Published in the February 2010 Issue of DJ Times Magazine
Volume 23 - Number 01
By Lily Moayeri

The boys of Basement Jaxx seem to have less-than-sophisticated ways to describe their DJ and production toys. A few responses to pointed gear inquiries: “The Pioneer mixer—the standard one with all the effects on it, DJM-1000 or something”; or “The Neumann, the good silver one that everyone has, U something”; or “A mic preamp called… is it Neve? It might be Neve.”

Of course, their less-than-total recall doesn’t seem to hinder their ability to make great music. With Scars (Astralwerks), full-length number five, the U.K. dance-pop duo of Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton have done it again.

Three years since their last CD, Crazy Itch Radio, their latest is both a reflection of the two’s personal lives, and an accurate snapshot of a boiling dancefloor. Very much informed by Ratcliffe’s and Buxton’s increased number of DJing gigs—including an Ibiza residency—Scars enjoyed advantages that the previous CD didn’t.

“Crazy Itch Radio, to me, sounds like it was made by people who haven’t DJed for a while,” says Ratcliffe. “That album could have been vastly improved if we had gone clubbing for a couple of weeks and then gone back, reproduced, and remixed it. The whole thing is a bit soft. It needs a bit more attitude to it. It’s a shame because that album has some good songs, [but] the production is a bit lacking. DJing is a good way to test music.”

For Jaxx devotees, Scars staples: “Twerk,” “Raindrops,” “Feelings Gone,” have been heard—in various incarnations—for the last two years, their development tracked over time. These changes have taken place partially in the duo’s studio in London’s Loughborough Junction district, and partially in New York City’s Stratosphere Sound studios. The duo’s patented quirky, churning brand of house allows Scars to morph from twisted R&B to superclub floorfiller to moody dub and frantic disco.

It was at Stratosphere that the two captured the vocals of Scars’ marquee names: Yoko Ono, Yo’ Majesty, Santogold, Sam Sparro, and Kelis, among others. For all vocals, the Jaxx use a Neumann U87 going through a DBX compressor (originally meant for drums-n-bass, used very gently for vocals) and Neve mic pre-amp. The vocals are then processed with a smidge more compression and a touch of delay. This arrangement has replaced their original set-up with an AKG microphone.
“The Neumann cost us £1,500, the AKG cost £250,” says Ratcliffe “The AKG has a bit more bite to it. It is a bit crunchier. Sometimes we revert back to that. When somebody’s got a rounded voice, a bit wooly, and they haven’t got much punch or tone to their voice, or middle, then we get the AKG out. It’s got more presence.”

The AKG mic figured largely into the Basement Jaxx’s sound in the early days of Remedy and Rooty, a decade ago. Back then, their operation revolved around an Atari 1040, two Akai 1000s, and a Juno keyboard. When recording vocals, the track would be played from the sequencer onto DAT. After vocal sessions were completed, they would go through the DAT, find what they liked, sample it into the Akai and have a keyboard with each key having different vocals.

“It’s painstaking, but it led to our style,” recalls Ratcliffe. “We didn’t know anything about proper direct recording and what a program like Logic could offer. I look back on those days and I admire the simplicity and basic-ness of it. It presented opportunities.”

Nowadays, with the ease of moving through sounds, the Jaxx are having a hard time limiting themselves. And Ratcliffe admits they may have gone over things a few too many times—especially considering that, initially, the Scars recording process included a more introspective collection of sounds. As it turned out, that material makes up the Zephyr album—originally set out to be disc two of Scars, now available on XL/Beggars Group.

“The first music we did for this album was mood, ambient music—a kind of rebellion in a way,” says Ratcliffe. “We didn’t feel like doing club music and we didn’t want to do pop music, which is what is expected of us. We went a bit more introspective and it was a bit more self-indulgent. It was liberating for us.

“[But] I know when people describe Basement Jaxx,” he continues, “they say, ‘You guys you know how to throw a party.’ That’s fair enough. That’s what we’re known for and why we’re here.”
–