TOWARDS THE END of the summer of 2020, the UK was in somewhat of a nether zone. The first peak of the Covid pandemic had passed and the long and languid final days of summer brought with them a restlessness and a desire to connect once more, despite government advice to continue to isolate. During this period, illegal rave culture returned to both London and the rest of the country, spawning a morally dubious but undoubtedly exciting underground movement.
Each weekend during this time, Jamie Smith would cycle down the River Thames and pop his head into whichever mini raves he stumbled upon. Barges, riverbanks, marshes, forests and more all hosted ramshackle events after six months of total seclusion, bringing little sparks of life back to a numb and frazzled youth. "Those things have happened before, but it hadn't felt like such a scene," Smith - who has become one of the defining British dance producers of the 21st century as Jamie xx - tells Rolling Stone UK from his Soho studio, a stone's throw away from the site of these parties four years ago. "It was really special to see human beings really wanting to be around each other again." The music was "mostly terrible," he laughs, "but it was a lovely, heartwarming, inspiring thing to be around."
Though you would ordinarily expect a pandemic to stifle the creativity and spark of a dance producer and DJ, Covid provided the jolt Smith needed to re-engage with his love of music and escape a rut that had plagued him for the previous few years. After he returned home from the tour behind The xx's third album, 2017's I See You, Smith believed he had his second solo album all mapped out. "I made loads of music of what I thought I wanted [the album] to be like and it was just really boring," he reflects. "I liked it, but it didn't seem like there was any reason for other people to hear it. It took me a while after that to figure out where to go next."
This story is from the October/November 2024 edition of Rolling Stone UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October/November 2024 edition of Rolling Stone UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Scream Queen Next Door - In just a few short years, Hunter Schafer has gone from small-town North Carolina to global runways, Euphoria stardom, and her first lead role, in the horror flick Cuckoo
Hunter Schafer greets me with a confession. Beckoning me through a small gated fence into the winding maze of Chateau Marmont's lush, greenery-covered courtyard, she gives me a hug, then yawns. There's a lot happening right now, she says. I've barely gotten a handle on it. There's a grey vape in her hand, worn split-toe Tabis on her feet, and a wry smile on her face. To be fully honest with you, I'd forgotten this was happening.
Together in Electronic Dreams - Raphaella Lima of video game publisher Electronic Arts brings music to her childhood love of gaming to spotlight many of the most exciting emerging acts of the past two decades in the hit football game EA SPORTS FC
Raphaella Lima of video game publisher Electronic Arts brings music to her childhood love of gaming to spotlight many of the most exciting emerging acts of the past two decades in the hit football game EA SPORTS FC. ME AND A$AP just clicked, says Raphaella Lima, global music marketing director at video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA). I met him when I was just coming off maternity leave, so I wasn't drinking, and he'd been in the dentist's chair all day, so he wasn't drinking either. But we sat in the hotel, and he thought, 'You know what? I f**k with this girl! Let's go to the studio.' So, my partner and I went, we heard his music, and we thought, 'This guy is incredible.
Sounding the Alert - The UK music industry is calling for the new Labour government to make essential changes to rescue British music - from halting the closure of venues to providing essential opportunities for new talent
To quote one Bob Dylan: "the times they are a-changin." After 14 years of Tory rule, 4 July saw a changing of the guard in British politics as Sir Keir Starmer stood on the steps of Downing Street to mark the start of a new Labour government and - according to the man himself - a decade of national renewal.Not that the result was ever in doubt, however. A cursory look at polls over the preceding year showed that a Labour landslide was very much on the cards, and it seemed like those aforementioned Dylan lyrics were about to ring true.
IN COMPLETE CONFIDENCE
Confidence Man's Janet Planet and Sugar Bones go bigger and wilder than ever before on 3AM (LA LA LA), an album made about partying, while partying, and perfect for partying to
Collective consciousness
Ezra Collective return with Dance, No One's Watching, the roaring follow-up album to last year's boundary-moving Mercury Prize win
A BUNCH OF (PRI)MATES
From the story of 'Gary', the title track of Stockport band Blossoms' fifth album inspired by a fibreglass gorilla, to breaking new ground with their own record label and staying friends after 10 years, the tightknit band tell Rolling Stone UK all about it
Suitors and ties
Bridgerton's newest beau Victor Alli on joining the hit Netflix adaptation as the third season begins
GROWING PAINS AND HAPPY ENDINGS
OPENING HER HEART IN HER MUSIC HAS HELPED NELL MESCAL BUILD A DEDICATED FANBASE, BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR HOPE TOO, THE 21-YEAR-OLD REVEALS, AS SHE RELEASES HER DEBUT EP
The new Doctor Who is in!
How Ncuti Gatwa went from TV queer idol to making history on the iconic sci-fi show
BECKY HILL NOT MISSING A BEAT
This chart-topping, two-time BRIT Award-winner has fought hard to get to where she is. As she releases her deeply personal second album Believe Me Now?, she’s determined to make an impact on a global scale
