One 3rd of UK band The XX, Jamie XX (known as Jamie Smith to his mum) has stepped out to show off his production talents and DJ skills in 2011.  The band released their first album, XX, in 2009 and spent much of 2010 on critics and bloggers fav lists.  Reaching platinum status in the UK was the certification needed to take them from side stages to the lime light. Next up, Jamie, a producer influenced by Hip-Hop, took on the job of remixing the late great Gil Scott-Heron's final album, I'm New Here (XL Records), by tranforming the soundscapes into dark ambient and hard hitting beats that made him a blog star all over again thanks to the lead single "NY Is Killing Me".  The result, the album We're New Here, gave him the shine to have labels calling for remix work during his down time from The XX.  Most notably he produced the official remix of 2011's biggest hit, Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" (another XL Records release) by giving it a Hip-Hop bounce worthy of any dancefloor.  He has since continued his work with XL by releasing the single "Far Nearer", a hauntingly happy love song with steel drums chiming over a skeletal beat while a distorted soul sample sings  "I feel better when I have you near me."  With a style that hasn't been heard much since Tricky and Bjork dropped out of the scene (watch out for her new album dropping this year), he is providing Electronica fans with an outlet beyond the Dance scene that  rediscovers the genre's greatness when dropped below 120 bpm's.  Since The XX are still together there is no telling which will come first, their sophomore album or a full length release from Jamie.  In the meantime, keep an eye out in case he makes an appearance in your town to drop a DJ set.

- D. Painter