Pitchfork Advance Stream of Basement Jaxx ‘Junto’ // Album Out August 25

AUGUST 18, 2014

FR:      ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/MSO

 

BASMENT JAXX
STREAM THEIR NEW ALBUM ‘JUNTO’ NOW
THROUGH AUGUST 24 ON  PITCHFORK

LISTEN NOW AT : http://pitchfork.com/advance/517-junto/

MTV CLUBLAND TAKEOVER TO AIR
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28 AT MIDNIGHT PT/FRIDAY, AUGUST 29 3:00 AM ET

‘JUNTO’  DUE OUT AUGUST 25 ON ATLANTIC JAXX/PIAS AMERICA

FEATURES SONGS “NEVER SAY NEVER,” “MERMAID OF SALINAS”
AND “UNICORN”

JUNTO—due out on August 25 on Atlantic Jaxx/PIAS America–marks pioneering U.K. electronic music duo BASEMENT JAXX’s seventh studio album.  Hear it now through Sunday, August 24 as Pitchfork is now offering an advance listen at:  http://pitchfork.com/advance/517-junto/ 

Globally revered as innovators and leading lights of their genre, BASEMENT JAXX blew the lid off the dance music scene of the late 90’s with their ground breaking albums Remedy, Rooty and Kish Kash. Having firmly established their place in the pantheon of dance music greats, the duo of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe are back with JUNTO, a genre-hopping musical roller-coaster that showcases the band’s legendary inventiveness, irresistible songwriting and production smarts.

In May, the pair debuted the club-ready, jacking “Unicorn,” the first track to be taken from Junto.  It has met with universal praise, working as a perfect taster of what the full length has to offer.   They soon followed with “Mermaid Of Salinas,” a samba sensation just in time for the World Cub festivities.  Then came “Never Say Never,” the first official single from the album, currently sitting at #4 on Billboard’s Club Play chart and racing up Billboard’s Dance Radio chart.

The innovative video for “Never Say Never,” presenting the TW3RK-BOT1.0 robot, has already garnered over 3.7 million views, receiving a wide range of support from the likes of VEVO, Rolling Stone, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Stereogum and Billboard, just to name a few.  The video—created by BASEMENT JAXX in conjunction with celebrated Sci-Fi short film director Saman Kesh (Calvin Harris, Placebo, Vitalic)–captures JAXX Industries in their zealous effort to bring dancing back to mankind via twerking by creating the futuristic TW3RK-BOT1.0.  The must-watch video “Never Say Never” can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0eS3zC3Jco.   Next week on Thursday, August 28 midnight PT/Friday, August 29 at 3:00 am ET, in support of JUNTO’s  release and their “Never Say Never” video, look for BASEMENT JAXX to appear on MTV Clubland as they take over the show highlighting some of their favorite videos.

Spanish for ‘together,’ the concept behind JUNTO is one of unity and soulfulness, fusing dance music’s sub-genres into one cohesive multi-flavored confection. It’s a bold, boisterous, brilliant album full of amazing guest vocal performances, richly layered production and the irresistible sense of groove that has set them apart from the very beginning. Summer is here, and the JAXX are back.

JUNTO in the press:

“Basement Jaxx were early dance polyglots in the Nineties, incorporating global sounds into their house and U.K. garage beats. The London duo’s ears are as open as ever on their seventh album: Kicking off with a sample from First Nations powwow singers Northern Cree, they cherry-pick a dream team of power divas and U.K.-funky progenitors, sourcing styles that include garage, house, hip-hop, disco – even flamenco (‘Mermaid of Salinas’) and jungle-seasoned trap (the bonkers ‘Buffalo,’ featuring Mykki Blanco). It’s a refreshing kick box…”

–Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, ROLLING STONE (August 28, 2014) 

“Juntois a jolt, a juggernaut, an absolute joyride. Per the sleek, white-dominated cover, it’s the most streamlined, frill-free Basement Jaxx album ever—not without its allotment of sound-stuffed, multi-culti diversions, but otherwise a relatively un­cluttered mainline of diva-house bangers and soulful dance pop, complete with the requisite arms-in-the-air comedown closer. It’s also the closest the duo has come to the ecstatic, hedonistic rush of its holy initial trinity in the decade since…Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton never re­ally went away—they’ve maintained a steady trickle of singles while engaging in go-to ca­reer dalliances (a film score, an orchestral collaboration)—but it’s been five years since their last proper full-length, during which their influence (on post-dubstep “maximalists” Rustie and TNGHT and, especially, pop-friend­ly dance acts like Disclosure, Rudimental, Calvin Harris and Hercules & Love Affair) has never been easier to spot. So, this return feels perfectly timed….”

—K. Ross Hoffman, MAGNET (August) 

“This Technicolor feel-good collection has obvious links to the omnivorous sound of the London duo’s 1999 debut Remedy, which made mashing up hip-hop, raga and world music de rigueue in the dance world. But it also reaches even further, to the ecstasy-fueled vibe that ignited modern dance music in the late 80’s. The Samba-styled ‘Rock This Road’ is like a great-great-love-grandchild of old school Balearic beat. As was true in those bygone days, the hippieish uplift can get a little fuzzy (‘Power To The People’), but the bass-rattling jolt of ‘Buffalo’ will clear your head-and fill the floor-fast.” 

–Dan LeRoy, ALTERNATIVE PRESS (September) 

“Basement Jaxx got the ingredients right for their multiflavored house music seven albums ago: bumping beats, Afro rhythms, carved-out vocals. On their latest, Junto, house music is the framework but style mixture remains a Jaxx tradition. Steel drums on ‘Power to the People,’ breakbeats and ragga vocals on ‘Buffalo,’ sped-up reggae on ‘Rock This Road’ and the Beastie Boys–like ‘Sneakin’ Toronto’ keep Junto‘s tempos fluid. The urban essence of Soul II Soul is recalled on ‘Unicorn,’ setting the mood for the soul ripper ‘Never Say Never,’ while the twinkling ballad ‘Something About You’ contrasts against the zesty Latin number ‘Mermaid of Salinas.’ It is apparent that with Junto, the U.K. duo is still the architect of the house-music blueprint.” 

– Lily Moayeri, LA WEEKLY (7/9/2014)

 

The tracklist for JUNTO is:
01. Intro
02. Power To the People
03. Unicorn
04. Never Say Never
05. We Are Not Alone
06. What’s The News
07. Summer Dem
08. Buffalo
09. Rock This Road
10. Sneakin’ Toronto
11. Something About You
12. Mermaid of Salinas
13. Love Is At Your Side