Basement Jaxx

Basement Jaxx are a house music duo from London, England. The duo consists of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s.

Basement Jaxx started in Brixton, South London in 1994, where they held a regular night club called Basement Jaxx. Held in a variety of venues including The George IV, The Crypt and The Junction. They were joined by DJs including DJ Sneak, Daft Punk and the singer Corrina Joseph. They mutated the night into a equally popular club called Rooty, the namesake of their second artist album. In 1999, the group released their first full length album, Remedy. Remedy included the single "Red Alert", which was featured in the film, Bend It Like Beckham, and commercials including Nickelodeon and Coca-Cola. Other singles on this album were "Jump N' Shout", "Bingo Bango" and "Rendez Vu", which is Basement Jaxx's highest UK Singles Chart entry to date at number 4. Basement Jaxx also released Jaxx Unreleased, a compilation album of B-sides, remixes and other assorted material, in 1999.

Their next album, 2001's Rooty included singles "Romeo", "Jus 1 Kiss", "Where's Your Head At?", "Do Your Thing" and "Get Me Off". The music video for album opener "Romeo" is an homage to the Bollywood film style. "Where's Your Head At?" became an international hit in 2002, also known for its inclusion on the Tomb Raider soundtrack. Xxtra Cutz was released shortly after Rooty, containing b-sides from this album's singles.

2003 brought Basement Jaxx's third full length album, Kish Kash, which included contributions from Lisa Kekaula (of the Bellrays), Me'shell Ndegeocello, Dizzee Rascal, Totlyn Jackson, JC Chasez, Siouxsie Sioux and Phoebe. From this album, the tracks "Lucky Star", "Good Luck", and "Plug It In" were released as singles. The track "Good Luck" was re-released in 2004, after exposure from being the theme to BBC's Euro 2004 coverage, and was also featured in the soundtrack of Just Married and Appleseed, an anime film released in 2004. Kish Kash was recognized the following year at the 47th Grammy awards, winning Buxton and Ratcliffe the inaugural 'Best Electronic/Dance Album' award.

In 2005, the duo released the compilation The Singles along with a video collection on DVD, comprising all the singles from their previous three albums, some earlier releases (featured on Atlantic Jaxx Recordings: A Compilation), and two new tracks, "Oh My Gosh" and "U Don't Know Me", which were both released as singles. The Singles (Special Edition) was also released, which contained the original compilation along with a bonus disc entitled Bonus Traxx, containing many previously-unreleased tracks, as well as remixes of existing Basement Jaxx songs. The duo appeared as a headline act on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2005 when Kylie Minogue was forced to pull out after being diagnosed with cancer. Basement Jaxx played with a live band made up of artists who recorded the album. Drumtech trained Nathan 'Tugg' Curran was on drums for Glastonbury has remained a constant performer.

Their fourth studio album, Crazy Itch Radio, was released on 4 September 2006 in the UK, simultaneously with its first single, "Hush Boy". The album featured guest vocals by Martina Sorbara (credited as "Martina Bang"), Lily Allen and Robyn. In 2006 Basement Jaxx were also one of the support acts for Robbie Williams on his 'Close Encounters' tour. For Cyndi Lauper's Bring Ya to the Brink in 2008, they produced and wrote the track "Rocking Chair".

In addition to their own work, Basement Jaxx have become in-demand remixers. Their more prominent work includes "4 My People" by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, "Like I Love You" by Justin Timberlake and "She Wants to Move" by NER*D. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, as well as The Botz and Garold Marks, have stated they are fans and would like to collaborate with Basement Jaxx in the future.

The duo were invited to write an exclusive piece of music to accompany a work of art they admired in London's Tate Modern museum, Karel Appel's "Hip, Hip, Hoorah!". The work is not available for sale, but can be listened to in the gallery or its official site. In 2007, their track "Close Your Eyes" was featured in the Japanese CGI anime movie, Vexille.

In 2009, Buxton revealed in a BBC Radio 1 broadcast that Basement Jaxx's forthcoming album Scars was completed and being mastered. Buxton stated that the tracks include guest appearances by Yoko Ono, Santigold, Lightspeed Champion and Yo! Majesty. The band was also interested in getting Grace Jones to add vocals to the new album. The album was released in September 2009. The first single "Raindrops" preceded in June 2009.

Extensive touring took place with a live band famed for its 'carnival' atmosphere, featuring Vula Malinga, Sharlene Hector, Cassie Watson, Rhonda Humphrey, Slarta John (vocals), Nathan Curran aka Tugg, Oli Savil (drums), Ben Edwards, Mike Kearsey, Mark Brown (*Atlantic Horns - brass section)

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