Jamie xx - In Colour
Jamie xx's In Colour is the sound of a great night out remembered fondly the morning after, euphoric and wistful in equal measure.
Released in 2015, the debut solo album from The xx's producer and beatmaker took the band's hushed minimalism and threw the windows open. Drawing on UK rave history, steel drums, soul samples and the memory of London club nights, it earned a Mercury Prize nomination and became one of the defining electronic records of its decade.
"Loud Places," with bandmate Romy, builds from a confessional murmur into a soaring sampled chorus that turns heartbreak into a hands-in-the-air moment. "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)" pairs Young Thug and Popcaan over a sunny doo-wop loop, a gleefully unlikely combination that somehow works perfectly. "Gosh" opens the album with rumbling bass and a slow-climbing synth line, and "Sleep Sound" shimmers with soft, looping melancholy.
Every track feels carefully built yet loose enough to dance to, a balance few producers manage across a whole album, and the sequencing flows like a perfectly judged DJ set.
It is a record for headphones on the bus home and for the kitchen at 3am, and it remains a modern classic for lovers of dance music with a beating heart.