We're New Here
Encyclopedia
We're New Here is a remix album
by American recording artist Gil Scott-Heron
and English music producer Jamie "xx" Smith
, released February 21, 2011, on XL Recordings
and Young Turks Records. It is a reworking of Scott-Heron's studio album I'm New Here
(2010). Incoporating dubstep
and UK garage
styles, Smith applied electronic music
techniques in his production to remix Scott-Heron's vocals from the original album over his own instrumentals. We're New Here has been noted by music writers for recontextualizing Scott-Heron's narratives in Smith's own musical influences and tastes.
Although it did not chart in the United States, the album debuted at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart
, on which it spent two weeks. It was promoted with a multi-format release, including a limited edition box set, and the release of two singles, "NY Is Killing Me" and "I'll Take Care of U". Upon its release, We're New Here received general acclaim from music critic
s, who praised Scott-Heron's vocal material, Smith's production, and his treatment of the source material.
recorded and released his first album of original material in sixteen years, I'm New Here
(2010), with the assistance of XL Recordings
-label head Richard Russell
. Produced by Russell, the album served as a departure from Scott-Heron's earlier work, both musically and thematically, eschewing its soul
, jazz
, and funk
styles and social commentary for more personal, reflective lyrics with ruminations on love, loss, and identity, set to contemporary electronic music
. It was well-received by fans and music critics, who viewed it as a comeback for Scott-Heron.
Russell, a fan of English indie pop
band The xx
, proposed the idea of remix
ing I'm New Here to the band's percussionist and producer Jamie Smith
, known professionally as Jamie xx. Russell was introduced to their music after hearing Smith's remix of Florence and the Machine
's "You Got the Love". He told Smith that his production work on I'm New Here was heavily influenced by The xx's debut album xx
(2009), which was recorded at the XL label's studio. Their debut album showcased Smith's bassy, beat-oriented and minimalist production and had garnered the band critical acclaim, including the 2010 Mercury Prize
. Following its success, Smith had occupied himself with solo production work, remixing other artists, and DJing in clubs in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Smith, a longtime fan of Scott-Heron's work, was introduced by his parents to Scott-Heron's music as a youth. Russell later said of his decision to enlist Smith, "We didn't want lots of remixes by different people. That can be confusing. Gil was open to Jamie re-interpreting the whole album". According to Smith, he himself had no point of reference in remixing another artist's album, and later said of taking on the project, "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 wanted it to sound like everything I had been listening to in London. I wanted it to sound like something you’d hear on pirate radio
. You hear so many different genres, and it’s all so convoluted and mixed-up, but it makes sense when you turn on the station". In addition to vocal tracks from I'm New Here, Smith mixed vocals from Scott-Heron's 1970s work. In an interview for Pitchfork Media
, Smith explained his incorporation of these vocals and its meaning to the work as a whole, stating:
While given permission by XL Recordings to remix I'm New Heres content, Smith wrote longhand letters to Scott-Heron to obtain his approval to rework the other vocal material. Smith explained, "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. [...] So after I wrote him the letter, he said I was free to do whatever because he knew what I was doing". Scott-Heron is credited as a producer for the album, along with Russell and Malcolm Cecil
, a producer and engineer on Scott-Heron's past work. The original vocals were produced and engineered at Clinton Studios and Looking Glass Studios in New York, and additional recording and mixing of the album took place at XL Studios in London.
Similar to I'm New Here, the album features 13 songs that include four interludes and is rhythmically stressed in sound. However, it contrasts the original album's stark style and lo-fi production with bass-driven, musically-varied production and sonical illumination of Scott-Heron's vocals. We're New Here is considered a post-dubstep work. In remixing the album, Smith incorporated dubstep
tones, dance
-influenced tempos, pitch-shifted and sped-up samples
, wobble, sub-bass
, and drum 'n' bass
beats into the music. According to Thom Jurek of Allmusic, "Richard Russell's production on I'm New Here kept Scott-Heron's voice front and center; Smith displaces it often, all but covering it with effects, beats, and pitched vocals in styles that cross the electronic music gamut". Tim Noakes of Dazed & Confused
describes the album as "[his] love letter to sample culture and the history of the UK electronic underground. Against Smith’s booming backdrop of sub bass breakdowns, obscure samples and two-step
rhythms, Scott-Heron’s scarred poetic missives take on a more sinister edge". Ian Maleney of Slate
comments on the album's music, "The beats and bass are classic dub [...] and the use of stretched and pitched vocal samples cement the albums place in the ever-developing dubstep cannon". Music critic Max Feldman notes "smothering" bass lines and "robust" beats, and writes that the album performs a "balancing act between the avant-garde end of the dubstep fallout" and "dance-ability".
We're New Here also contains elements of trance
, house
, techno, hip hop
breakbeat
s, and electro music. Dan Hancox of The National
noted in its sound "a melange of creaking bass hums, cascading UK garage
drums and washes of electronic noise". The album's title track incorporates a sped-up sample of Gloria Gaynor
's "Casanova Brown", with an emphasis on the line "I was lonely and naïve" from the sample, and "Running" has Scott-Heron's spoken word vocals scattered and repeated. "Ur Soul and Mine" samples the vocals from Rui da Silva
's house classic "Touch Me
", distorting the vocals in the song's verse, but preserving its chorus part. The densely-produced "Home" features clattering snares
, a heavily-reverbed keyboard sample, drum loop
, and a vocal sample of Scott-Heron singing the line "home is where the hatred is...", taken from the song of the same name from his 1971 album Pieces of a Man
. BBC Online's Ele Beattie writes of Smith's sampling and its meaning to the work as a whole, stating "Smith’s use of sampling tunes the listener in and out of his musical predecessors. He rewires a personal musical canon into something utterly contemporary [...] Whilst I'm New Here marked an introspective turn from Scott-Heron, this set offers a multi-layered retrospective of the music which bore and surrounds Jamie xx".
, vinyl LP
, vinyl box set, and digital download
. Its limited edition box set release was made available via the album's official website and included the LP on pink heavyweight vinyl, an LP of instrumentals on green heavyweight vinyl, CDs of both the standard and instrumental album, and two photographic prints. Prior to its release, We're New Here had been made available for streaming
via The Guardian
website on February 14.
The album's first single, "NY Is Killing Me", was released digitally on November 30, 2010, and on January 10, 2011, as a limited edition one-sided 12-inch single. Sean Michaels of The Guardian wrote of the song, "Ghostly samples rise around Scott-Heron's vocals, combining the poet's inner-city canvas with Smith's dubstep roots. It's as good as anything the DJ has produced". The second single "I'll Take Care of U" was released on January 6, 2011. It features euphoric, house-inspired piano hooks and echoing guitar riffs. A music video
for the single was directed by photographer Jamie-James Medina and AG Rojas, and it was released on March 4, 2011. Set in New York City, the video's plot follows a female boxer as she takes care of her child and trains for a fight.
in the week ending March 5, 2011. It also entered at number four on the UK Indie Chart
and at number 18 on the Digital Chart. The album dropped to number 60 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week, and fell off the chart in its third week of release. We're New Here did not chart in the United States. In Belgium, the album debuted at number 44 and subsequently spent five weeks on the Ultratop 50 Albums
chart.
s. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 82, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". Allmusic editor Thom Jurek called it "a mercurial collaboration [...] full of nods to other club styles and eras" and praised Smith's "expansive direction", stating "He accomplishes a difficult task in successfully (re)presenting Scott-Heron's music — integrity intact — in the present tense to a fickle yet discerning groove-centric culture without kitsch or excess". Entertainment Weekly
s Amanda Petrusich gave it a B+ rating and commented that "Scott-Heron's raspy vocals anchor Smith's spectral diddlings [...] pleasantly moody". Charlotte Richardson Andrews of The Guardian
called the album a "perceptive reworking" and stated "Scott's old-soul narratives are reborn through Smith's atmospheric beats". Chris Martins of The A.V. Club
praised "the everlasting gravity of [Scott-Heron]’s words and wisdom", writing that "his pained, bluesy musings are as universally human as they are perennially pertinent [...] Scott-Heron talks, sings, hums, and pontificates, sometimes over the beat and sometimes from deep within the snowdrift". Irish Independent
writer John Meagher called its music "an atmospheric soundtrack" and stated "Gil's sage words resonate spectacularly".
However, Chris Richards of The Washington Post
found Smith's remixing "sloppy" and commented that "The meandering beats feel tossed off". The Observer
s Kitty Empire
wrote that he "tear[s] up Russell's soundbed entirely and showcase[s] his own emerging versatility", but ultimately stated "While Smith's productions are consistently excellent, they aren't really there to augment Scott-Heron's words". Andy Gill of The Independent
gave the album three out of five stars and commented that the remixing techniques "only occasionally work in its favour". Marc Hogan of Spin
called it an "unusual album-length remix", but complimented it for presenting each artist's strength. Louise Brailey of NME
gave We're New Here a seven out of 10 rating and wrote that Smith "coaxes fresh narratives from the source material", concluding that it "isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it showcases a producer so in love with the music of now that he not only preserves the power of his source material, but makes it more relevant". Garry Mulholland of Uncut
noted its music as "closest in tempo and atmosphere to dubstep" and commended Smith's "opportunity to explore different styles of dance music [...] woven into what feels like a 36-minute suite". Los Angeles Times
writer August Brown gave it three out of four stars and commented that "the duo lends each other gravitas and levity on this very curious but ultimately immersive LP".
Pitchfork Media
's Sean Fennessey noted Smith's "fearlessness over reverence" in his production and wrote that his "finicky, hard-charging production trumps Scott-Heron's voice, overpowering it with ideas, if not focus". Matthew Bennett of Clash
gave the album a nine out of 10 rating and commented that "The old timer’s voice sounds great over any sound or style borne from the youngster’s sampler". BBC Online's Ele Beattie complimented Smith's "bass-driven" musical approach and his incorporation of UK electronic styles, calling the album "a cohesive, considered masterpiece in its own right". Ben Ratliff of The New York Times
lauded Smith for "putting Mr. Scott-Heron’s worn voice over constantly changing variations on club music". Ratliff also viewed that "sometimes the record feels faintly ridiculous, laying Mr. Scott-Heron’s crusty, life-burned incantations over club-kid beats", but ultimately found the album an improvement over "the bummed-out original", adding that "To its great credit it’s high and low and all over the place. The dislocation works: the record has patience and breadth and almost zero pretension". Max Feldman of PopMatters
commented that "Ultimately, We’re New Here succeeds because it manages to seamlessly reconcile the different traditions from which it draws—not just Gil Scott Heron’s uttering utterances, but UK Garage, the fibrous gloss of Seventeen Seconds
-era The Cure
, and R&B futurism".
Remix album
A remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!...
by American recording artist Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron
Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
and English music producer Jamie "xx" Smith
Jamie xx
Jamie Smith is an English music producer and remix artist, who gained fame both as solo act and as a member of the London-based band The xx....
, released February 21, 2011, on XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
and Young Turks Records. It is a reworking of Scott-Heron's studio album I'm New Here
I'm New Here
I'm New Here is a departure from the rhythmic, jazz-funk and soul style of Scott-Heron's previous work, and embraces an acoustic and electronic minimal sound. Musically, I'm New Here incorporates blues, folk, trip hop, and electronica styles...
(2010). Incoporating dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and UK garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
styles, Smith applied electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
techniques in his production to remix Scott-Heron's vocals from the original album over his own instrumentals. We're New Here has been noted by music writers for recontextualizing Scott-Heron's narratives in Smith's own musical influences and tastes.
Although it did not chart in the United States, the album debuted at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, on which it spent two weeks. It was promoted with a multi-format release, including a limited edition box set, and the release of two singles, "NY Is Killing Me" and "I'll Take Care of U". Upon its release, We're New Here received general acclaim from music critic
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s, who praised Scott-Heron's vocal material, Smith's production, and his treatment of the source material.
Background
Following a period of personal and legal troubles with drug addiction, Gil Scott-HeronGil Scott-Heron
Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
recorded and released his first album of original material in sixteen years, I'm New Here
I'm New Here
I'm New Here is a departure from the rhythmic, jazz-funk and soul style of Scott-Heron's previous work, and embraces an acoustic and electronic minimal sound. Musically, I'm New Here incorporates blues, folk, trip hop, and electronica styles...
(2010), with the assistance of XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
-label head Richard Russell
Richard Russell (XL Recordings)
-Career:Russell joined the independent record label XL Recordings in 1991. The label was founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes to release rave and electronic music on 12" vinyl singles....
. Produced by Russell, the album served as a departure from Scott-Heron's earlier work, both musically and thematically, eschewing its soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
styles and social commentary for more personal, reflective lyrics with ruminations on love, loss, and identity, set to contemporary electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. It was well-received by fans and music critics, who viewed it as a comeback for Scott-Heron.
Russell, a fan of English indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band The xx
The xx
The xx are an English indie pop band, formed in London in 2005. The band's members met while studying at Elliott School, the same school that produced Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet. They became a trio when their second guitarist and keyboardist, Baria Qureshi, departed in late 2009. In September...
, proposed the idea of remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ing I'm New Here to the band's percussionist and producer Jamie Smith
Jamie xx
Jamie Smith is an English music producer and remix artist, who gained fame both as solo act and as a member of the London-based band The xx....
, known professionally as Jamie xx. Russell was introduced to their music after hearing Smith's remix of Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul...
's "You Got the Love". He told Smith that his production work on I'm New Here was heavily influenced by The xx's debut album xx
Xx (album)
xx is the debut studio album by English indie pop group The xx, released on 17 August 2009 by Young Turks. The self-produced album was recorded at XL Studios in West London between December 2008 and April 2009. The album was awarded the 2010 Mercury Prize...
(2009), which was recorded at the XL label's studio. Their debut album showcased Smith's bassy, beat-oriented and minimalist production and had garnered the band critical acclaim, including the 2010 Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
. Following its success, Smith had occupied himself with solo production work, remixing other artists, and DJing in clubs in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Smith, a longtime fan of Scott-Heron's work, was introduced by his parents to Scott-Heron's music as a youth. Russell later said of his decision to enlist Smith, "We didn't want lots of remixes by different people. That can be confusing. Gil was open to Jamie re-interpreting the whole album". According to Smith, he himself had no point of reference in remixing another artist's album, and later said of taking on the project, "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".
Recording
Although Scott-Heron received top-billing for the release, Smith worked solely on the remix project. For We're New Here, Smith remixed 13 of the original album's 15 songs, including its "interlude" cuts, mixing Scott-Heron's vocal tracks from the original recording sessions over his own instrumentals, rather than the original music. Many of the remixes were created by Smith on his laptop, while on tour with The xx. In a March 2010 interview, he said that the label "gave me the parts and let me do whatever I want, so I've been doing it on my laptop on tour. [I'm] only using [Gil's] vocals, I'm not using any of the original music from it, which is very freeing". On his intentions for the album's music, Smith explained in an interview for The Irish TimesThe Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
, "I wanted it to sound like everything I had been listening to in London. I wanted it to sound like something you’d hear on pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
. You hear so many different genres, and it’s all so convoluted and mixed-up, but it makes sense when you turn on the station". In addition to vocal tracks from I'm New Here, Smith mixed vocals from Scott-Heron's 1970s work. In an interview for Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, Smith explained his incorporation of these vocals and its meaning to the work as a whole, stating:
While given permission by XL Recordings to remix I'm New Heres content, Smith wrote longhand letters to Scott-Heron to obtain his approval to rework the other vocal material. Smith explained, "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. [...] So after I wrote him the letter, he said I was free to do whatever because he knew what I was doing". Scott-Heron is credited as a producer for the album, along with Russell and Malcolm Cecil
Malcolm Cecil
Malcolm Cecil is a British jazz bassist and Grammy Award-winning record producer.A founding member of the UK's leading jazz quintet of the late 1950s, The Jazz Couriers, he went on to join a number of British jazz combos led by Dick Morrissey, Tony Crombie and Ronnie Scott in the late 50s and...
, a producer and engineer on Scott-Heron's past work. The original vocals were produced and engineered at Clinton Studios and Looking Glass Studios in New York, and additional recording and mixing of the album took place at XL Studios in London.
Music
Similar to I'm New Here, the album features 13 songs that include four interludes and is rhythmically stressed in sound. However, it contrasts the original album's stark style and lo-fi production with bass-driven, musically-varied production and sonical illumination of Scott-Heron's vocals. We're New Here is considered a post-dubstep work. In remixing the album, Smith incorporated dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
tones, dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
-influenced tempos, pitch-shifted and sped-up samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, wobble, sub-bass
Sub-bass
Sub-bass is a term used to describe audible sounds below 90 Hz and extending downward to include the lowest frequency humans can hear, typically 20 Hz. Sound systems often feature one or more subwoofer loudspeakers that are dedicated solely to amplifying sounds in the sub-bass range...
, and drum 'n' bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
beats into the music. According to Thom Jurek of Allmusic, "Richard Russell's production on I'm New Here kept Scott-Heron's voice front and center; Smith displaces it often, all but covering it with effects, beats, and pitched vocals in styles that cross the electronic music gamut". Tim Noakes of Dazed & Confused
Dazed & Confused (magazine)
Dazed & Confused is a British style magazine, that was set up in 1992 and published monthly. Its founding editors were Jefferson Hack and Rankin...
describes the album as "[his] love letter to sample culture and the history of the UK electronic underground. Against Smith’s booming backdrop of sub bass breakdowns, obscure samples and two-step
2-step garage
2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a typically English style of modern electronic dance music, and a relatively popular subgenre of UK garage.A transcription of this article is available as a PDF file.-Characteristics:...
rhythms, Scott-Heron’s scarred poetic missives take on a more sinister edge". Ian Maleney of Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
comments on the album's music, "The beats and bass are classic dub [...] and the use of stretched and pitched vocal samples cement the albums place in the ever-developing dubstep cannon". Music critic Max Feldman notes "smothering" bass lines and "robust" beats, and writes that the album performs a "balancing act between the avant-garde end of the dubstep fallout" and "dance-ability".
We're New Here also contains elements of trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, techno, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s, and electro music. Dan Hancox of The National
The National (Abu Dhabi)
The National is a government-owned English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi. The editor-in-chief since June 8, 2009 has been Hassan Fattah. Prior to this, and from the launch of the newspaper Martin Newland was editor-in-chief. Mubadala Development Company, an investment company...
noted in its sound "a melange of creaking bass hums, cascading UK garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
drums and washes of electronic noise". The album's title track incorporates a sped-up sample of Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
's "Casanova Brown", with an emphasis on the line "I was lonely and naïve" from the sample, and "Running" has Scott-Heron's spoken word vocals scattered and repeated. "Ur Soul and Mine" samples the vocals from Rui da Silva
Rui da Silva
Rui da Silva is a Portuguese producer and DJ, whose single "Touch Me" topped the UK Singles Chart in 2001.At the time, he was the only Portuguese musician to have a UK hit, and hence was the first to score a UK number one.-Career:...
's house classic "Touch Me
Touch Me (Rui Da Silva song)
"Touch Me" is a house song by Portuguese producer Rui da Silva featuring vocals written and performed by British singer Cassandra Fox."Touch Me" is arguably Rui da Silva's most popular song, spending one week at the number-one spot on the UK chart, the first song by a Portuguese musician to do so,...
", distorting the vocals in the song's verse, but preserving its chorus part. The densely-produced "Home" features clattering snares
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, a heavily-reverbed keyboard sample, drum loop
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
, and a vocal sample of Scott-Heron singing the line "home is where the hatred is...", taken from the song of the same name from his 1971 album Pieces of a Man
Pieces of a Man
-Samples:New Life *"Feelin' Good" by Nina SimoneHow Ya Livin*"Show Me" by Glenn JonesLove Is Love*"Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" by Nina Simone*"Happy Birthday Maggie" by Hans ZimmerThe Pay Back...
. BBC Online's Ele Beattie writes of Smith's sampling and its meaning to the work as a whole, stating "Smith’s use of sampling tunes the listener in and out of his musical predecessors. He rewires a personal musical canon into something utterly contemporary [...] Whilst I'm New Here marked an introspective turn from Scott-Heron, this set offers a multi-layered retrospective of the music which bore and surrounds Jamie xx".
Release and promotion
The album was released by XL Recordings and Young Turks Records on February 21, 2011, in the United Kingdom, and on February 22, 2011, in the United States. It was released on multiple formats, including CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, vinyl LP
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, vinyl box set, and digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
. Its limited edition box set release was made available via the album's official website and included the LP on pink heavyweight vinyl, an LP of instrumentals on green heavyweight vinyl, CDs of both the standard and instrumental album, and two photographic prints. Prior to its release, We're New Here had been made available for streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
via The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
website on February 14.
The album's first single, "NY Is Killing Me", was released digitally on November 30, 2010, and on January 10, 2011, as a limited edition one-sided 12-inch single. Sean Michaels of The Guardian wrote of the song, "Ghostly samples rise around Scott-Heron's vocals, combining the poet's inner-city canvas with Smith's dubstep roots. It's as good as anything the DJ has produced". The second single "I'll Take Care of U" was released on January 6, 2011. It features euphoric, house-inspired piano hooks and echoing guitar riffs. A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the single was directed by photographer Jamie-James Medina and AG Rojas, and it was released on March 4, 2011. Set in New York City, the video's plot follows a female boxer as she takes care of her child and trains for a fight.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 33 on the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in the week ending March 5, 2011. It also entered at number four on the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
and at number 18 on the Digital Chart. The album dropped to number 60 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week, and fell off the chart in its third week of release. We're New Here did not chart in the United States. In Belgium, the album debuted at number 44 and subsequently spent five weeks on the Ultratop 50 Albums
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...
chart.
Critical response
We're New Here received general acclaim from music criticMusic criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 82, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". Allmusic editor Thom Jurek called it "a mercurial collaboration [...] full of nods to other club styles and eras" and praised Smith's "expansive direction", stating "He accomplishes a difficult task in successfully (re)presenting Scott-Heron's music — integrity intact — in the present tense to a fickle yet discerning groove-centric culture without kitsch or excess". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Amanda Petrusich gave it a B+ rating and commented that "Scott-Heron's raspy vocals anchor Smith's spectral diddlings [...] pleasantly moody". Charlotte Richardson Andrews of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called the album a "perceptive reworking" and stated "Scott's old-soul narratives are reborn through Smith's atmospheric beats". Chris Martins of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
praised "the everlasting gravity of [Scott-Heron]’s words and wisdom", writing that "his pained, bluesy musings are as universally human as they are perennially pertinent [...] Scott-Heron talks, sings, hums, and pontificates, sometimes over the beat and sometimes from deep within the snowdrift". Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
writer John Meagher called its music "an atmospheric soundtrack" and stated "Gil's sage words resonate spectacularly".
However, Chris Richards of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
found Smith's remixing "sloppy" and commented that "The meandering beats feel tossed off". The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
s Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic.Empire was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain in 1988....
wrote that he "tear[s] up Russell's soundbed entirely and showcase[s] his own emerging versatility", but ultimately stated "While Smith's productions are consistently excellent, they aren't really there to augment Scott-Heron's words". Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
gave the album three out of five stars and commented that the remixing techniques "only occasionally work in its favour". Marc Hogan of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
called it an "unusual album-length remix", but complimented it for presenting each artist's strength. Louise Brailey of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
gave We're New Here a seven out of 10 rating and wrote that Smith "coaxes fresh narratives from the source material", concluding that it "isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it showcases a producer so in love with the music of now that he not only preserves the power of his source material, but makes it more relevant". Garry Mulholland of Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
noted its music as "closest in tempo and atmosphere to dubstep" and commended Smith's "opportunity to explore different styles of dance music [...] woven into what feels like a 36-minute suite". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer August Brown gave it three out of four stars and commented that "the duo lends each other gravitas and levity on this very curious but ultimately immersive LP".
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Sean Fennessey noted Smith's "fearlessness over reverence" in his production and wrote that his "finicky, hard-charging production trumps Scott-Heron's voice, overpowering it with ideas, if not focus". Matthew Bennett of Clash
Clash (magazine)
Clash is a popular music and fashion magazine based in the United Kingdom. Its magazine title is published 12 times a year. It has a circulation of around 40,000....
gave the album a nine out of 10 rating and commented that "The old timer’s voice sounds great over any sound or style borne from the youngster’s sampler". BBC Online's Ele Beattie complimented Smith's "bass-driven" musical approach and his incorporation of UK electronic styles, calling the album "a cohesive, considered masterpiece in its own right". Ben Ratliff of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
lauded Smith for "putting Mr. Scott-Heron’s worn voice over constantly changing variations on club music". Ratliff also viewed that "sometimes the record feels faintly ridiculous, laying Mr. Scott-Heron’s crusty, life-burned incantations over club-kid beats", but ultimately found the album an improvement over "the bummed-out original", adding that "To its great credit it’s high and low and all over the place. The dislocation works: the record has patience and breadth and almost zero pretension". Max Feldman of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
commented that "Ultimately, We’re New Here succeeds because it manages to seamlessly reconcile the different traditions from which it draws—not just Gil Scott Heron’s uttering utterances, but UK Garage, the fibrous gloss of Seventeen Seconds
Seventeen Seconds
Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by The Cure, released in April 1980 by Fiction Records. It is the only Cure album to feature keyboardist Matthieu Hartley, and was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album reached number 20 on the British album charts...
-era The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, and R&B futurism".
Track listing
Sample credits- "I'm New Here" contains a sample of the recording "Casanova Brown" as performed by Gloria GaynorGloria GaynorGloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
. - "I've Been Me (Interlude)" contains a sample of "Boxcar Hobo" by Sassafrass.
- "Certain Things (Interlude)" contains a sample of the recording "Slaves" as performed by Giuliano Sorgini.
- "The Crutch" contains excerpts from "That's How Heartaches Are Made" as performed by Baby WashingtonJustine WashingtonJustine "Baby" Washington is an American soul music vocalist.-Life and career:Washington was raised in Harlem, New York. In 1956, she joined the vocal group The Hearts, then became s a solo artist the following year. Washington had 16 rhythm and blues chart entries in 15 years, most of them during...
. - "Ur Soul and Mine" contains a sample of "Touch Me" by Rui da Silva.
- "Parents (Interlude)" contains a sample of "Hap'nin'", written by Bernard Purdie.
- "Jazz (Interlude)" contains a sample of the recording "Sixty-Eight Ways".
Personnel
Credits for We're New Here adapted from Allmusic.- Malcolm Cecil – engineer, producer, synthesizer programming
- Romy Madley Croft – guitar
- Jamie xx – additional production, design, musician, remixing
- Royce Jeffries – assistant
- Phil Lee – design
- Rodaidh McDonald – engineer, mixing
- Ichiho Nishiki – engineer, mixing
- Mandy Parnell – mastering
- Mischa Richter – photography
- Richard Russell – vocal producer
- Gil Scott-Heron – vocal producer, vocals
- Lawson White – engineer, mixing
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
44 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
33 |
| UK Indie Albums UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered... |
4 |
External links
- We're New Here at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- We're New Here at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...