scott Heron, We're New Here (2011)
James Blake doesn't like remixes. Well I don't like James Blake. The remix isn't just a record company marketing tool; it's a valid art form, and has been for some time now. But is there a way someone can make a name for himself solely on chopping up and mixing other artists' tracks and stamping his suffix of a name on the thing? Most definitely, and that guy is Jamie Smith, who is best known as the producer and percussionist of the xx. I might beg to differ regarding this “best known” business though, because after an incredible couple of months, the man who goes by the very unoriginal stage name of Jamie xx (seriously?) is 2011's King of the Remix and certainly has the potential to eclipse his band even though he only has one “solo” song to date. While he's done a bit here and there over the last year or so, his big break was getting to remix legend Gil Scott Heron's new album, turning it into We're New Here. That's something, considering Heron is a known recluse, only communicates through written letters, released his first album in over 15 years, and is over twice the age of Jamie xx, But the pairing isn't as unlikely as it may seem. Heron's latest album, which is great, and definitely worth a listen, is an amalgamation of spoken word, soul, dark electronic, and is simplified, almost to an extreme. The xx are all about minimalism, and pride themselves on their use of negative space, so Jamie xx is obviously not out of his element. He can obviously cut it as an electronic producer, but if you listen to his samples and mixes he's also pretty damn soulful. Plus Heron's a pretty eclectic guy; on I'm New Here, he spits on everything from a simple acoustic riff loop to not one but two samples of Kanye's “Flashing Lights” to a stripped-down hand clap of a beat on the neo-gospel “New York is Killing Me.” The latter is utterly brilliant, a disarming present day a cappella-esque work song where the dude just really needs to leave the hellish confines of the Big Apple and get back home that good ol' southern cookin' of Jackson Tennessee. This is a track that really didn't need a remix. But Jamie's flip of it preserves the raspy anguish of Heron's voice and slaps just the right amount of dirty dubstepicity (yeah, I just coined that shit) to melt your face. There really isn't anything out there right now that sounds like Jamie's alarming, frenetic beat on this one, as he retains the simple darkness of the original in club format.
There are some hiccups along the way, especially tracks like “Home” and “Running” where the dude just sounds like he's fucking around on his laptop. But the real jams come later in what is a really bottom-heavy album. “Ur Soul and Mine's” one of them; I think the main reason I love this one so much is because it reminds me a ton of Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman," which is as classic of a 90s house tune as they come (you might also know it from T.I.'s 'Why You Wanna') and an obvious influence. The main line here is the possessive repetition of “your soul and mine,” filtered with odd, sporadic windchimes here and there. But then it just explodes, spiralling into a nightmarish world where the grisly gray-bearded visage of Gil Scott Heron holds you captive for eternity. “I'll Take Care of You” might be the most xx-ish song on the album, as bandmate Romy Madley Croft makes a subdued appearance, offering his warm, simple and airy guitar riff that reassuringly responds to Heron's promises. It's just another prime example of the ever-increasing collapsing of genre barriers; who said a gravelly old soul singer, an all-black donning English indie guitarist, a 22-year old electronic producer prodigy who is currently in the studio with Drake and Florence + the Machine, and a keyboard-driven house tune couldn't all just be thrown into one big dance music stew and turn out to be a blue ribbon combo? By not using one sample off of I'm New Here with the exception of Heron's voice, Jamie xx really triumphed in successfully merging old with the new. And since this “new” is truly forward-thinking in its genre-blending nature and isn't the same old recycled thing we've all already heard, well, as long as this guy continues to create sounds that make our ears happy - remix or not - I'm on board. And I don't give a shit if that whiny James Blake isn't.
-K.ZILLA
P.S. Check out two other unbelievable Jamie xx remixes: Adele's “Rolling in the Deep” and Nosaj Thing's “Fog.”
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