Jamie xx has shared a new single called “Idontknow,” his first new music since his 2015 critically-acclaimed debut album In Colour. The track technically came out last autumn and has been played in clubs around the world (receiving play from Ben UFO, Four Tet, Caribou and others), but at that point, the artist behind the track was unknown. This week, the track was officially released digitally, and it will also be available on 12-inch vinyl via independent retailers on May 1 in the U.K. and May 15 in the U.S.
“Idontknow” is a busy, hard-nosed club track that clearly skirts the simplicity of In Colour. The song features vigorous programmed drums and warped vocal loops, and though the song is full of sonic bluster, its unrelenting rhythms provide a whiplash effect that feels needed now.
Paste named In Colour one of the best albums of 2015, writing, “Jamie xx isn’t doing anything new—he pulls from dub reggae and West Coast rap; he cribs minimal house as willfully as he dips into shoegaze; he uses steel drums without irony—and yet In Colour feels as refreshing as the work of someone who knows he’s touched upon territory net yet plied.”
Listen to “Idontknow” below, and preorder it on vinyl here.
