Basement Jaxx

Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1994. The group consists of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. Their name comes from a club night they organise in Brixton, South London, and they emerge from the British house music scene of the mid-1990s. Before adopting the name Basement Jaxx, Buxton and Ratcliffe consider “Underground Oasis”.

Early years and formation

Buxton and Ratcliffe meet in 1993 through a mutual friend in a pub in Clapham, London, and share an interest in New York house music. Ratcliffe begins issuing white-label records in 1992 and attracts attention from producers including LTJ Bukem and Goldie; the success of those releases lets him buy electronic music equipment and set up a studio in a friend’s basement. Buxton attends Loughborough Grammar School and studies Engineering Design at the University of Exeter.

The duo release their first extended play, EP1, on Wall of Sound. It sells more than 1,000 copies and receives radio play in the United States from DJ Tony Humphries. They also run a regular club night under the same name at venues including The George IV, The Crypt and The Junction, with DJs and performers including DJ Sneak, Daft Punk and vocalist Corrina Joseph. The night later becomes Rooty, which gives its name to their second album.

Albums, singles and chart success

Basement Jaxx sign to Virgin Records after the success of “Fly Life” in 1997, then move to XL Recordings, which releases their next six studio albums. Their debut album, Remedy (1999), includes “Red Alert”, “Jump n’ Shout”, “Bingo Bango” and “Rendez-Vu”; “Rendez-Vu” reaches number four on the UK Singles Chart. That year they also issue the compilation Jaxx Unreleased, featuring B-sides, remixes and previously unreleased material, and Camberwell, another collection of new material.

Rooty follows in 2001 and includes “Romeo”, “Jus 1 Kiss”, “Where’s Your Head At?” and “Do Your Thing”. “Where’s Your Head At?” becomes an international hit in 2002 and appears on the soundtrack to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. “Do Your Thing” appears in Bend It Like Beckham, advertising campaigns and the video game SSX 3. The EPs Span Thang and Junction are released between 2001 and 2002, and the Rooty club night closes in 2001.

Their third album, Kish Kash (2003), features Siouxsie Sioux, Lisa Kekaula, Me’shell Ndegeocello, Dizzee Rascal, Totlyn Jackson, JC Chasez and Phoebe. Singles from the album include “Lucky Star”, “Good Luck” and “Plug It In”. “Good Luck” is reissued in 2004 after use in the BBC’s coverage of UEFA Euro 2004 and also appears in Just Married and Appleseed. At the 47th Grammy Awards, Kish Kash wins the first Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. The duo also produce “Shake It” for JC Chasez’s album Schizophrenic.

The Singles is released in 2005 and reaches number one in the UK. It is accompanied by a DVD of music videos from their career, and includes the new tracks “Oh My Gosh” and “U Don’t Know Me”. A special edition adds a bonus disc of unreleased recordings and remixes. In the same year they headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury after Kylie Minogue withdraws through illness.

Crazy Itch Radio follows in 2006, with guest performers Martina Sorbara, Lily Allen and Robyn. That year they also support Robbie Williams on his Close Encounters tour. They contribute “Rocking Chair” to Cyndi Lauper’s 2008 album Bring Ya to the Brink and issue a trilogy of EPs under the title Planet.

The fifth studio album, Scars, appears in 2009 and is preceded by “Raindrops”. Guest contributors include Yoko Ono, Santigold, Lightspeed Champion and Yo! Majesty. The instrumental album Zephyr also appears in 2009, and the standalone single “Dracula” follows in 2010. In 2011 they release the live album Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest with the Metropole Orkest, and work with composer Steven Price on the soundtrack to Attack the Block.

During the early 2010s they develop new material and perform unreleased songs in live sets. Singles from this period include “Back 2 the Wild” and “What a Difference Your Love Makes”, both in 2013, and “Unicorn”, which they put online in 2014. Their seventh studio album, Junto, is released in 2014 through Atlantic Jaxx and PIAS, with “Never Say Never” as the lead single.

Collaborations, remixes and later work

Basement Jaxx produce numerous remixes, including versions of “4 My People” by Missy Elliott, “Everyman... Everywoman...” by Yoko Ono, “Like I Love You” by Justin Timberlake and “She Wants to Move” by N.E.R.D. They also collaborate with Janet Jackson on unreleased material intended for Damita Jo. Tate Modern commissions them to create an original work inspired by Karel Appel’s artwork Hip, Hip, Hoorah!, and that composition later appears on Zephyr.

“Close Your Eyes”, featuring Linda Lewis, appears in the Japanese animated film Vexille in 2007. Felix Buxton appears as a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2013. In 2019, Basement Jaxx compose the music for the animated children’s series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud and also work with The Sydney Metropolitan Orchestra on orchestral reinterpretations of several songs. In 2021, they remix Kylie Minogue’s “Say Something” and compose theme music for the CBeebies series What’s On Your Head?; they later provide music for What’s In Your Bag? in 2023 and What’s In Your Plant Pot? in 2026.

After concentrating mainly on DJ performances for a number of years, Basement Jaxx resume large-scale live performances in the 2020s and appear at festivals including Coachella in 2025. They also tour in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.