Hey U
{{use British English |date=October 2023}}
{{use dmy dates |date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Hey U
| cover = Basement Jaxx - Hey U single cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Basement Jaxx
| album = Crazy Itch Radio
| released = {{Start date|2007|03|5|df=y}}
| recorded = 2006
| studio =
| genre =
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=54}}
| label = XL
| writer =
- Simon Ratcliffe
- Felix Buxton
- Adrian Sical
- Henry Ernst
| producer = Basement Jaxx
| prev_title = Take Me Back to Your House
| prev_year = 2006
| next_title = Make Me Sweat
| next_year = 2007
}}
"Hey U" is a song recorded by the English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx for their fourth studio album, Crazy Itch Radio (2006). An extended play featuring remixes of the song was released in March 2007 under XL Recordings, as the third promotional release from the album. It did not chart. The song features vocals from the Swedish pop singer Robyn.
Composition
"Hey U" is four minutes and 54 seconds long.{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2023 |title=Crazy Itch Radio by Basement Jaxx on Apple Music |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/crazy-itch-radio/183030567 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319074430/https://music.apple.com/us/album/crazy-itch-radio/183030567 |archive-date=March 19, 2024 |access-date=March 19, 2024 |publisher=Apple Music (PH)}} Musically, it is a dance song that prominently samples the horns from "Asfalt Tango", by the Balkan brass band Fanfare Ciocărlia. The song contains elements of Romani music, Balkan music and klezmer.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9382-crazy-itch-radio/|title=Basement Jaxx: Crazy Itch Radio|website=Pitchfork|last=Harvell|first=Jess|date=5 September 2006|accessdate=20 October 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-basement-jaxx-414132.html|title=Album: Basement Jaxx|website=The Independent|last=Gill|first=Andy|date=1 September 2006|accessdate=20 October 2023}} It features vocals from the Swedish singer Robyn.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/features/interviews/interview-robyn|title=Robyn: "Everything's been leading to this moment. It all makes sense now" – Interview|website=MusicOMH|last=Hubbard|first=Michael|date=5 September 2008|accessdate=20 October 2023}} The song also features a chorus of children from Nanthomba Orphan School in Malawi.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/basement-jaxx-scratches-new-itch-57824/|title=Basement Jaxx Scratches New 'Itch'|magazine=Billboard|date=14 July 2006|accessdate=26 October 2023}}{{cite AV media notes |title=Crazy Itch Radio |others=Basement Jaxx |id=XLCD205 |year=2006 |type=CD liner notes |publisher=XL |location=United States}}
In 2011, the song was reworked by Felix Buxton and Jules Buckley in orchestral form on the collaborative album Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest. Reviewing the album for The Independent, Andy Gill described this version as a "riot of cosmopolitan eclecticism".{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-basement-jaxx-vs-metropole-orkest-basement-jaxx-vs-metropole-orkest-atlantic-jaxx-2313753.html|title=Album: Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest|website=The Independent|last=Gill|first=Andy|date=15 July 2011|accessdate=21 October 2023}} MusicOMH's Chris White called it an "eclectic mix of the Lambada, James Bond themes and Balkan instrumentation," and the highlight of the album's middle section.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/basement-jaxx-basement-jaxx-vs-metropole-orkest|title=Basement Jaxx - Basement Jaxx vs Metropole Orkest|website=musicOMH|last=White|first=Chris|date=11 July 2011|accessdate=21 October 2023}}
Critical reception
The track received generally positive critical reception. Jess Harvell from Pitchfork singled out the song as the album's standout track. The Guardian's John Burgess said that the song "fizzes powerfully", and while the album's "daft interludes and kitchen-sink production sound too familiar, Crazy Itch Radio can still surprise - particularly on Hey U."{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/sep/01/popandrock.shopping3|title=Basement Jaxx, Crazy Itch Radio|website=The Guardian|last=Burgess|first=John|date=1 September 2006|accessdate=21 October 2023}} Michael Hubbard of musicOMH called it "a riotously inventive production that cries out to be played over and over again."{{cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/basement-jaxx-crazy-itch-radio|title=Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio|website=musicOMH|last=Hubbard|first=Michael|date=4 September 2006|accessdate=22 October 2023}} Kitty Empire of The Observer reacted less positively to the song, stating that it took the duo's "dalliance with Balkan-derived party music too far".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/sep/03/popandrock.basementjaxx|title=Basement Jaxx, Crazy Itch Radio|website=The Observer|last=Empire|first=Kitty|date=3 September 2006|accessdate=21 October 2023}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| title1 = Hey U
| note1 = Switch & Sinden Remix
| length1 = 5:29
| title2 = Hey U
| note2 = Jaxx Accordian Mix
| length2 = 5:35
| title3 = Hey U
| note3 = High Contrast Remix
| length3 = 5:41
}}
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crazy Itch Radio and BMI.{{cite web|url=https://repertoire.bmi.com/Search/Search?selectMainSearch=Title&Main_Search=Title&View_Count=&Main_Search_Text=hey+u&Sub_Search=Please+Select&View_Count=0&Search_Type=all|title=BMI {{!}} Repertoire Search|website=repertoire.bmi.com|access-date=2023-10-23}}
Recording and management
- Mixed by Basement Jaxx and Jason Boshoff.
- Mastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios.
- Published by Universal Music and Piranha Musikverlag.
- Robyn appears courtesy of Konichiwa Records.
- Contains elements of "Asfalt Tango" performed by Fanfare Ciocărlia, licensed courtesy of Piranha Musik.
Personnel
- Felix Buxton – mixing, production, songwriting
- Simon Ratcliffe – mixing, production, songwriting
- Adrian Sical – songwriting
- Henry Ernst – songwriting
- Robyn – vocals
- Dandino Jhet – backing vocals
- Linda Lewis – backing vocals
- Marcus J. Thomas – backing vocals
- Serguei Pachnine – accordion, backing vocals
- Nanthomba Orphan School – vocals
References
{{reflist}}
{{Basement Jaxx}}
{{Robyn}}
{{authority control}}
Category:XL Recordings singles