Basement Jaxx
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
The 1995 single Samba Magic was picked up for distribution by Virgin, and in time, Basement Jaxx was drawing praise from all corners of the American and British house community as one of the top house production units. The pair spent much of 1996 working on remixes (for the Pet Shop Boys, Roger Sanchez, and Lil Mo Yin Yang among others), then released a third Basement Jaxx EP. One track from the EP, Flylife, became a Top 20 hit in England after being re-released by Multiply in mid-1997, and the single proved one of the most popular anthems of the year on the worldwide club scene. Late that year, Ratcliffe and Buxton released a compilation of their most crucial Atlantic Jaxx sides.
After being courted by several major labels, Basement Jaxx signed to the independent XL Recordings (also home to the Prodigy) and readied their debut full-length, Remedy, for a 1999 release. Second album Rooty followed two years later, an outgrowth of the duos similarly named club night. 2003s Kish Kash and 2006s Crazy Itch Radio followed, while Singles was a well-timed stopgap release between the two albums.
