FEATURE:
Childhood Treasures: Albums That Impacted Me
Basement Jaxx - Remedy
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I might run this feature down…
as I have covered albums that were important to me during childhood. It was a special time where I was discovering and digesting as many albums as possible. One that was important arrived at the very end of my childhood. I would say sixteen is the transition from childhood to adulthood. One of the best of 1999 arrived from Basement Jaxx. Their debut, Remedy, was a reaction to the rather bland and lifeless Dance and Club music that was round then – especially what was coming from the U.K. I will come onto my memories of the album and why it was pivotal. It was exciting hearing Basement Jaxx arrive. Remedy is packed with colour and a fusion of sounds. Although Pitchfork gave Remedy a crappy review – they are loathed to give too much praise! -, most were very impressed and heralded a terrific group. In fact, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe are the men and brains behind the Jaxx. I don’t think we have really seen another act like them. There is some okay Dance and Electronic music now, though few acts can match the headiness and bliss one gets from an album like Remedy. It is worth bringing in a couple of positive reviews for Remedy. This is what AllMusic had to offer:
“The duo's long-awaited debut album is one of the most assured, propulsive full-lengths the dance world had seen since Daft Punk's Homework. A set of incredibly diverse tracks, Remedy is indebted to the raw American house of Todd Terry and Masters at Work, and even shares the NuYoricans' penchant for Latin vibes (especially on the horn-driven "Bingo Bango" and the opener, "Rendez-Vu," which trades a bit of salsa wiggle with infectious vocoderized disco). True, Ratcliffe and Buxton do sound more like an American production team than a pair of Brixton boys would -- they get props (and vocal appearances) from several of the best American house producers out there including DJ Sneak, Erick Morillo, and Benji Candelario. And "U Can't Stop Me" is an R&B production that could probably have gotten airplay in major rap markets across the U.S. Elsewhere, Buxton and Ratcliffe chew up and spit out mutated versions of hip-hop, ragga, Latin, R&B, soul, and garage -- the varied sound that defined the worldwide house scene of the late '90s”.
I don’t think Remedy is a product of the late-1990s; an album that has not aged too well or cannot resonate. I listen to the album now and it sounds so big, important and mesmeric! It is no wonder that so many tipped Basement Jaxx for great things in 1999! This is what NME wrote in their review:
“Indeed, 'Remedy' is probably as good a dance album (and that's dance as in, have a dance) as anyone from these Isles has produced this decade. Hate them that little bit more now? Come on, fight it. Imagine, instead, that you're fiddling through the radio band looking for something that, for a change, consistently surprises and lifts you. 'Remedy' is that pirate. It's a wonderful new frequency where house, ragga, techno, soul, funk... Jesus, flamenco are all mashed together and it feels like some kind of perfect moment.
It's a soundtrack that starts frantically in the dead of night and progresses to a peaceful, if disoriented dawn. Here is beautifully melodic dance music that's free of pretensions, but rammed with bold intelligence; that hits you as hard in the guts as it does in the feet. It's an excellent ride.
It starts unconventionally with the folk techno barrage of 'Rendez-Vu', all flamenco guitars, vocoder and romantic longing, and really doesn't look back. Marvel at 'Jump'n'Shout''s heads-down/hands-up ragga nuttiness (MC Slarta quite rightly scorning those who, "never did know the rules/They never did go to Basement Jaxx school"). Laugh at the genius of turning The Selecter's 'On My Radio' into a punky hip-hop anthem on 'Same Old Show'. And wonder how Goldie can ever make another concept album now that his whole long-playing career has been so economically condensed into 'Always Be There''s spun-out six minutes.
These are some of the peaks on an album that really - save for 'Bingo Bango''s over-exuberant Latino outburst - doesn't have any dips. In fact 'Remedy' describes itself accurately. Maybe it will cure the British dance disease of confusing intelligence with a need to journey up its own arse, and it highlights, once again, that musical boundaries are only there to be blurred. Above all, though, it blasts your petty prejudices clean out of the water”.
My first experience with Remedy is the huge single, Red Alert. It is the highlight of the album. I have said this in own features, but that song was played at my high school leaving prom in 1999. It was a slightly bittersweet night - though music played then has stuck with me. I was not a huge fan of House or that style of music. I was much more about Pop and R&B during the 1990s. Songs like Red Alert were really eye-opening! I became more engaged with Dance after that. I broadened my viewpoint and listened to more Techno, Café Del Mar, Club classics, modern Electronica and music that I had otherwise have overlooked. Remedy was a really important album that soundtracked various moments as I left high school. Other favourite songs from the album of mine include Rendez-Vu, Yo-Yo and Bingo Bango. Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe blended these cocktails together and made them work. With elements of Latin House, Ragga-House and so much more, there is so much to enjoy through Remedy. I listen to the album now and I can still get so much from it! Such an enjoyable, varied and rich record, I hope that it does inspire artists still. I feel Dance music is not in a great state now. Artists and musicians could do well to borrow some elements from Remedy. The year 1999 was a changing one from me where I left high school and started sixth form college. I see that year as me going into adulthood and, in many ways, leaving my childhood behind. Therefore, albums from that year are so important. Right near the top of the list is…
BASEMENT Jaxx’s debut masterpiece.