Jamie Smith of the xx on Remixing Gil Scott-Heron, Working With Drake, New Music From the xx

Photo by Mischa Richter

When Jamie Smith heard Gil Scott-Heron's distinctive drawl on his parents' stereo growing up, he never imagined releasing an album that featured his name alongside the revered poet's. But the upcoming remix LP We're New Here (out February 22 in the U.S. and February 21 in the UK on XL/Young Turks) features the sought-after xx producer putting Scott-Heron's voice over his own instrumentals, creating a dialogue between generations and styles.

Along with reworking tracks from Scott-Heron's 2010 comeback album I'm New Here-- which was produced by XL label boss Richard Russell, who conceived the remix record-- We're New Here features the 22-year-old Smith digging up some of the older Scott-Heron vocals he heard as a child, too.

Click on to read about Smith's concept behind We're New Here as well as some tidbits about the next xx album and hooking up with similarly minimal-minded Toronto rapper Drake:

Pitchfork: As a longtime fan of Gil's, were you nervous to take on this remix project?

Jamie Smith: It was a bit nerve-wracking because this is the first time I've ever done an album on my own. But I was really just eager to get at and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I didn't feel as nervous as I should've, probably.

__Watch the video for "NY Is Killing Me" from We're New Here:
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Pitchfork: Did you have any contact with Gil while making the album?

JS: Originally, I sent him the album and there were a couple of tracks he wasn't sure about. I had to write to him-- he does handwritten letters, not e-mail-- and explain why I wanted to use some of his older vocal tracks on the album.

I wanted to show the difference between him then and now as well as the difference between my taste then and now. The songs that use his voice from older records are influenced by the stuff I liked 10 or 15 years ago, mostly sample-based productions like RJD2. And I wanted the album to explain itself, like a DJ set. I wanted to represent Gil well, but also use his voice as my own.

So after I wrote him the letter, he said I was free to do whatever because he knew what I was doing.

Pitchfork: Have you met Gil?

JS: I briefly met him a few times at his gigs but we didn't get to talk about the album. He's just a very genuine guy, the same onstage as off. Very charismatic and also quite intimidating just because of who he is-- a lovely guy, but also kind of scary.

Listen to "I'll Take Care of U" from We're New Here:

Pitchfork: Are you working on the next xx album yet?

JS: At the moment, we're just making music, like we used to. We're not thinking about it in terms of what'll go on the album and what won't yet.

Pitchfork: Are you trying to stick to the same sound as the first album?

JS: I think it will definitely sound different than the last album and anything I've ever done, just because our ears have been opened to so much music. Two years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of listening to most of the stuff I listen to now. Like, I wasn't interested in techno and house at all before but, when I was in Chicago, I bought a bunch of Dance Mania records from the 80s and 90s, and I've listened to a lot of that.

Pitchfork: You recently released a solo song called "Far Nearer". Is that part of a bigger project?

JS: Well, I'm making tracks I want to release as 12” singles but I'm not planning on making my own album.

Jamie Smith: "Far Nearer"

Pitchfork: In an interview, the producer and singer James Blake cited you as a strong influence on a lot of minimalist music that's coming out of England now. Do you pay attention to trends like that?

JS: Yeah, definitely. That's what's going on in London still. James is basically a contemporary, along with people like Mount Kimbie, Ramadanman, Pearson Sound, Joy Orbison. We all end up on a lot of the same bills together in London, and you get to know each other. There are a lot of producers in Brixton, where I just moved, so it's sort of a community.

Pitchfork: I hear you're working with the rapper Drake, too.

JS: Yeah, he was in London two weeks ago and we went to the studio. He played his new stuff, I played my new stuff. He's not just after making a hit album again, he really wants to make things we've never heard before. I think I'll be flying to New York or Toronto to work with him in a few weeks. I'm happy to try new things, that's what this year is about.