Good Times with Jamie xx

I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times) is one of the more surprising tracks on Jamie xx's solo album, In Colour. Featuring US rapper Young Thug and Jamaican dancehall artist Popcaan, it feels like a contemporary, if laid back, hip-hop track compared to the soulful nostalgia that permeates the rest of the record.

That's not a criticism, though. The song is a joyous, arms-aloft tribute to US rap; which originated during The xx's residency at the Armory in New York in late 2013. As Jamie told Grantland, it was inspired by his nightly drive over the bridge to Manhattan, when he’d listen to cutting-edge radio station Hot 97. Eventually, he decided to make a rap track of his own. One that would fit seamlessly on US hip-hop radio.

He quickly whizzed up a backing track, sampling The Persuasions' Good Times. Then he started scouting for rappers to contribute on the track. Many tried, but only two made the final cut, Jamie explained to Annie Mac.

"They both really liked the track when I sent it to them - and they sent it back within days, which was very suprising. I'd been working on the track for such a long time, and listening to lots of people do their versions. But when I got that one, I knew it was the one."

Here it is then, with a colourful video courtesy of Rollo Jackson (Angel Haze, Chase and Status, et al).


There's also a fantastic Skepta remix of the song, which premiered last night. Here it is.

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Songs you may have missed: Easter edition

Happy Easter, everyone! The sun is out and spring has sprung - and we all need new songs to sung. Hark a listen at this week's round-up of newbies.

1) Jamie xx - Loud Places
Taken from Jamie's first solo album, Loud Places begins with the downbeat cool of an xx track (not least because it features his bandmate Romy on voals). But the majestic, gospel-inspired chorus takes you to unexpected places. Lovely stuff.





2) Madeon - You're On (ft Kyan) - live session
Madeon makes the process of hitting buttons on a samplepad seem like the most exciting form of live performance ever invented, even though it's just... well, pressing some buttons on a samplepad. How does he do that?





3) Girlpool - Chinatown
Girlpool are Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker, two musicians from Philadelphia whose main selling point is that they make punk music without feeling the need for drums.

Their new single is a bit of a departure, though: A bluesy, meandering ballad that borrows the riff from Sheryl Crow's Leaving Las Vegas, it's shot through with a hesitant vulnerability most punks would sniff (glue) at.





4) Beyonce - Die With You
Sitting behind a piano, her hair braided and tucked into a baseball cap, here's pop megastar Beyonce singing a ballad for her husband on their seventh wedding anniversary.

I don't know about you - but if my wife had done this for me, I'd have taken her straight to the bedroom for a jolly big smooch. Jay Z just filmed it and put it on his new streaming site for some reason (money).






5) Rihanna - American Oxygen
A surprisingly mournful hymn to the American dream, Rihanna's latest song is a soulful antidote to the obnoxious (and obnoxiously catchy) Bitch Better Have My Money.

You have to sign up to Tidal to hear it properly - but here's a live version, performed at the March Madness concert over the weekend.






6) Janelle Monáe, Jidenna - Yoga
Ever wondered what Janelle Monae would sound like if she stopped pretending to be an anti-establishment robot from the future? Well, you're in luck.

The R&B star cuts loose on Yoga, a new track with rising MC Jidenna that will appear on The Eephus, a compilation EP starring the artists she's signed to her Wondaland label.

And it's pure filth... as Janelle Monae repeatedly instructs her lover: "Baby bend over, let me see you do that yoga."

The track also contains the best / weirdest lyric of the year: "You cannot police me, so get off my areola." Crikey.






7) Alesso - Cool (ft Roy English)
Perfectly acceptable Radio 1 daytime fodder, this is only notable for the video, in which Alesso plays a nerdy schoolkid who seduces his teacher. Wish fulfilment much?






8) George The Poet - Wotless
Another thought-provoking rap-poem from George The Poet, who charts his evolution from prodigal schoolboy to successful musician. It's an unflinching sketch of how black kids (especially those in a predominantly white, middle class environment) can feel pressured into becoming stereotypes.

Compelling stuff.






9) Mirror Talk - 1/M/T
Posted by the ever-reliable Nicola Roberts on her Tumblr page, this is shimmering, 80s-inspired synth pop from LA quartet Mirror Talk.

Produced by Tony Hoffer (M83, Beck), the title stands for One More Time.






10) Wax Tailor - Que Sera
I fell in love this sampladelic cut-up as soon as I heard it yesterday. Then I discovered it's a decade old... But what the hell. This post isn't called "songs you may have missed" for nothing.






11) Brandon Flowers - Can't Deny My Love
The only video you'll see this week that's based on the Puritan short story Young Goodman Brown, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835. And that's a guarantee.

So there you go. Hope you haven't overdosed on chocolate during the course of this blog post.

Oh, and I'm taking the rest of the week off. See you on April 13th.

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Katy Perry's birthday suit and seven other songs you may have missed

This week's groundbreaking installment of songs-you-may-have-missed contains several songs you may have missed. It's a revolution.

1) Katy Perry - Birthday (lyric video)
La Perry's lyric videos have a bigger budget than most artists get for their actual promos. And what does Katy do with all that extra cash? Spends it on cake. Amazing.




2) Calvin Harris - Summer
Calvin Harris has also been handed a sizeable promo budget, but he's spent it all on bikini girls and sports cars. Watch out, Harris, or you'll turn into Jamiroquai.




3) Jamie xx - Sleep Sound
Now, this is more like it: A dance video, starring 13 members of the Manchester Deaf Centre, set to a hypnotic new song by Jamie xx.

Director Sofia Mattioli says the video was inspired by a train journey: "I was listening to music, getting deep into it, and this girl started staring at me. After a while I took my headphones off and she came up to me, started signing and then wrote me a note to say that she was deaf but could almost feel the music by my movement."

Captivating and mesmerising.



4) Say Lou Lou - Everything We Touch (Yannis Foals mix)
Sexy, euphoric, Swedish pop. There's something special about Say Lou Lou and Yannis Philippakis from "intellectual" rock band Foals clearly agrees.

He's run his feather duster all over their new single Everything We Touch and given it a sparkling, heavenly sheen. Damned-near perfect.




5) Tove Lo - Stay High (Hippie Sabotage remix)
I prefer the original version of Tove Lo's Habits but Radio One have playlisted this trancey remix for complicated music 'biz' reasons we'll never fully understand. On the downside, the remix has bumped the superior Love Ballad off her Truth Serum EP (otherwise it wouldn't be chart eligible in the UK). On the plus side, Tove is now number seven in the iTunes chart.

A remix video has been hastily cobbled together and looks like this.


NB - my interview with Tove went up on the BBC News site today. You can read it here.


6) Foxes - Holding On To Heaven
Foxes is gradually turning into a genuine pop star. Photogenic, witty, fond of tempo changes, with a constant hint of melancholy in her voice.

Holding On To Heaven follows up the top 10 hits Youth and Let Go For Tonight (although it's also been a free download in the past which is very confusing). Taken from her forthcoming album Glorious, it's power ballad o'clock.



7) Nightbox - Burning
"Hi Mark, I'm Andrew Keyes, the bassist in Nightbox," said an email in my inbox earlier this week. "I'd appreciate if you'd lend me your ears for a moment to check out my band's upcoming release."

After a complex and painful surgical procedure, I did lend Andrew my ears and, contrary to expectations the "upcoming release" was 100% not shit.

Recorded in the band's living room ("we've got wooden floors", says Andrew, "far easier to clean up") but given the once over by MSTRKRFT and Sebastien Grainger of DFA 1979, their EP is propulsive, rhythmic indiepop.

The EP's out on 22 April, with Burning as the lead track - but you can check out their other material on Soundcloud.



8) Klaxons - There Is No Other Time
A return to form if ever there was one.

That's your lot. There's also a Kylie lyric video doing the rounds, but I couldn't think of anything to say about it.

See you again on Monday when apparently there'll be a new Lana Del Rey single to discuss. Exciting.

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