''Zephyr'' is the sixth studio album by English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first ros ...

, released on 7 December 2009 through

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

internationally. A departure from their prior work, it was described as

chill-out music Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...

. ''Zephyr'' was originally intended to be a double album with '' Scars'', released in September 2009, but each was ultimately issued separately. The album missed most major music charts, but did appear at number 12 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.

Background

The group had originally planned on recording a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

, with one album consisting of more ambient and mellow songs and the other traditional dance music tracks. However, the group decided on releasing '' Scars'' on its own, with ''Zephyr'' as its follow-up. Felix Buxton told ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'': " swe were very keen on kind of doing a double-album. And then it’s just one of those things: you feel ou’re inyour

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

phase. It's very Spinal Tap to do a double-album, and acts ometimestake themselves too seriously, so we were at that point

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

we want to take ourselves seriously; and also we also always enjoy doing the soundscape stuff." ''Zephyr'' was released on 7 December 2009 by record label XL. Initially, the album was only released as a digital download, but a physical release followed in March 2010. The track "Hip Hip Hooray" was created for the Tate Modern as part of a series of tracks commissioned to be played alongside paintings. The track was inspired by the painting by Karel Appel, and includes cello, piano and organ by Jack Nunn. "Walking in the Clouds" features the voice of Joe Benjamin, a 70-year-old

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

n man that walks around Brixton with "a

Stetson Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous ...

hat, a large stick and a kind of

poncho A poncho (; ; ; "blanket", "woolen fabric") is a kind of plainly formed, loose outer garment originating in the Americas, traditionally and still usually made of fabric, and designed to keep the body warm. Ponchos have been used by the Indige ...

." Buxton befriended him when he used to live there, then he invited Benjamin to the studio to record "Benjilude", an interlude from their 2003 album '' Kish Kash''.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the album an "altogether more reflective affair han ''Scars''that allows Buxton and Ratcliffe to showcase their unique interpretation of a

chillout Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...

album", though criticising the album's short length.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control XL Recordings albums 2009 albums Basement Jaxx albums pt:Scars (álbum de Basement Jaxx)