The production duo of
Simon Ratcliffe and
Felix Buxton released several of Britain's most respected and enjoyable progressive house anthems of the '90s and early 2000s from their base in South London. Before they met (at a Thames riverboat party organized by
Buxton),
Ratcliffe grooved to the deep Latin funk of
War and
George Duke while
Buxton was turned on to Chicago house. The pair formed Atlantic Jaxx Records in 1994 and was undoubtedly honored to count among fans of their first release none other than DJ legend and
Basement Jaxx influence
Tony Humphries, who played "Da Underground" from the EP on his New York mix show consistently during 1994-1995. For their second release,
Ratcliffe and
Buxton recruited vocalist
Corrina Josephs, who later became practically a member of the team herself.
The 1995 single "Samba Magic" was picked up for distribution by Virgin, and in time,
Basement Jaxx was drawing praise from all corners of the American and British house community as one of the top house production units. The pair spent much of 1996 working on remixes (for
the Pet Shop Boys,
Roger Sanchez, and
Lil' Mo' Yin Yang among others), then released a third
Basement Jaxx EP. One track from the EP, "Flylife," became a Top 20 hit in England after being re-released by Multiply in mid-1997, and the single proved one of the most popular anthems of the year on the worldwide club scene. Late that year,
Ratcliffe and
Buxton released a compilation of their most crucial Atlantic Jaxx sides.
After being courted by several major labels,
Basement Jaxx signed to the independent XL Recordings (also home to
the Prodigy) and readied their debut full-length,
Remedy, for a 1999 release. Second album
Rooty followed two years later, an outgrowth of the duo's similarly named club night. 2003's
Kish Kash and 2006's
Crazy Itch Radio followed, while
Singles was a well-timed stopgap release between the two albums. The duo's fifth album,
Scars, was released in 2009. While virtually everything they released was rooted in house,
Ratcliffe and
Buxton mutated several styles (R&B, U.K. garage, ragga, Latin jazz, ambient techno) with an unmatched restlessness. They constantly shuffled the deck, all the while collaborating with an endless array of vocalists both known -- from
Biz Markie to
Siouxsie Sioux -- and unknown. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide