Video: Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX, “New York is Killing Me”

November 29, 2010


Earlier this year, after four years of planning and pruning, Gil Scott-Heron released I'm New Here, his first album in over a decade. Produced by Richard Russell, owner of XL Recordings, who also released the album, it's a gruff record, the hoarse aging of Scott-Heron's lustrous tenor given center stage over sparse electronics the occasional stark piano or barren acoustic guitar. Russell, a fan and admirer of The XX, asked Jamie Smith, the group's percussionist and producer, to remix the record. Smith did that, from scratch, producing an album using solely the a capellas, We're New Here, which will be released late February of next year. "New York is Killing Me" is the first single from record. Jamie XX geeks may recognize the instrumental as "Dub Plate One" from his Colette mix, when he was masquerading as "Silentone." Check the first full preview of the album with the video or stream the song and preorder the album werenewhere.com.

Video: Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX, “New York is Killing Me”