Gil Scott-Heron/Jamie xx: We're New Here [XL RECORDINGS]

Why you'll love it

We're New Here puts Gil Scott-Heron's weathered voice over Jamie xx's dubstep and UK garage beats, and "I'll Take Care of U" later became a hit for Drake and Rihanna.

This edition

• Original 2011 artwork
• Jointly issued by XL Recordings and Young Turks

About the album

Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here was a stark, haunting comeback in 2010. XL boss Richard Russell asked a young fan, Jamie xx of the xx, to remix it, and Jamie spent his tour downtime turning it into something new, trading letters with Gil for his blessing along the way.

He keeps the voice, that deep, lived-in voice, and builds a whole new world around it: dubstep wobble, UK garage skip, steel drums and soft piano. "I'll Take Care of U" is a warm, glowing slow-jam, "NY Is Killing Me" bumps and shuffles, "Running" and "My Cloud" drift and shimmer, and spoken-word interludes stitch it together.

It's a beautiful meeting of generations, and one of the last great records Gil was part of.

Also at Kops: more Gil Scott-Heron on vinyl · browse Electronic

Tracklist

Listen

On XL Recordings (cat# XLYTLP517), a reissue of the 2011 remix album.