Jamie xx discusses the new, "clubbier" direction of The xx's next album

Jamie Smith, producer of Mercury-award winning indie-pop outfit The xx, talks about drum and bass, RJD2, the new xx album and disco snares in this new video from the Creator’s Project.

Jamie moved to Brixton because it was an area he knew from going out to drum and bass at Mass with school friends. Having also misspent my teenage years listening to Ray Keith do another rewind as the sweaty Mass dancefloor bayed for blood, it’s true that nothing since has replicated the single-minded energy of that place at five am. And as the first place Jamie heard club music ‘for real’, its impact must also be registering somewhere in his diverse, yet invariably forward-thinking, productions and remixes.

It’s interesting to hear him talk about what inspires him as a producer, including old disco records and the incredible quality of their productions: ‘the sound of a snare, that’s what I aspire to’, and he’s partial to using funk samples then layering them up like crazy. Although on the xx front he keeps the production set-up pretty simple. Speaking of which – anyone impatient for the xx’s second album will be glad to hear they’re just about to start recording and are hoping to have it wrapped up in time for next summer’s festivals.