San Francisco – “Oh my gosh!”
So begins the debut LP from Jamie xx (real name Jamie Smith), who at just 26 is already a world-renowned DJ and producer and a member of one of the most popular musical outfits today, the UK’s indie dream pop trio The xx. Jamie first came on the scene as a solo artist in 2011 when he remixed Gil Scott-Heron’s 2010 album I’m New Here – released under the new title of We’re New Here – and has since released a handful of singles (namely “Far Nearer” and last year’s “All Under One Roof Raving), including a few tracks that would eventually appear on In Colour. He also had a hand in producing Drake’s 2011 album Take Care. It was only a matter of time before he put together an album consisting of his own material, and now it’s finally here. It was well worth the wait. Having listened to it several times already, I can easily reiterate those three little words that mark the beginning to In Colour: Oh my gosh.
Jamie xx’s style is a jubilant, chaotic mishmash of both original and collected material that draws from an innumerable number of influences. Early UK garage electronica, soulful doo-wop and ear-pleasing steel drums all permeated his initial singles, and such inspiration runs rampant throughout In Colour’s eleven tracks. In Colour is an aptly selected title for this delightful studio debut, as it paints a vivid portrait of dance music past, present and future. His palette consists of a seemingly endless supply of musical inspiration, and is anything but black & white.
In a recent interview with The Fader, Jamie talks about his process and his opinion on the importance of dance music. He feels that “in terms of the sonics, dance music definitely has much more potential to be radical [than other music]. There’s more scope to do crazy things, maybe because it’s been around for less long. Dance music will continue to be radically different, even if it happens slowly, over the next 20 years.” Always somewhat quiet and always humble (he mentions in the same interview that he doesn’t feels like he is “very good at making music”), he doesn’t seem to grasp how important he has been in the development of his field. With The xx—the band in which he shares membership with Oliver Sim and Romy Madly Croft—his role has been absolutely essential, subtly yet powerfully bringing an electric vitality to the hushed tones of his band mates’ lyrics and accompanying instrumentation. Jamie might not realize it, but his contribution to The xx’s musical stylings have already helped shape the present and future states of modern indie pop. With In Colour, he’s taken on dance music as a whole, and it’s no surprise that he’s already changing the face of that genre too.
The album is split pretty evenly between tracks he takes on by himself—most of which incorporate a plethora of diverse sampled material—and those on which he has collaborated with other artists. His The xx band mates appear on a few of the album’s finest tracks, with Oliver Sim offering his vocal talents to “Stranger in a Room,” his highly recognizable drafty vocals floating effortlessly over a soundtrack that holds steady with breezy synths and wispy riffs of soothing guitar that work together as well as salt and pepper. Romy Madly Croft brings similar talent to two songs as well, the first being the album’s third track “Seesaw,” where the use of her voice as an actual organic instrument rather than a centralized figure breathes sultry life into the already tantalizing instrumental arrangement. The second track featuring Romy, “Loud Places,” is a bit more straightforward, putting her vocals front-and-center which offers a more central position to the lyrical content while also playing off the structure of female vocal-driven dance pop songs that was made popular in the 1990s (the song also features a muffled sample of soul-funk artists 1977 song “Could Heaven Ever Be Like This” as the basis for its chorus). This track especially shows Jamie xx’s appreciation for integration of both old and new sources, breaking new ground while also bringing the whole sphere of his field full-circle. There are those that say that history is doomed to repeat itself if we don’t learn about it; in this case it has—in a way—though “doom” is the last word to come to mind.
In Colour also features collaboration with hip-hop artist Young Thug and Jamaican dancehall artist Popcaan, on a song called “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)”, which also features a soul-funk track from the ‘70s, this time belonging to The Persuasions (“Good Times). With this song Jamie xx took things in a much different direction, by using hip hop as a more assertive force in thoughtful juxtaposition to the honey-like sounds of The Persuasions rich vocal harmonies. Again, Jamie is looking both forward and backward, toward the past and the present, in an effort to not only create something new but also the pay homage to the roots of the music we know and enjoy today.
The other tracks on the album showcase not only Jamie xx’s talents as a DJ and producer, but also as a curator. Each of the solo tracks reads and sounds like an installation, an exhibit that calls for discussion, appreciation, and praise. These songs aren’t just someone messing around on their computer; these are diligently constructed sonic sculptures. Each beat, each sample, each subtly positioned chord or sine wave, or whatever, is there for a reason. We got a taste of some of this material back in 2014 with the release of “Sleep Sound” and “Girl”—the album’s second and final tracks, respectively—both of which exhibit not only Jamie xx’s appreciation for music as a whole but also his yearning for variety and nuance.
In that same interview, Jamie mentions that most of the spoken word samples featured on In Colour—such as those in “Gosh” and “Girl”—were lifted from various British sources—such as snippets from films and radio shows—adding that he did so because he “missed home” while recording much of the album. And while they may seem simple—even silly—to a member of the general public, they add a very important factor of identity to the mix. Proclaiming identity can be a tricky chore to accomplish, yet Jamie achieves that goal in a way that is admirable and endearing.
It seems funny that someone as talented and forward thinking as Jamie xx doesn’t seem to recognize his own talent. In the past several years he has remixed an entire album, co-written two albums with his band (with the third on the way), toured extensively and aided in producing some of the most popular music of the past decade, yet he remains humble. Despite becoming one of the most highly revered DJ/producers of the modern age, he’s keeping his cool. His humility adds an unexpected freshness to his talent, which shines brightly on In Colour. If dance music really does have a future, it’s because Jamie xx has had a hand in it.
In Colour is available June 1st (June 2nd in the US) via Young Turks. Jamie xx is on tour through the summer and fall in North America and Europe, including stops at the Bonnaroo festival and HARD SUMMER.
For more information on Jamie xx visit his website or his Facebook page.
Corey Bell
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