Tag Archives: The xx

[NEW] The xx – On Hold

After teasing fans with mysterious clips on their Spotify page, The xx have officially returned today with a stunning new single and an album on the way. During their 3 year hiatus, die-hard fans (myself included) could take solace in In Colour, the debut solo outing from Jamie xx, the trio’s masterful producer. On that project, Jamie got a chance to depart from the somber sound of his band delving deeper into the elements of dance music he had already subtly showcased on The xx’s first two albums. With the help of an incredible Idris Muhammad sample, Jamie xx and bandmate Romy Croft crafted one of 2015’s best songs with “Loud Places,” which held a triumphant, uplifting vibe unlike anything we’d heard from the group.

As I speculated and waited for new music, I couldn’t help but wonder how Jamie’s ‘colour’ might impact The xx’s 3rd album. Today we get the answer with “On Hold”–the perfect marriage between The xx’s heart-wrenching aura and Jamie’s matured sound. While the song features complex, 4×4 percussion, Jamie employs filters and dramatic pads to make room for his bandmates’ signature reverb-ed guitar and heart breaking vocals. As the song approaches its most stark moment, the chorus erupts with an irresistible Hall & Oates sample that oozes pure joy.

At it’s core “On Hold” tells the tale of letting someone go and the disappointment of them moving on, but its potent chorus offers a light at the end of the tunnel–one that was just flickering on their last album, Coexist. 

I See You, the third studio album from The xx, is out on January 13th via Young Turks–you can pre-order it here. We’ll have this one on repeat while we wait.

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[Electronic] Jamie xx, Romy & Four Tet – Seesaw (Club Version)

Jamie xx + Four Tet + Romy
Seesaw (club version)

Jamie xx‘s 2015 album In Colour hasn’t even been out for a year yet and it’s already clear that it’ll have some serious staying power. I don’t think a week has passed since it’s release that I haven’t given it a cover-to-cover listen. Although it’s impossible to pick a favorite, “Seesaw,” one of two songs featuring The xx-collaborator Romy Croft, possesses a particularly hypnotizing aesthetic. The combination of a house sensibility, UK garage-influenced percussion and Romy’s soaring vocals creates a texture signature to Jamie xx.

Unsurprisingly, Four Tet, a pioneer in his own right, also contributed to the production of “Seesaw,” which apparently stemmed from sessions all the way back in 2013. This year, Four Tet slightly re-tooled the song with, in his own words, “different drums and mix and arrangement.” The result, as its suffix suggests, is a dance floor-ready version of the track released today that manages to bring a new energy without losing a touch of the original’s magic. This one will definitely be a regular in the weekend mix. It’s also rumored that Justin Martin has a remix of “Seesaw” in the works. We won’t hold our breathe but this should do just fine to hold us over regardless.

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[NEW] Jamie xx – I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times) (feat. Young Thug & Popcaan)

Jamie xx
There's Gonna Be (Good Times) (feat. Young Thug & Popcaan)

When looking over the tracklist for Jamie xx‘s upcoming album, the Young Thug  and Popcaan feature was by far the most intriguing, unexpected inclusion. A little over a week ago, a leak of the far-out collab, featuring only Thug’s contribution, hit the Interwebs and it had all the makings of a summer anthem. The leak was swiftly removed from most major websites, but today we’re blessed with the final version of the song.

Jamie xx crafts an incredibly bright, and uncharacteristic, backdrop for Young Thug and Popcaan utilizing his signature steel drums and yet another masterfully placed soul sample echoing “I know there’s gonna be good times.” Popcaan’s perfected dancehall crooning opens things before Thugger’s playful, melodic flow takes over flawlessly, matching the instrumental’s overwhelmingly positive, bright energy.  Popcaan seamlessly takes back over between Thug’s verses and handles the outro before it fades into the infectious sample. This is, in our minds, one of the best songs to come out this year and we’ll be jamming out to it as we wait for the release of In Colour on June 2nd–pre order here.

Although this collaboration might come as a surprise to many, Jamie alluded to becoming a big fan of Young Thug while he was living in New York in a recent interview with XXL and, based on how perfect the combo sounds, he seems to have a true grasp of exactly what it is that makes Thug’s music so strangely addicting. It’s yet another testament not only to Jamie xx’s production abilities, but also his keen ear as a DJ developed through his immense, diverse musical knowledge.

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[NEW] Jamie xx – Loud Places (feat. Romy of The xx)

Jamie xx
Loud Places (ft. Romy Croft)

Jamie xx stopped by Annie Mac‘s BBC Radio 1 show earlier this week to premiere a single from his upcoming debut solo album, In Colour, and it truly lives up to the title of “Hottest Record In the World.” Calling on The xx bandmate, Romy Craft, Jamie crafts a beautifully anthemic number with “Loud Places.” Combining Romy’s signature somber vocals and ambient guitar licks with Jamie’s organic percussion and ear for a quality soul-sample, the track builds into an addicting, groovy chorus creating a perfect hybrid between The xx and Jamie’s solo work. In Colour is slated for release on June 1st and the iTunes pre-order comes with 4 instant downloads, including “Loud Places.” UPDATE: Watch Jamie and Romy relive their childhood below as they skate through London in the official video, which elevates the vibes of the track even further.  Continue reading

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[Electronic] Jamie xx – Alba

Jamie xx
Alba (Radio Rip)

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from The xx and their mastermind producer, Jamie xx, but with a new record on the way from both, hopefully all of that will change soon. Yesterday, on BBC Radio 1Jon Hopkins shared a tune from Jamie xx, which was released a few months back on Nowness as part of the Continuum experimental video project,  and as always it’s a uniquely beautiful and intricate composition. “Alba” carries a similarly tranquility as “Sleep Sound,” feeling like a hazy lullaby powered solely by an electronic instrumental. Little info is known about the release schedule for Jamie’s highly anticipated debut solo album, but if the releases thus far are any indication, it has the potential to be a game changer. Enjoy this short but sweet joint above and look out for new music from The xx, who are set to release their third album this year, soon. “Alba” will be released as a limited edition vinyl on April 18th for Record Store Day. 

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The Hip-Hop Dojo [Vol. 2]

Welcome back to the Hip-Hop Dojo! It seems just like yesterday we put up the first edition of this humble playlist, but we have all this awesome music to remind of us the time that’s passed. This week’s lineup features some true lyrical wordsmiths, from veterans like Talib Kweli and Ras Kass, to youngsters like Kendrick Lamar and Joey Purp. Although we’re only in our second week, a few artists are already making reappearances like the aforementioned Joey Purp, as well as STSSahtyre, King Chip, and Termanology. Since last week’s post ran a little lengthy, we’ve tried to shorten things by highlighting some of the standout material.

We start things off this week with a more conscious vibe. While up-and-comer Eddy B sheds light on some of his harsh realities growing up, Talib and R.A. The Rugged Man take us for a tour around the globe, exploring atrocities many of us may not have been aware of. Meanwhile, ¡Mayday! frontman Wrekonize also provides us with some insight to personal struggles of his own, and the reasons for his “Anxiety Attacks.”

Toning things down in the next section, we’ve assembled a nice collection of songs to share with your other half. One of the most notable items is “Natural Spring Water” from 2AM Club, who flaunt their roots in multiple genres alongside Wichita native, XV. We also have a few recognizable faces in here too. With Tyga & Chris Brown‘s “Fuck For The Road” comes a story of redemption and renewal, while The World Famous Tony Williams and his (arguably more famous) crew of Kanye WestKing Chip, and Freddie Gibbs, assemble together for a remix of his ode to that special someone. Lastly, we have a new cut from some TMN favorites, THEBLKHANDS, who utilize a brilliant sample of The xx‘s “Angels” to introduce us to the darker side of love.

The next section just features some good old-fashioned trash talking, a language that’s clearly spoken worldwide as evidenced by our inclusion of London-based ItsNate on the remix of his hit record, “WSLTA” which stands for “Where She Learnt That At.” We also get some outstanding verses from the likes of Joey Purp, GQ, Rapsody, Rocki Evans, Blu, and Smoke DZA along with his new R.F.C. crew. Old-fashioned wasn’t just a figure of speech either, as just about all of these tracks have some ill, old-school vibes to them.

As always, we also have a few cuts ideal for listening between 4:19 and 4:21. B.I.C.‘s spaced-out “DOPM” is definitely a standout in that category. Credit is definitely due to Chuk Le Garcon, who creates a trippy, ethereal beat for the boys to spit on. We can’t forget to give props to Ras Kass for coming up with the possible line of the week on Termanology’s “We Stay High,” spitting, “I’ll put a rapper in a wheelchair like Degrassi.” Sahtyre‘s got a real banger for the second week in a row, with his powerful new single, “Gettin High.”

Speaking of bangers, we’ve got a real treat for you with our next two songs, both featuring prominent samples. While STS definitely does his thing over Kavinsky‘s “Odd Look,” Zak Downtown and Murda Mook absolutely tear apart TNGHT‘s “Higher Ground.” Finally, we decided we’d wrap things up with some uplifting music. “Jordan vs Bird” is a triumphant song from Puck, a unique rapper, who proves he won’t let being resigned to a wheelchair prevent him from taking the court.

I hope you guys enjoyed our second edition of The Hip-Hop Dojo. As always, if you have any suggestions or submissions, feel free to send them over to baseer@themusicninja.com.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL THE FREE TRACKS

’Eddy B – Hope’
’Gee Watts – Watts R.I.O.T. Ft. Kendrick Lamar (Prod. by Sounwave)’
’R.A. The Rugged Man – Learn Truth (ft. Talib Kweli)’
’Wrekonize – Anxiety Attacks’
’2AM Club – Natural Spring Water feat. XV’
’Tyga – Fuck For The Road ft. Chris Brown’
’Tony Williams – Another You (Remix) ft. Kanye West, King Chip & Freddie Gibbs’
’THEBLKHANDS – In Love (Feat. Kembe X)’
’Joey Purp – Don’t Stop (Prod. Thelonious Martin)’
’GQ – I Know Feat. Rapsody & Rocki Evans (Produced by Khrysis)’
’Smoke DZA – Ghost Of Dipset (Prod. Thelonious Martin)’
’R.F.C. (NYMLo, Den10 & Smoke DZA) – Slave To The Wave (Prod. By 183rd)’
’ItsNate – WSLTA (Remix) Feat. G FrSH, Catch’Em x Phaze One’
’Blu & Bombay – Dre Day’
’Termanology – We Stay High (Feat. Ras Kass & Wais P) (Prod. Statik Selektah)’
’B.I.C. – DOPM (Prod. By Chuk Le Garcon)’
’Sahtyre – Gettin’ High’
’Zak Downtown – Don’t Blow My High ft. Murda Mook’
’STS – Odd Look’
’Puck – Jordan Vs Bird’
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[Chill] The xx – Finally (Kings of Tomorrow Cover)

The xx
Finally (Kings of Tomorrow cover)

Alternative bandThe xx, have an awesomely minimal, genre-fusing sound and a recognizable somber style. The group recently played a live set for BBC Radio 1 including this cover of the Kings of Tomorrow‘s “Finally”. While not technically an original song, The xx truly make it their own with a pulsing beat, heart-wrenching vocals and airy guitar melodies. Hit play below and relax your mind state.

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