The event is to be staged over the entire first floor of the hotel, and the organisers are promising ‘the signature event of 2015’.
Basement Jaxx rose to popularity in the late 1990s and are now renowned as one of the UK’s best electronic music acts, having previously headlined Glastonbury and won a BRIT Award for Best Dance Act in 2002 and 2004.
Their compilation album Basement Jaxx: The Singles topped the UK album charts and received two platinum certificates, and their single Never Say Never from their seventh album, Junto, topped the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
The event, which is called Togetherness, is part of a collaboration between two Jersey-based club promoters, Firethorn Productions (ICONIC) and Together Parties. Warren Le Sueur, of Together Parties, said that this event would mark the first of many collaborations between the Royal Yacht’s Craig Alder and Firethorn Productions.
‘We are very excited at the prospect of this being a sell-out,’ added Warren.
‘We urge people to arrive as early as possible to enjoy the festivities we have in store for them.
‘It’s going to be amazing.’
An interview with Basement Jaxx is available online at jerseyeveningpost.com.
Warren, Simon Gasston and Craig Alder will be supporting on the night. Tickets are £30 and are available online at eventbrite.co.uk.
This will be your second visit to Jersey – tell us a bit about your previous experience here.
Headlining the Main Stage at Jersey Live just after Dizzee Rascal in 2009 was a pretty unforgettable moment for a lot of people in the island…
I remember it was very good, and we’d worked with Dizzee Rascal before then and have a good relationship with him, so it was nice to catch up with him. It was 2009 so I guess we would have been playing stuff from Scars at that time. We’ve done countless shows since then so I have dim but very fond memories.
You’ll be DJing in Jersey rather than playing a live set – is it liberating to get back to basics and play tunes without the madness and scale of a typical Jaxx live show?
Yes, exactly. It’s all about the music in a DJ set and it’s just me and Felix trying to take you on a journey. A live show is always rehearsed and although you have improvised moments there are so many people involved that you have to rehearse, whereas with a DJ set you have much more freedom to try out tracks that you’ve been working on or that people have sent to you, and you’re much more reactive to crowd; you play according to how the audience are responding. There are various directions it can go in, which is always very interactive.
Do you miss the days of running your Basement Jaxx club night, and are you ever tempted to bring it back?
Not really, we never like to look back too much and those events were of their time, something I don’t think we’d really be able to replicate now. It took a lot of energy and it’s a big commitment if you want it to be a success, even with underground parties. A month always came around very quickly, as any promoter knows. We’d make new tracks especially for our nights and bring in different guest vocalists and we couldn’t do that now. Also things have moved on now, this was Brixton in the late nineties, early noughties. Those days were a big part in our rise and I suppose there was an excitement about that area at that time in the same way that there’s an excitement about east London now. This was before the days of Instagram but I fortunately managed to film most of it, so we have a record of it all and I look back at it affectionately. But it would be a bit pointless to try and recreate it now.
Which leads me nicely into my next question: what have you observed to be the biggest changes in dance music, and pop music in general, since you first started out?
Well the Basement Jaxx nights started out in ’94 and me and Felix tried as best as we could to recreate what we imagined was the aesthetic sense of a Chicago, Detroit, New York underground house club. Dance music back then was still very much under the radar – it was obviously still in the charts at the time but nothing compared to now, as it’s just exploded and become part of the musical vocabulary of everything. Everything’s referring to dance music, be it hip hop or rock music. We were there at one part of the growth and now it’s grown from a small tree into this great oak tree. I’m not sure where I’m going with this analogy. I don’t have an end point…
I think you’re just about holding the analogy together – it works!
I was about to start getting squirrels involved…
And how have audiences changed, AND, have you had to alter your approach or outlook at all to meet with the new needs and expectations of modern audiences?
There was definitely a point seven or eight years ago, I guess with dubstep, where electronic music was becoming very hard and harsh, and the things that we connected with, more soulful house music, were less popular. There were some great things in that scene but for quite a while now, probably thanks to the likes of Disclosure and a whole bunch of new artists updating that classic house sound, it’s become part of the musical language once again. The thing that’s changed is production values. When we first started there was a charm for things to maybe be a bit under-produced, to be homemade or crunchy, whereas now everything sounds really good and if it doesn’t have that production value it won’t cut it on the dancefloor.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing to be honest. I suppose ‘both’ is the answer. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Sometimes under-produced captures a moment that comes from the heart, but equally Disclosure has incredibly high production value but they’re distinctive and have a lot of character and personality in their music. Equally, however, there are a lot of over-produced things that sound like they were made by a machine. I think it’s dangerous to compare eras though. People always do it; they were doing it when we first started out and they do it now. Maybe another big change is the volume of music to sift through. People want to find something undiscovered and exclusive but there’s a lot to sift through, and that’s hard.
You’ve collaborated with some pretty amazing artists and vocalists – who has been your favourite, and who would be your dream guest vocalist?
God, there’s loads. Michelle NdegeOcello who did Kish Kash with us. We’re big fans of her and she has a beautiful voice, a great energy and she’s really proactive in the way she works. It was a thrill and an honour to work with Yoko Ono, and Siouxsie Sioux was cool, although we never actually met her. It was the only time we’ve ever just been sent a vocal track as she was living in France. She sent it over, it was great, and all relatively easy. It’s equally thrilling though to work with vocalists who are completely unknown. Some of our most famous songs, like Red Alert or Where’s Your Head At? Were with people who were relatively unknown at the time, and that’s really exciting. I mean, if Aretha Franklin came along and asked to do a song with us I’m sure I’d say yes, but I’d probably prefer to find someone unknown.
And you’ve been working in film in recent years (scores for Attack the Block and Hooping Life) – how did these projects come about and is it something you’d like to do more of?
We’d definitely like to do more. It’s a totally different process but rewarding in its own way. It’s more like an office job in that you’re there to provide music to serve a purpose. The picture comes first and music is subservient to the film. It makes you more humble I think; when you’re making an album, and especially when you’ve had a bit of success, you can start to question the meaning of life a bit and question all the possibilities of where you can go next. When scoring a film you have to just get on with it; you still have to make it sound great but you’re working for someone, the director.
What’s next for you both – a follow up to Junto or something else entirely?
Probably not a new album. Junto was our seventh album and we don’t want to retread old ground. We’re going off to work on Night of the Proms in Belgium and Holland, with an orchestra performing our songs. We have to be on site to work with them for twelve days, so that’s the immediate future. We’re playing lots of DJ sets, we’ve got sets in China coming up, and we’re back in Manchester on New Year’s Day. I’ve also been working with an incredible Czech jazz band called the NTS Trio who are signed to Gearbox Records. Felix is keen to write a musical. I’ve also started working with an unknown, unsigned artist called Georgia Campbell from Auckland in New Zealand, she’s 19 years old and has a great voice and great ideas. I’m also continuing to work on my own project Dorus Rijkers, which is my take on jazz/electro fusion. I suppose we’re just taking time to make music purely from the heart and to indulge ourselves a bit. I think it’s healthy to do that. I can’t see another Basement Jaxx album happening for some reason, but maybe if it was something a bit different… we might get asked to soundtrack another film and release that as an album. That could be the next thing.
Sara sets her sights on the sounds of the studio
Name: Sara Strudwick.
Genre: Nothing in particular.
Fun fact:
Coco Pops are my comfort food.
When did you first get involved in music?
Three and a half years ago, when I met Jaime Boylan of B Vocal Jsy.
Where can Islanders see you play?
Here and there. I’ve been lucky enough to be around the Big Gig scene for the past three years, but at the moment A-levels are keeping me busy.
Who is your music idol?
Tori Kelly.
What is your favourite song of all time?
It changes just about every week. At the moment I’m loving Levels by Nick Jonas.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Gotta love some Taylor Swift.
What song do you hate the most?
I can roll with almost anything, but please don’t make me listen to anything screamo.
How would you rate Jersey’s nightlife?
Ask me that in two years – I’m only 16.
Where’s the best place for a night out in Jersey?
TGI’s? I’m 16!
Where is the best place to perform in Jersey?
Anywhere with a good atmosphere.
If you could play any venue in the world, where would it be?
Madison Square Garden.
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
Dance floor or bar? Dance floor.
LP or MP3? LP… really?
Live or recorded? Live for sure.
Tupac or Biggie? Tupac.
60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or 00s? 90s.
X Factor or The Voice? I feel like I should probably say X Factor …
FROM the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent to ‘boot camp’ on the X-Factor, a 16-year-old Jersey singer is already making waves on the national scene.
And now, A-level student Sara Strudwick is setting her sights on the recording game and has recently released a cover version of Sam Smith’s hit James Bond theme Writing’s On The Wall.
Smith’s track shot to the top of the UK’s single charts earlier this month.
Hautlieu student Sara recorded the song with the help of Dream Box Studios, a locally based recording company set up by Jack Helm.
Sara got through to the X-Factor’s boot camp stage and reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent.
She was also put forward by her vocals coach, Jaime Boylan, for a Jersey Evening Post Pride of Jersey Award earlier this year, for overcoming her initial nerves and gaining confidence as a singer.
The teenager’s first big performance was in 2013, when she was selected to support X Factor stars James Arthur and Union J, as well as JLS at the Big Gig in the Park.
Since then she has performed at Howard Davis Park and even supported legendary Welshman Sir Tom Jones.
Of her latest release, Sara said that performing the track did pose certain challenges but that she was excited get her name out there.
‘This isn’t my first release,’ she said.
‘I recorded a song called Recovery, which was originally sung by James Arthur, with DreamBox Studios, which was my first proper track.
‘I chose to cover the song because it’s current and new, and I love Sam Smith.
‘There are always challenges when covering songs from people who are so talented. Luckily, I found this one more fun than difficult, and Jack from DreamBox Studios is great to work with. As for my hopes for this track, I suppose I just want to get myself out there and be heard.’
The song is available to listen to Sara’s YouTube channel or Facebook page, or online at jerseyeveningpost.com.
‘We hope to have it available for purchase on iTunes very soon,’ she added.
DREAMBOX Studios is the brainchild of musician-cum-producer Jack Helm, who spoke to the JEP’s Nightlife about what it is all about and about working with Sara …
‘I started DreamBox Studios six months ago with the aim of providing professional quality recording and filming that was extremely affordable.
‘It has done just that, and I’ve worked with some fantastic musicians along the way.
‘Sara has had two tracks recorded and filmed here, the first being Recovery by James Arthur and the second Writing’s On The Wall by Sam Smith.
‘She is great to work with, very professional, and I have to thank Jaime Boylan from B Vocal Jersey for sending her my way.
‘I originally studied as a session guitarist, so I often get asked to record acoustic backing tracks for vocalists to sing over.
‘This way, they can ask for the track to be in a specific key and tempo.
‘You’ll see an example of this in Sara’s next video, which is due to be released soon, where we go for a more acoustic approach.’
Dates For The Diary
7 Nov
- The Royal Yacht: Basement Jaxx, at 8 pm
- Blue Note: Live Electric Blues, at 4 pm; The Watsons
- The Dolphin: L is M
- Kitty OSheas: Gleasmor
- Ommaroo Hotel: Gary Palmer
- Soleil: Northern Soul & Motown with DJ Rex
- The Star: Parish 13
- Union Inn: Karaoke
13 Nov
- The Drift: Live acoustic with Hayley & Will
- The Inn: Megan
- Kitty OSheas: Billy the Fish & Vinny
- Ommaroo Hotel: Gary Parkin & Sue-Sue Monet
- Robertos Jazz Bar, Savoy Hotel: Brian White Jazz Quartet
- The Star: Raw Prawns
14 Nov
- Blue Note: Live Electric Blues, at 4 pm; Sgt Pipon
- Kitty OSheas: Not 2 Shabby
- Ommaroo Hotel: Gary Palmer
- Soleil: Northern Soul & Motown with DJ Rex
- The Star: WTF
- Union Inn: Karaoke
