Basement Jaxx Prep New Releases, Get to Work With Yoko Ono, Yo! Majesty and Santigold

BY Jason SchreursPublished Jul 14, 2009

Okay, lots of news in the world of UK dance duo Basement Jaxx these days. Most importantly, the house music travelling roadshow brigade releases their fifth album, Scars, in October on XL Recordings.

And that's not all. The duo worked with a wide variety of guests on the new album (which features the cover above), from their regular inclusion of local UK singers and DJs, to none other than Yoko Ono. Yep, the band went to New York specifically to work with Ono and record in the Big Apple to get outside their UK comfort zone.

Other guests on the album include Blue Eyed Soul's Eli "Paperboy" Reed and Sam Sparro (who guest on the album's second single "Feelings Gone"), hip-hoppers Yo! Majesty and singer Santigold, ex-Test Icicle Lightspeed Champion, and Detroit's Amp Fiddler, as well as the Jaxx's latest batch of neighborhood UK talent.

"There's always a few people from 'round the corner," the group's Felix Buxton told Billboard.


The album's first single, "Raindrops," was released on June 21 and entered the British charts at No. 21. Other key tracks on the album include the Ono-sung "Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)," Lightspeed Champion's "She's No Good" and "Twerk," which cops its dance tempo from Flashdance's "Maniac" and is driven by Yo! Majesty's fast-rap ingenuity.

But, if this wasn't already enough, Jaxx have also recorded a second mini-LP, which is "Pink Floyd-y, more ambient-y stuff... more for bath-time music," according to Buxton.

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that North America will see the Jaxx's circus-like roadshow anytime soon. When asked by Billboard if the group would be coming over to play, Buxton replied, "If people like the music and really get into it, then we'll probably come. If they don't, we won't."


In other words, start buying lots of their music and we might just get to see them in concert. In the meantime, you can preview a few of the tracks from Scars here.

Scars:

1. "Raindrops"
2. "Twerk"
3. "Feelings Gone"
4. "Saga"
5. "My Turn"
6. "She's No Good"
7. "Possibility"
8. "Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)"
9. "What's a Girl Got to Do?"
10. "Gimme Something True"
11. "D.I.S.tractionz"

Latest Coverage