Album: We're New Here by Jamie xx (2011)
Genre: Indie | Style: Electronic | Mood: Dreamy
Record Label: Young Turks
Format: Album

Description: We're New Here is a remix album by American recording artist Gil Scott-Heron and English music producer Jamie xx, released on February 21, 2011, by Young Turks and XL Recordings. A longtime fan of Scott-Heron, Jamie xx was approached by XL label head Richard Russell to remix Scott-Heron's 2010 studio album I'm New Here. He worked on the album while touring with his band The xx in 2010 and occasionally communicated with Scott-Heron through letters for his approval to rework certain material.

Incorporating dubstep and UK garage styles, Jamie xx applied electronic music techniques in his production to remix Scott-Heron's vocals from the original album over his own instrumentals. Although it is structured similarly, We're New Here eschews the original album's stark style and lo-fi production for bass-driven, musically varied production and sonical illumination of Scott-Heron's vocals. It has been noted by music writers for recontextualizing Scott-Heron's narratives in Jamie xx's own musical influences and tastes.

Although it did not chart in the United States, the album debuted at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart, on which it spent two weeks. It was promoted with a multi-format release, including a limited edition box set, and the release of two singles, "NY Is Killing Me" and "I'll Take Care of U". We're New Here received universal acclaim from critics upon its release.

Following a period of personal and legal troubles with drug addiction, Gil Scott-Heron recorded and released his first album of original material in sixteen years, I'm New Here (2010), with the assistance of XL Recordings-label head Richard Russell. Produced by Russell, the album served as a departure from Scott-Heron's earlier work, both musically and thematically, eschewing its soul, jazz, and funk styles and social commentary for more personal, reflective lyrics with ruminations on love, loss, and identity, set to contemporary electronic music. It was well received by fans and music critics, who viewed it as a comeback for Scott-Heron.

Russell, a fan of English indie pop band The xx, proposed the idea of remixing I'm New Here to the band's percussionist and producer Jamie xx. Russell's production on I'm New Here was heavily influenced by the xx's self-titled debut album, which showcased Jamie xx's bassy, beat-oriented and minimalist production. After its success, Jamie xx had occupied himself with solo production work, remixing other artists, and DJing in clubs in the United Kingdom and Europe. He was a longtime fan of Scott-Heron's music, which had been introduced to him by his parents as a youth. Russell later said of his decision to enlist him, "We didn't want lots of remixes by different people. That can be confusing. Gil was open to Jamie re-interpreting the whole album". According to Jamie xx, he himself had no point of reference in remixing another artist's album, and later said of taking on the project, "It was a bit nerve-wracking because this is the first time I've ever done an album on my own. But I was really just eager to get at and I knew exactly what I wanted to do".

Although Scott-Heron received top-billing for the release, Jamie xx worked solely on the remix project. For We're New Here, he remixed 13 of the original album's 15 songs, including its "interlude" cuts, mixing Scott-Heron's vocal tracks from the original recording sessions over his own beats and instrumentals, rather than the original music. Many of the remixes were created by Jamie xx on his laptop, while on tour with The xx. In a March 2010 interview, he said that the label "gave me the parts and let me do whatever I want, so I've been doing it on my laptop on tour.  only using  vocals, I'm not using any of the original music from it, which is very freeing". On his intentions for the album's music, he explained in an interview for The Irish Times, "I wanted it to sound like everything I had been listening to in London. I wanted it to sound like something you’d hear on pirate radio. You hear so many different genres, and it’s all so convoluted and mixed-up, but it makes sense when you turn on the station".


Jamie xx used an Akai MPC500 (pictured) to produce his beats.
In addition to vocal tracks from I'm New Here, Jamie xx mixed vocals from Scott-Heron's 1970s work. In an interview for Pitchfork Media, he explained his incorporation of these vocals and its meaning to the work as a whole, stating:

“	I wanted to show the difference between him then and now as well as the difference between my taste then and now. The songs that use his voice from older records are influenced by the stuff I liked 10 or 15 years ago, mostly sample-based productions like RJD2. And I wanted the album to explain itself, like a DJ set. I wanted to represent Gil well, but also use his voice as my own.	”
Although he was permitted by XL to remix I'm New Here, Jamie xx wrote longhand letters to Scott-Heron for his approval to rework the other vocal material: "Originally, I sent him the album and there were a couple of tracks he wasn't sure about. I had to write to him—he does handwritten letters, not e-mail—and explain why I wanted to use some of his older vocal tracks on the album ... So after I wrote him the letter, he said I was free to do whatever because he knew what I was doing". Scott-Heron was credited as a producer for the album, along with Russell and Malcolm Cecil, a producer and engineer on Scott-Heron's past work. The original vocals had been produced and engineered at Clinton Studios and Looking Glass Studios in New York. We're New Here was mixed at London's XL Studio, where additional recording also took place.

Similar to I'm New Here, We're New Here features 13 songs that include four interludes and is rhythmically stressed in sound. However, it contrasts the original album's stark style and lo-fi production with bass-driven, musically varied production and sonical illumination of Scott-Heron's vocals. We're New Here is considered a post-dubstep work. In remixing the album, Jamie xx incorporated dubstep tones, dance-influenced tempos, pitch-shifted and sped-up samples, wobble, sub-bass, and drum 'n' bass beats into the music. We're New Here also contains elements of trance, house, techno, hip hop breakbeats, and electro music. Dan Hancox of The National noted in its sound "a melange of creaking bass hums, cascading UK garage drums and washes of electronic noise".

According to Thom Jurek of Allmusic, "Richard Russell's production on I'm New Here kept Scott-Heron's voice front and center;  displaces it often, all but covering it with effects, beats, and pitched vocals in styles that cross the electronic music gamut". Tim Noakes of Dazed & Confused describes the album as " love letter to sample culture and the history of the UK electronic underground. Against 's booming backdrop of sub bass breakdowns, obscure samples and two-step rhythms, Scott-Heron’s scarred poetic missives take on a more sinister edge". Ian Maleney of Slate comments on the album's music, "The beats and bass are classic dub  and the use of stretched and pitched vocal samples cement the albums place in the ever-developing dubstep cannon". Music critic Max Feldman notes "smothering" bass lines and "robust" beats, and writes that the album performs a "balancing act between the avant-garde end of the dubstep fallout" and "dance-ability".

The title track incorporates a sped-up sample of Gloria Gaynor's "Casanova Brown", with an emphasis on the line "I was lonely and naïve" from the sample. "Running" has Scott-Heron's spoken word vocals scattered and repeated. "Ur Soul and Mine" samples the vocals from Rui da Silva's house classic "Touch Me", distorting the vocals in the song's verse, but retaining its refrain. The densely produced "Home" features clattering snares, a heavily reverbed keyboard sample, a drum loop, and a vocal sample of Scott-Heron singing the line "home is where the hatred is...", taken from the song of the same name from his 1971 album Pieces of a Man. BBC Online's Ele Beattie said that Jamie xx's sampling "tunes the listener in and out of his musical predecessors. He rewires a personal musical canon into something utterly contemporary". Robert Christgau characterizes Scott-Heron's original narratives as those of "a drug fiend of considerable perversity and tremendous intelligence who's gonna be dead soon", and comments that Jamie xx "hears in  last testament an irreversible disintegration that he translates into heavily sampled minimalist electro marked indelibly by Scott-Heron's weariness, arrogance, and wit."

Artist Background: Jamie Smith (known by the stage name Jamie xx) is an English music producer and remix artist, who has gained fame both as a solo act and as a member of the London-based band The xx. In late 2010, a Jamie xx remix of the song "NY Is Killing Me" from Gil Scott-Heron's last album I'm New Here aired on radio stations across the UK and Europe. The remix of "I'll Take Care Of U" followed in January 2011. Both singles drew the attention of the general public and the critics. They set the way for a 1... Part of the London, UK music scene. Emerged in the 2000s era. Associated with Electro House movement. Known for Electronic style.

Related Artists: Caribou, Romy, Disclosure, Fred again..

Music Scene: Part of the London, UK music scene. Emerged in the 2000s era. Associated with Electro House movement. Known for Electronic style.

Tags: Indie, Electronic, Dreamy, 2010s, Album, Young Turks

Additional Context: Available on Discogs marketplace


We're New Here is a remix album by American recording artist Gil Scott-Heron and English music producer Jamie xx, released on February 21, 2011, by Young Turks and XL Recordings. A longtime fan of Scott-Heron, Jamie xx was approached by XL label head Richard Russell to remix Scott-Heron's 2010 studio album I'm New Here. He worked on the album while touring with his band The xx in 2010 and occasionally communicated with Scott-Heron through letters for his approval to rework certain material.

Incorporating dubstep and UK garage styles, Jamie xx applied electronic music techniques in his production to remix Scott-Heron's vocals from the original album over his own instrumentals. Although it is structured similarly, We're New Here eschews the original album's stark style and lo-fi production for bass-driven, musically varied production and sonical illumination of Scott-Heron's vocals. It has been noted by music writers for recontextualizing Scott-Heron's narratives in Jamie xx's own musical influences and tastes.

Although it did not chart in the United States, the album debuted at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart, on which it spent two weeks. It was promoted with a multi-format release, including a limited edition box set, and the release of two singles, "NY Is Killing Me" and "I'll Take Care of U". We're New Here received universal acclaim from critics upon its release.

Following a period of personal and legal troubles with drug addiction, Gil Scott-Heron recorded and released his first album of original material in sixteen years, I'm New Here (2010), with the assistance of XL Recordings-label head Richard Russell. Produced by Russell, the album served as a departure from Scott-Heron's earlier work, both musically and thematically, eschewing its soul, jazz, and funk styles and social commentary for more personal, reflective lyrics with ruminations on love, loss, and identity, set to contemporary electronic music. It was well received by fans and music critics, who viewed it as a comeback for Scott-Heron.

Russell, a fan of English indie pop band The xx, proposed the idea of remixing I'm New Here to the band's percussionist and producer Jamie xx. Russell's production on I'm New Here was heavily influenced by the xx's self-titled debut album, which showcased Jamie xx's bassy, beat-oriented and minimalist production. After its success, Jamie xx had occupied himself with solo production work, remixing other artists, and DJing in clubs in the United Kingdom and Europe. He was a longtime fan of Scott-Heron's music, which had been introduced to him by his parents as a youth. Russell later said of his decision to enlist him, "We didn't want lots of remixes by different people. That can be confusing. Gil was open to Jamie re-interpreting the whole album". According to Jamie xx, he himself had no point of reference in remixing another artist's album, and later said of taking on the project, "It was a bit nerve-wracking because this is the first time I've ever done an album on my own. But I was really just eager to get at and I knew exactly what I wanted to do".

Although Scott-Heron received top-billing for the release, Jamie xx worked solely on the remix project. For We're New Here, he remixed 13 of the original album's 15 songs, including its "interlude" cuts, mixing Scott-Heron's vocal tracks from the original recording sessions over his own beats and instrumentals, rather than the original music. Many of the remixes were created by Jamie xx on his laptop, while on tour with The xx. In a March 2010 interview, he said that the label "gave me the parts and let me do whatever I want, so I've been doing it on my laptop on tour.  only using  vocals, I'm not using any of the original music from it, which is very freeing". On his intentions for the album's music, he explained in an interview for The Irish Times, "I wanted it to sound like everything I had been listening to in London. I wanted it to sound like something you’d hear on pirate radio. You hear so many different genres, and it’s all so convoluted and mixed-up, but it makes sense when you turn on the station".


Jamie xx used an Akai MPC500 (pictured) to produce his beats.
In addition to vocal tracks from I'm New Here, Jamie xx mixed vocals from Scott-Heron's 1970s work. In an interview for Pitchfork Media, he explained his incorporation of these vocals and its meaning to the work as a whole, stating:

“	I wanted to show the difference between him then and now as well as the difference between my taste then and now. The songs that use his voice from older records are influenced by the stuff I liked 10 or 15 years ago, mostly sample-based productions like RJD2. And I wanted the album to explain itself, like a DJ set. I wanted to represent Gil well, but also use his voice as my own.	”
Although he was permitted by XL to remix I'm New Here, Jamie xx wrote longhand letters to Scott-Heron for his approval to rework the other vocal material: "Originally, I sent him the album and there were a couple of tracks he wasn't sure about. I had to write to him—he does handwritten letters, not e-mail—and explain why I wanted to use some of his older vocal tracks on the album ... So after I wrote him the letter, he said I was free to do whatever because he knew what I was doing". Scott-Heron was credited as a producer for the album, along with Russell and Malcolm Cecil, a producer and engineer on Scott-Heron's past work. The original vocals had been produced and engineered at Clinton Studios and Looking Glass Studios in New York. We're New Here was mixed at London's XL Studio, where additional recording also took place.

Similar to I'm New Here, We're New Here features 13 songs that include four interludes and is rhythmically stressed in sound. However, it contrasts the original album's stark style and lo-fi production with bass-driven, musically varied production and sonical illumination of Scott-Heron's vocals. We're New Here is considered a post-dubstep work. In remixing the album, Jamie xx incorporated dubstep tones, dance-influenced tempos, pitch-shifted and sped-up samples, wobble, sub-bass, and drum 'n' bass beats into the music. We're New Here also contains elements of trance, house, techno, hip hop breakbeats, and electro music. Dan Hancox of The National noted in its sound "a melange of creaking bass hums, cascading UK garage drums and washes of electronic noise".

According to Thom Jurek of Allmusic, "Richard Russell's production on I'm New Here kept Scott-Heron's voice front and center;  displaces it often, all but covering it with effects, beats, and pitched vocals in styles that cross the electronic music gamut". Tim Noakes of Dazed & Confused describes the album as " love letter to sample culture and the history of the UK electronic underground. Against 's booming backdrop of sub bass breakdowns, obscure samples and two-step rhythms, Scott-Heron’s scarred poetic missives take on a more sinister edge". Ian Maleney of Slate comments on the album's music, "The beats and bass are classic dub  and the use of stretched and pitched vocal samples cement the albums place in the ever-developing dubstep cannon". Music critic Max Feldman notes "smothering" bass lines and "robust" beats, and writes that the album performs a "balancing act between the avant-garde end of the dubstep fallout" and "dance-ability".

The title track incorporates a sped-up sample of Gloria Gaynor's "Casanova Brown", with an emphasis on the line "I was lonely and naïve" from the sample. "Running" has Scott-Heron's spoken word vocals scattered and repeated. "Ur Soul and Mine" samples the vocals from Rui da Silva's house classic "Touch Me", distorting the vocals in the song's verse, but retaining its refrain. The densely produced "Home" features clattering snares, a heavily reverbed keyboard sample, a drum loop, and a vocal sample of Scott-Heron singing the line "home is where the hatred is...", taken from the song of the same name from his 1971 album Pieces of a Man. BBC Online's Ele Beattie said that Jamie xx's sampling "tunes the listener in and out of his musical predecessors. He rewires a personal musical canon into something utterly contemporary". Robert Christgau characterizes Scott-Heron's original narratives as those of "a drug fiend of considerable perversity and tremendous intelligence who's gonna be dead soon", and comments that Jamie xx "hears in  last testament an irreversible disintegration that he translates into heavily sampled minimalist electro marked indelibly by Scott-Heron's weariness, arrogance, and wit."

We're New Here

Jamie xx

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