The xx beatmaker’s long-awaited solo debut offers an impressive spectrum of sonic palette that both reflects and celebrates the UK’s iconic club culture
Jamie xx / In Colour
There’s no denying that a big part of The xx’s crossover success came from the ingenuity of the man behind a soundboard called Jamie Smith, otherwise known as Jamie xx. Influenced and inspired by the dance-oriented sounds of the past, the young British producer has crafted his own approach to electronic music with elements of different genres including R&B, pop and indie.
With The xx, he’s responsible for rounding out the group’s overall sound by using minimal, skeletal beats. But as a producer-slash-remixer striking out on his own, Jamie has demonstrated great versatility by reinterpreting Gill Scott-Heron’s 2010 studio album, I’m New Here, and reworking it into an excellent remix album, We’re New Here.
After a series of one-off singles and a brief hiatus, Jamie finally emerges with his first proper full-length album, In Colour. Working with fellow British producer Four Tet, he expands on his soundscapes and showcases them through the album’s 11 tracks. By now you may have already heard gorgeous lead single Loud Places, which features The xx’s frontwoman Romy Madley-Croft, who in the opening verse whispers: “I go to loud places/To search for someone to be quiet with.” Truly a joy to listen to, the track one of the most xx-sounding numbers of the entire set, with its subtle trip-hop traces of Intro, the widely-featured instrumental number from The xx’s 2009 self-titled debut album.
And that’s not the last we see of her — Madley-Croft also appears on SeeSaw, where she evocatively intones “I’m on a seesaw, up and down with you” in muted vocals. Oliver Sim, another xx member, also has a hand in a subsequent track called Stranger in a Room. “Tonight I fell for the outline/Of someone I’ve wanted to know/‘Cause here under the blue lights/There’s always someone I’ve wanted to know,” sings Sim, echoing that yearning-for-someone sentiment of Loud Places.
Elsewhere there’s a handful of standouts such as the ghostly, skittering beats of Sleep Sound and Hold Tight, the steel drum extravaganza of Obvs and the slightly out-of-place dancehall stylings of I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times), which features guest verses from Young Thug and Popcaan. The album then concludes with The Rest Is Noise and Girl — the former a meld of off-kilter electronic flourishes, cascading piano chords and hand claps, the latter a platform for samples which includes a spoken word from British television show Top Boy and a guitar line from The Whitest Boy Alive’s Burning.
Built mostly on minimalist aesthetics, In Colour is a reverential collage of influences plucked from the UK club scene in which Jamie was a part of. Not only does this collection of clever and well thought-out tracks look back on the different eras of UK dance music with great fondness, it also provides us with a realistic glimpse into the future of dance music as a whole. And thanks to Jamie, the future is looking bright. n
THE PLAYLIST
Part Time Musicians/ Magic Rhyme
Thailand’s very own indie psychedelic six-piece Part Time Musicians never seem to disappoint whenever they crank out new music, and their latest offering, Magic Rhyme, is no exception. Hinged on a push-and-pull rhythm, the track gives off an outlandish vibe that has become the band’s sonic MO. “Oh, if had a magic rhyme/I’d draw a cast to turn back time/Be all the answers you can’t find/Do all the things to make you’re mine,” intones frontwoman Wanrada Vichaithanaruks in her signature inflection that could pass off as a magical evocation of higher spirits.
Leon Bridges/ Coming Home
Hailing from Fort Worth, Texas, American gospel-soul revivalist Leon Bridges is serving up an obscene dose of nostalgia in the form of Coming Home, the first single taken from his forthcoming debut album of the same name. Over the gentle sway of old-school R&B-soul groove, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter croons, “I’m coming home/To your tender sweet loving/You’re my one and only woman/The world leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, girl/You’re the only one that I want.” Brimming with swooning retro aesthetics, the song gives us a pretty sweet slice of 1960s, and we want more.
Omar Souleyman/ Bahdeni Nami
After collaboration with Four Tet on 2013’s Wenu Wenu, Syria’s celebrated wedding singer Omar Souleyman has teamed up with the London producer once again on Bahdeni Nami, the title track lifted from Souleyman’s new album. Here, the euphoric eight-minute-plus jam finds the 49-year-old singing about being madly in love over exhilarating dabke dance music. Aside from Four Tet, the new LP will also feature collaborations with other established electronic producers including Legowelt, Modeselektor, and Gilles Peterson.
Disclosure (featuring Gregory Porter)/ Holding On
Following Bang That a few weeks back, the British electronic duo have dropped another new track from their September-due sophomore release called Holding On. Featuring Grammy Award-winning American jazz vocalist Gregory Porter on vocal duties, Holding On is a soulful number built around the Lawrence brothers’ trademark two-step garage beat and simmering synths. “But it’s holding on/And it’s holding strong/Even though I tried to make it/Played the part, but I can’t fake it,” Porter offers in the chorus. There’s also a tangible amount of ’90s house vibes bubbling underneath if you listen closely enough.
Beirut/ No No No
Zach Condon and Co have finally returned after a four-year absence with No No No, the band’s first and long-awaited studio output since 2011’s excellent The Rip Tide. The band has shared with us the title track from their upcoming LP — a breezy little ditty where joyful horn arrangements do the traditional dabke dance with jaunty syncopated melodies. The end result is a classic Beirut track that brilliantly blends contemporary pop with exotic elements of Eastern European folk music. And for those who were wondering, No No No is due out this September. n
