AN IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF GOSH BY JAMIE XX

Jamie XX's debut solo album In Colour, released on the 29th of May 2015 is an eleven-track genre-bending record, nominated for various awards such as the 58th Grammy Awards (Best Dance/Electronic Album) and 2016 Brit Awards and 2015 Mercury Prize. The project combines future garage, electronic dance music, house and R'n'B to create, in my opinion, the best dance record of 2015. I will analyse the opening track, Gosh. It premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on the 25th of March 2015 and a video clip of an extended version of the song in the following year. Based on the track tempo, its muted basslines and ambience of sounds, its genre would be future garage/deep house. 

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Jamie XX is a part of an English band The XX, a DJ and producer. His style is a combination of electronica, indie and jungle. In How Music Works, David Byrne writes that "Recordings freeze music and allow it to be studied.", and I believe Jamie Smith's music not only proves it but also expands on it. By using samples unrecognizable by his younger listeners, he broadens their music knowledge. The experience of a dancefloor melancholy, when listening to Gosh, comes from understanding and respecting the dance culture and giving it a personal twist. Jamie achieves that by combining new and old samples with electronic music. All vocal samples in the opening track of an album come from Radio One's unaired episode of One In The Jungle (BBC, 1995). It was a one of a kind show because they played Jungle music for the first time on BBC radio. The song starts with rich bass and sampled drums, designed to be experienced through a good sound system. The intro lasts around thirty seconds. After it, we get introduced to the first vocal sample repeating:

Oh my gosh

Oh my gosh

Easy, easy

Hold it down, hold it down

The vocals in Gosh are all spoken, yet they carry emotions just like sung words. "A lot of the information we get comes from emphasized pitches [...], spoken 'melodies,' and the harmonics and timbre of the voice. We get emotional clues from these qualities just as much as from the words spoken." (Byrne, D. 2012). The vocals were all pitched down and slowed down, modulated by adding effects such as reverb. These changes were done on purpose. We can imagine a DJ saying these phrases to hype up the crowd. The loud drum and bass combined with airy spoken words evoke a feeling of being in a club. In Jamie's words "One of the things I have learned, though, is how to make things sound tough—in terms of technically how to make people move physically, as well as emotionally." (The Fader, 2015).

 A new loop gets introduced between the first and second verses. It sounds like it is not entirely in sync with the track, but I believe it is a part of the nostalgia since "[…] recalling an earlier age, when tracks were crunchy because samples were only 8-bits and loops were tight because there were only a few seconds of memory." (Pitchfork, 2015). The instrumental cuts abruptly, and we move to the second verse with the same sonic background as in the first one. The lyrics are the same, except for the last two lines, a repetition of "Yes, UK massive". There is plenty of meaning in this one line. Not only is it a clear shout out to the UK's dance culture, but it also puts the listener on the UK's dancefloor. At this moment, we learn what we are being nostalgic about, and we get introduced to a new bassline. It blends in with the already present deep bass and expands on it with every repetition. The bassline sound does a full circle before we get introduced to the grandest part of the track. It sounds like the established sonic background takes a step back. The bass gets heavier and faded and leaves space for a new musical motive.

In Alexis Petridis words, Gosh is "a warped take on an old hardcore rhythm topped with a gorgeous, wistful melody – the latter a homage to Orbital’s heartbreaking 1991 end-of-the-night anthem, Belfast." (The Guardian, 2015). The comparison of Gosh and Belfast is not random at all. Both tracks lead to a musical climax, and both include a hypnotic high pitched sound. That particular sound becomes audible at a fifteen-second mark in Orbital’s track. Then, it disappears and comes back again multiple times. The track’s sonic motives keep changing and developing, but we never get a sense of a conclusion to any of the sounds present. However, Gosh provides us with precisely that. The beginning of the track consists of inaudible at times vocal samples, strong bass and electronic drums with a 139 bpm, exactly what we hear in clubs, at raves, in party settings. We are familiar with it, and we are not expecting much more. However, after 2:20 minutes, we get introduced to a sharp sound. A single note rings in the listeners' ears for around twenty seconds. The sound goes on an over two-minute journey "that lifts the celebration into the stratosphere" (Pitchfork, 2015). Its' frequencies get changed multiple times during the solo. The synth melody circles multiple times and transforms with every new bar. I would compare the sounds' journey to a journey one goes onto when on drugs, often present in club settings. The synthesiser solo mimics the euphoria of music and drugs combined. We also feel the track slowing down and speeding up at times, which seems like a direct shout to Belfast. There is a buzzing sound accompanying the solo towards the end of it. The synth reaches a musical climax and then fades to leave room for the last part of the song. 

The euphoric part is over, suggesting the track is about to end. However, we are not leaving the dancefloor yet because Gosh is an opening track. The synth is still audible when we hear the last vocal sample on the record: 

To all the jungle massive all around the UK and beyond

In Ireland, France, Belgium, wherever you can pick this up, man

Many thanks for still keeping the vibe alive

I believe this is Jamie's way of acknowledging the fathers of rave culture, his influences and supporters of dance culture, and most importantly, his love for London's dance culture. In an interview with Alexis Petridis, he said: "I just like the lineage and the heritage and the fact that British dance music is still progressing. I’m from London, I love London, and I wouldn’t know how else to show that love in musical terms. There’s something about British stuff that’s a bit faster, a bit harder-hitting." (The Guardian, 2015). The essence of this track is the appreciation of the UK, London in particular. Not often do we hear a direct thank you in recorded music. It makes the listeners feel like a part of the music, which they obviously are. Once the sample ends, we are left with the ringing muted bass at the end. Gosh opened with the same bass sound, meaning it went a full circle. The song started on a dancefloor and finished in the same place. However, it took us on a journey away from the club, through an ethereal outer space.

Usually, Jamie XX plays Gosh towards the end of his set, despite it being the opening track. By doing this, he finishes his live performance on a high note. It is a dance anthem, which takes the listeners on one last journey before they have to go back to their realities. The hypnotic synth solo and strong bass carry the crowd and create a sense of fulfilment. I saw Jamie XX perform a live DJ set in 2015, and after six years, I consider it one of the best shows I have seen. It was not about him performing, but about the audience listening. Since then, Jamie has been collaborating with artists such as FKA Twigs, Frank Ocean, Adele, and he released an album with The XX. However, he has not released a solo LP since 2015, which might be surprising considering the success of In Colour. In his words: "I can make something for a long time, and just not come up with an ending. It’s finishing things that I don’t enjoy" (The guardian, 2015). The fact that he finds endings the toughest to make is audible in his work. I could listen to Gosh on repeat just like some people go to clubs every weekend, religiously. It is because we want to relive the ecstatic feeling over and over, and we do not want the night to end. Endings only make sense if there is a new beginning on the horizon. According to Jamie, the beauty of dance music is that it "will continue to be radically different, even if it happens slowly, over the next 20 years" (The Fader, 2015). Every generation is going to encounter new music inspired by previous generations.

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Bibliography

Byrne D, (2012)  "Technology Shapes Music: Analog”; ”Harmonia Mundi”  from How Music Works. San Francisco: McSweeney's.

Petridis A. (2015) Jamie xx: What have I learned? That I like working on my own. The Guardian

Available: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/28/jamie-xx-smith-solo-debut-album-in-colour (Accessed 19 November 2021)

Richardson M. (2015) Pitchfork

Available: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17397-jamie-smith-gosh/ (Accessed 10 December 2021)

Saxelby R. (2015) Jamie xx: Why Dance Music Is So Important. The Fader

Available: https://www.thefader.com/2015/04/14/jamie-xx-interview-in-colour (Accessed 10 December 2021)

Online sources:

Ethanill (2015) Whosampled.com

Available: https://www.whosampled.com/sample/346515/Jamie-xx-Gosh-DJ-Ron-MC-Strings-Unbroadcast-%27One-in-the-Jungle%27-Pilot/ (Accessed 26 November 2021)

Various contributors, Genius.com

Available: https://genius.com/albums/Jamie-xx/In-colour (Accessed 19 November 2021)

Various contributors, Genius.com

Available: https://genius.com/Jamie-xx-gosh-lyrics (Accessed 19 November 2021) 

London recordings (2017) Orbital - Belfast 

Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmRcM8sqI2c (Accessed 19 November)

OneInTheJungle2013 (2013) DJ Ron & MC Strings - One In The Jungle Da 2nd Lick Unbroadcast Pilot 1995.

Available: https://youtu.be/Xvczb5uFW4c (Accessed: 26 November 2021)