This column is dedicated to asking musicians the non-musically inclined question, “What are your favorite places to travel to in your home country?” In this issue, we meet up with Basement Jaxx from England.
The duo that is Basement Jaxx made their start in South London more than 10 years ago. Even though their debut brought with it the stench of the underground, they have recently been releasing single collections packed with huge hits. During all this, they managed to win a Grammy and become stars in their own right.
Born in England and having traveled the globe, the two had plenty of places to suggest. We started with their home-base, London—a place I’d been to several times.
“Well, how about Bournemouth? It’s, uh…around here…”
The two begin to look over the map and quickly mark the beachside town southwest of London.
“What’s to see there?” I asked.
“Nothing, but recently something interesting has come into fashion…you should definitely go check it out.”
“What?”
“Well, you should really go see for yourself.”
“Huh? Like what?”
Looking at me straight-faced directly in the eye, they continued to go on about what was “in.” Caught off guard and slightly flustered, I looked to the interpreter for help, but she only offered, “Ummm, their talking about a certain ‘randy’ behavior‘ that’s in’ in Bournemouth.”
This must be some type of dark English humor, but I didn’t really get it. My cluelessness gave way to a blank look, at which point they moved on to another place on the map. I suppose they felt sorry for me.
“The Northern Highlands, particularly the Isle of Mull, has beautiful scenery and is really pretty. There are a lot of wild animals, but if you’re after that, then you should definitely get over to Loch Ness. There’s enough nature there for Nessie herself!”
As interesting as that may be, I’m still wondering what’s going on in Bournemouth…
Shaking your body to the sound of the Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx
The Singles
（Sony）
Only those tracks cut as singles, all of which are catchy tunes. This represents a timeline from their debut which gives the listener a new sense of their music.
Basement Jaxx
Kish Kash
（Sony）
Grammy Award winner in the Best Electronica and Dance Album category. Club tracks such as this filled with feelings are truly few and far between.
Basement Jaxx
Rooty
（Sony）
Their well-known second album, which mixes easy-to-listen-to vocals on all the tracks, with original musical expressions. Plenty of hits on this album.
Basement Jaxx
Remedy
（Sony）
An album to remember 1999 by, this mix includes everything from house and Latin beats to funk. Compared to recent mixes, this one still rates high.
