Jan van Nuenen’s Thorny Animation for Basement Jaxx
If you’re not going to any of Basement Jaxx’s European tour dates for their new album Scars (which drops today), you can at least simulate the experience by watching this old-school trippy “visual” (yeah we said it) that Dutch animator Jan van Nuenen made for their live show. His thorny cornucopia, seed tossing, crabby parasites and vicious carnivorous plants give Kelis’ chorus, “Kiss me when I wake up,” a totally different (scarier) context. Their shows will open with this video, so if you’re there and have indulged in any psychedelics hopefully you won’t already “be on your journey.” Check out van Nuenen’s other awesome videos here, which deal with nature usurping civilization and industrial malaise.
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posted on Oct 6, 2009 in ART+CULTURE VIDEO tags Basement Jaxx, Chipmunk, electronic/dance, Kelis, Meleka
Video: Gracious K, “Migraine Skank”
In our latest issue, FADER #63, we enlisted our friend Tigga Calore to provide a pictorial how-to for the Migraine Skank, the simple twerky UK Funky dance that’s been hot for months and inspired approximately 90,000 billion YouTube dances. Now, actual MC Gracious K has released an official video, and enlisted a crapload of his friends for it, including London luminaries Chipmunk, N-Dubz, DJ Ironik, Ras Kwame, Gemma and more. He is mad at sharing, though, and disabled the YouTube embed, so to see it you will have to go over to his spot—but it’s worth it.
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posted on Sep 10, 2009 in MUSIC VIDEO tags Chipmunk, DJ Ironik, electronic/dance, Gemma, Gracious K, N-Duz, Ras Kwame, Tigga Calore, uk funky
Basement Jaxx f. Kelis, Meleka & Chipmunk, “Scars” MP3
It’s sort of like Basement Jaxx plugged prog, dubstep and Stankonia-era jeep beats in a blender for this one, but then Basement Jaxx have been their own feisty little Osterizers for a fiery minute now. More interesting is their constant impeccable/weird choice of vocalists you wouldn’t ever think of as pairing well, but who transcend clashing and end up complimenting each other in their own wild way, kind of like wearing something red with purple. In this case, iconoclastic alto Kelis links with higher-pitched UK R&B sensation Meleka, whose UK Funky track with Crazy Cousinz is impossible to stop listening to (and recently got a video). They mix like rum raisin. Add grime teen Chipmunk’s raps slithering easily through operatic sample and boingy sub-bass and it becomes an archetypal Basement Jaxx tumbler of textures and vivid quirks.
Download: Basement Jaxx f. Kelis, Meleka & Chipmunk, “Scars” (via Hattie Collins)
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posted on Sep 9, 2009 in MP3 / STREAMS tags Basement Jaxx, Chipmunk, Crazy Cousins, electronic/dance, grime, Kelis, Meleka
Prancehall’s Bass Odyssey, Part 32
- story THE FADER
I didn’t go to the MOBOs last night, mainly because hardly any of the winning acts ever bother to turn up, the vast majority of popular UK urban music is terrible and the whole event always looks like a total cringe fest on TV. Oh, and I didn’t have a ticket.
Anyway, the big news from the night is that Chipmunk unexpectedly won Best Newcomer. I was pretty non-plussed about this until I saw a video of his shock and glee at winning, which momentarily brought some warmth to my cold, cold heart. After “the jump” read an interview I did with Chipmunk last year.
