When I was a kid, Basement Jaxx were cool in a way that I didn’t understand. I have a pretty clear map for how I got into certain kinds of music in my head. Up until I was about 15, everything was based on things I heard from my parents and pulling the thread from those initial sounds. There was also top 40 type stuff but that was largely liking single songs at a time without following those artists particularly. It seemed like electronic music was this parallel thing that was massive, but I couldn’t fully get my head around. In my mind there were two big electronic music acts when I was a kid. There was Daft Punk, who I thought were characters in a cartoon I’d never seen so that made no sense. And then there was Basement Jaxx. I’d forgotten how many good songs they had – some absolute anthems, but I think my favourite Basement Jaxx song is “Romeo”.

I think the range of sounds in “Romeo” is just incredible. The intro is so atmospheric and peaceful and then there’s this drop into the first verse and everything pops off. The bass is grooving away. There’s synths doing bits all over the place. The vocals are class and have an old disco sound. The video is also amazing. The colour is fantastic and it’s got monkeys.

I think monkeys are brilliant. When I was in South Africa there were monkeys running around. They’re like a cross between rats, pigeons and puppies. I think having monkeys involved will generally be a plus in any music video for me. “Where’s Your Head At?” had monkeys but those monkeys scared me as a child… The “Romeo” monkeys don’t have people’s faces so that probably helped “Romeo” edge out “Where’s Your Head At?” as my favourite Basement Jaxx song.

You can listen to “Romeo” by Basement Jaxx here.