If your feet have ever taken you to a dance floor, you have, in all probability heard and maybe even danced to the music of Basement Jaxx. And you probably enjoyed it too. Now, 17 years since this acclaimed house music duo’s inception in Brixton, London, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe are flying over to India for the first time to headline the Eristoff Wolves Den at this year’s Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune with a DJ set.
“The live set is very different. We have about 12 people on stage and there’s a whole visual element of the show that is involved,” explains Felix and adds, “Whereas, in a way, the DJ set is more like the way Basement Jaxx started up in the first place. It takes in all different styles of music — other people’s music too. It’s back to the original vibe, and is probably the first incarnation of Basement Jaxx. It’s got less to do with the show and more to do with dancing and bringing everyone together.” Seems apt then that the Jaxx are performing at the Weekender.
With India having spent the better part of the last two years gradually opening up as a viable and essential destination on the world music tour map, it was only a matter of time till international acts like Basement Jaxx began to visit. But how difficult was the process of bringing them over? According to Only Much Louder CEO Vijay Nair, it wasn’t very tough at all. “We’ve known Basement Jaxx’s agents for a while and have spoken about them coming to India,” he says and adds, “It was just about finding the right time for them to come down and the Weekender was perfect for that.”
Felix and Simon used to spin records at a club night called Basement Jaxx in the early nineties that was held at different venues in and around, and the name stuck ever since. Incidentally, electronic music duo Daft Punk (among a host of other big names) also used to DJ at these club nights. At the start, it was house music that inspired Felix, but over time, all sorts of influences began to creep in. He elaborates, “House music coming from Chicago and New York was definitely the starting point. And that took in gospel
influences, Latin influences, soul influences; it was music from the ghettos, very rhythmical and it had a sort of urban edge to it and that’s where we started. But after a couple of years, other influences started coming in — punk, rock and electro.”
It was around the end of the last millennium that Basement Jaxx rose to prominence with their first studio album Remedy. But it was a couple of years later with the release of the album Rooty that the act went supernova with the track Where’s Hour Head At? This infectious little ditty took music charts all across the world by storm along, accompanied by one of the most memorable music videos ever made (see for yourself on YouTube), appeared on a number of film soundtracks, blared out of the speaker systems of countless clubs and was even covered by Pentagram at the last Weekender.
Having performed all over the world at numerous weird and wonderful venues (more on that in just a moment) and only weeks away from his maiden voyage to India, Felix has a second agenda (apart from the playing music part, obviously). “I’ve heard a lot about Indian culture, music and cinema, and I grew up in Leicester (where I was born), which has probably got one of the biggest Indian populations in the UK. So I suppose it’s a culture I’ve known about, but I want to see the source of the culture,” he says and continues, “Also, I’m looking forward to meeting the people and just making a human connection.”
One doesn’t get to be a career musician without gathering a few bizarre experiences along the way, and Basement Jaxx is no different. “I remember one gig where we were DJing in Ibiza, I think. We were in the middle of a really big swimming pool on a little island. We were a long way from the people. It felt very odd. I also remember a live show on the top of a mountain in Sweden,” he offers and adds with some exasperation, “The weather was absolutely appalling — torrential rain and winds. Why would anyone want to be there at that time, let alone dance around?”
Sharing a line-up with around 150 other artistes across six stages in Pune’s lovely November weather sounds like a walk in the park in comparison. Veterans of massive music festivals, the Jaxx have over the years played alongside a variety of artistes and
bands at some of the grandest stages in the world. So what keeps it fresh for them? “Well, with electronic music, I find dubstep very interesting and exciting. There’s a band called Little Dragon that I like,” says Felix.
As always, there’s a flipside. “I think at the moment, there’s a lot of chart music that I find very uninspiring. It seems to lack soul or meaning. I used to love hip-hop, but a lot of it now seems cheap and without integrity. I like music to have depth and integrity so I can believe it,” he laments and continues, “The thing with music is that it always goes in cycles. I’m sure there will be some great music coming soon in the next year or so, because it’s been a couple of years where it’s been all about drinking champagne, partying and cash. And it’s all a bit shallow.”
Basement Jaxx will be playing a DJ Set at the Eristoff Wolves Den at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender (November 18 to 20) in Pune.