BASEMENT JAXX - TOUR
ABOUT
I was commissioned by the legendary house act Basement Jaxx to creatively direct their first live show in over 10 years. Collaborating with Simon and Felix on an approach that both respected their dance roots and also incorporated their history of maximalist live shows while setting them firmly in the present (and future ). I was given loose reins to create this new spectacle and started from the point of an intergalactic celebratory ceremony landing on Planet Earth where each performer is celebrated as their own species and character! The set design represented a ramp entry from the SpaceShip Jaxx where all the performers could arrive – while Simon and Felix were central to conduct the ceremony in their control station. The show debuted at Coachella 2025 and is currently touring the UK for the rest of the year.
SET DESIGN
Basement Jaxx are famous for their live playful full-throttle shows. Full of a multitude of performers, costumes and chaos. My aim with the set design was to create a simple graphic form to give the overall performance structure. The concept came from the ramp of a spaceship while giving a nod to an ancient (lopped off) pyramid form. It was essential to me that Simon and Felix were central to everything that went on, so I created a control centre where they could conduct their visitation.
VISUALS
Each of Basement Jaxx's tunes has such a distinct style, with influences from all walks of musical life. I wanted to carry this narrative through the visuals while keeping a coherent thread that connected to the stage design. I started by telling a story of each song we wanted to animate. From there we worked on how to link these acts together. My reference for movement was a B movie approach with dropped frames to reduce the smoothness from the visual. I was very conscious I didn't want it to look like dance music graphics of today and instead have a texture that reached to past filmmaking while using modern animation techniques. I was lucky enough to collaborate with Northhouse on the visuals, and they took the references, narrative and storyboards I drew and created some outstanding work. This included animating one of my sculptures from my Future Forms project for Jus 1 Kiss.
COSTUME DESIGN
We started with the idea of ceremonial costumes and firmly mashed this with a harder Mad Max-style tough DIY retro-futurist aesthetic. There was a nod to the aquatic alien in the fabric choices. Collaborating with a series of young talented designers, I commissioned a series of costumes that enhanced each performer’s character while holding a visual synergy. From this starting point we considered each performer (and song individually ). Lisa singing Good Luck – Became the tyrant empress. Tuggy and Oli (drums and percussion) were intergalactic Centurions holding the fort on each side of the ramp. Simon became the general with a nod to the original Nostromo uniform, while Felix is the wizard in his silver pleated draping.
PRESS
‘Basement Jaxx stole the day by hosting an intergalactic disco-rave party from a spaceship bridge in a hole in their stage ramp, surrounded by space Valkyries, green-goggled soul queens and gigantic alien triffids. From the sci-fi funk larks of Romeo to a final gorilla invasion resembling a rave up on the Planet of the Apes — this was a blanket-trampling hoot.’ - The Times 2025
‘Basement Jaxx close the main stage with a truly jaw-dropping show. The London dance duo rock out from a circular hole cut into the floor, aided in their big beat bonanza by a rotating cast of vocalists and dancers in space-age silver tutus, all of whom strut fearlessly down the tilted stage’ - NME 2025
‘After a decade long absence from live- shows, the incandescent Basement Jaxx are back to remind you why you loved them so much the first time around. As impressive as tracks like ‘Romeo’, ‘Red Alert’ and ‘Rendez-Vu’ are, it is the bands stage performance which really captures the crowd. A multitude of dancers, singers and musicians perform on a giant titled stage in front of a stunning set of video projections that bring an abundance of colour, and humour, to the stage. The main set closes with a breathtaking ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ which is a fair question at the end of another amazing festival day. Of course they return for an encore but minds have already been made up – we have just seen one of, if not the, standout sets from Wilderness 2025’ - God Is In The TV 2025
‘Bingo-Bango shifted into Jump N’ Shout as two singers became three, and then three singers were joined by elaborately costumed dancers. Raindrops slowed the tempo but upped the spectacle as a huge flower walked onto the stage and unfurled her petals to the beat of the track. This was, you had to remind yourself at times, Margate, but it could easily have been Vegas. The visuals were breathtaking as the dancers slid across the stage in a vivid and vibrant piece of performance art.’ - Louder Than War 2025