Music
Jamie XX
Going Solo with In Colour text by LiLy Moayeri
Jamie xx is notoriously quiet. Not shy or impolite or moody, as Attempting to reconnect with home, coupled with a romantipeople who meet him are quick to clarify, but slightly awkward. cized idea of going out, he immersed himself in British party The 26-year-old Jamie Smith, who has been given the “Jamie xx” culture films like Human Traffic, 24 Hour Party People, and nickname-turned-professional-moniker because of his inter- Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore, all of which take place during a time nationally acclaimed music group, The xx, speaks in a halting, Smith was too young to have experienced firsthand. It was the mumbling fashion. Just when you think he’s done making his last of these that inspired, and from which a sample was used, point, you realize he’s simply stopped talking for a bit and now on Smith’s stand-alone single, the softcore “All Under One Roof he’s picking up what he was saying again. Smith’s reclusive dis- Raving,” the precursor to In Colour. position is at odds with his job, as a music producer and remix “Raving” is too strong of a word to use when describing artist, which requires him being thrust into all manner of situa- Smith’s compositions. If anything, In Colour is melancholic. tions, expected to interact with fans, peers, and executives, and Deceptively minimal, the album summons ghosts of dance to talk about himself and his music. floors past, interpreting their vibe and sound with an introverted In the space of six years Smith has released two albums with approach. “It’s kind of what you do every time you go out raving: The xx. The first was the eponymous winner of the Mercury Prize try and recreate when you had a great time in a club,” says Smith. and its follow-up, Coexist; a reinvention of Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m “It doesn’t always happen.” Smith’s carefully selected samples, such as the Persuasions New Here under the title, We’re New Here. His solo debut, In Colour was released in June. The creation of In Colour, and in its pro- on “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” featuring Young motion, have been the first time Smith has been entirely on his Thug and Popcaan, clever re-imaginations of melody lines, like own. After his time working with Drake, Adele, and Alicia Keys Orbital’s “Belfast” on album opener, “Gosh,” and effective as the electronic music producer/remixer du jour, and dealing reworkings like Freeez’s “I.O.U.” on album closer, “Girl,” give with pop world requirements, only having himself to contend In Colour’s downbeat, nocturnal nature a personal feel. “Every song on the album has its own color, which represents with is a welcome relief. “I’ve always had freedom to do whatever I wanted—other the color in my head,” says Smith, now in the comfort of his than when working with artists outside my world,” says Smith home. “It’s not like synesthesia, just conjuring up a certain color traveling in a taxi to his home in London on his way back from based on the music. I do it with other people’s songs as well, but the airport. “It’s very insular being on your own versus the con- I don’t think about it as much as I do with my own.” Much like In Colour’s color spectrum cover art, designed by stant back and forth and compromise with a band. With the band we don’t finish a song until we’re all happy with it. It’s the same Smith, his DJ tour for the album connects the tracks he’s playwith me, except I have nobody to bounce ideas off of.” ing with assigned colors. He says, “The DJ set is different every In Colour is very much Smith’s vision and his musical voice. time, but I plan the show so when I’m mixing in one of the album Even on the tracks where he features The xx band members, tracks or my previous tracks, the whole show goes to that specific Romy Madley Croft (“Loud Places,” “Seesaw”) and Oliver Sim look and it becomes obvious as the show progresses that it’s the (“Stranger in a Room”), he collaborates with them individually. color to each song.” “We hadn’t worked one-on-one since before the first album,” An alternate version of Smith’s aural/visual representation, says Smith. “It was nice to get back to that idea.” is currently on exhibit in a commissioned piece at the National The concept behind In Colour, came about during a bout Gallery in London, until September 6th. Part of the museum’s of homesickness while Smith was touring Coexist with The xx. “Soundscapes” exhibit, Smith created a soundtrack for Théo van 78
