This week, I’ve selected Waxing Lyrical’s first ‘remix’ Album of the Week, and, in my opinion, one of the very best remix albums out there. It’s courtesy of two of my favourite artists: Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx. The album is We’re New Here – a play on words from Scott-Heron’s original record, I’m New Here. Straight off the bat, the name is a lovely way of demonstrating the remix’s collaborative nature, and the album cover uses the green and pink colouring from I’m New Here in a now signature Jamie xx rectangle – it couldn’t be any other way, really.
I’m New Here (the unremixed album) was the final studio album created by the legendary jazz poet and singer Gil Scott-Heron. It was released in 2010, and was his first work in 16 years, following extensive legal and personal troubles. The resulting album was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a fair departure from the jazz and funk sounds Scott-Heron made his name from. Embracing a more minimalistic approach, it’s a more ragged, bluesy album, with vocals harsh and weathered. Nonetheless, it was met with acclaim, if a reflection of an artist aged and thick with trouble.
I’m New Here was produced by Richard Russell of XL Recordings, who also had his eye on an up-and-coming musician, producer and remixer on sister label Young: Jamie Smith, a.k.a. Jamie xx. Russell approached Jamie to ask him if he wanted to remix I’m New Here. The result: We’re New Here. It is a fantastic electronic and dance album, which incorporates elements of UK garage, dubstep, and R&B, as well as signature Scott-Heron jazz, funk and soul. All in all, it’s a piece of work which is truly innovative, boundary crossing, and absolutely exquisitely delivered – despite the pressure on an early 20-something year old who had suddenly found himself one of the hottest producers in Britain.
Jamie xx worked on the album whilst on tour with The xx in 2010, and communicated with Scott-Heron via written letters, seeking his approval to use older material as well as the I’m New Here content. Jamie wanted to convey how Scott-Heron’s sound, styles and vocals had changed over time. In fact, his vocals were the only element he actually reused – everything else you hear was created by Jamie, mostly on his laptop and with a sampler.
What I absolutely love about this album, and why I think it’s one of the best remix albums there is, is how Jamie so well captures and conveys the many sounds and stories of Gil Scott-Heron. He doesn’t completely rewrite them; he reframes them. And he does this in a modern way, setting them against a superb electronic, UK-rave-inspired backdrop.
To me, there is something quite poetic about this crossover, particularly considering how and when it came about. Gil Scott-Heron was an artist who had seen his glory days, and whose career was undeniably coming to an end. On the other hand, Jamie xx was just taking off; The xx’s Mercury prize-winning debut album, xx, had not long been released, and he had just started producing his own killer remixes. This album, with the backing of a legendary musician, provided Jamie the launchpad he needed to embark on a now incredible solo career – arguably one just as big as with his bandmates Romy and Oliver Sim.
It would go on to be the last piece of work published by Gil Scott-Heron before his passing in 2011. To me, this has an almost ‘passing of the torch’ semantic: with the torch handed to an electronic artist paving the way for a new generation of sound – who also has never forgotten the origins of everything we listen to, draw from, and adore.
Waxing Lyrical 