Gil Scott-Heron - NY is Killing Me (Jamie XX Remix)
Comeback err.. Granddad Gil Scott-Heron released his album I'm New Here this time last year after a 16 years hiatus. Regular attendance to prisons for drug charges kinda got in the way. A spectacular album I'm sure, more interesting however is that XX mastermind Jamie Smith is releasing a remix album of I'm New Here, entitled We're New Here. By now we've all heard NY is Killing Me and we've all agreed it is an absolute stonker. Like it's ridiculous how on the money that tune is, I couldn't think of a song better suited to the demands of the average Warehouse Project goer. It's almost enough for me to hate it, but I don't. The ghostly organ with that bouncy bass really does raise the hairs on the back of your neck.
The other big one off the album is I'll Take Care of You which is the polar opposite of the danceable aforementioned tune. It's a soulful, bluesy one of Gil's which is the main feel the original album. It starts off subdued with his raspier, age-weathered voice against a single piano and then it breaks into the trademark XX ethereal guitar. Midway through the song the vocals are chopped and it turns more dancey. The Crutch is an uptempo glitchy one contrasted against Gil's spoken word which actually does well not to sound out of place. My Cloud is a soulful lullaby that is beautiful in its simplicity.
The whole album, together with a few jazzy interludes is an interesting listen. You don't find many remix albums, especially not as debuts, so it is quite a bold move of Jamie's. It is varied and you could invent a different genre for most of the tracks. I think fresh would be an apt word to describe it. Amazing is another.
8.5/10
Release Date | 21st February
