Taking a break from acting duties on their latest, burlesque revue-themed video shoot, Felix Buxton and his production, DJ and writing partner Simon Ratcliffe are sitting in the kitchen of the defunct Titanic bar in West London. The duo discuss their forthcoming new album, being asked to tour with Robbie Williams and morning sickness.

Dressed in fake moustaches, sharp suits and spats, the pair resemble rakish extras from Gene Kelly’s exuberant 1969 musical 'Hello, Dolly!' Buxton appears mildly irritated that people struggle to remember the name of the Brixton-based house music stalwarts' biggest hit to date. And it's certainly not due to any weakness on the part of the song. "Whenever people talk about 'Where's Your Head At', it's always referred to as the one with the monkeys in. I suppose it shows the strength of the video at least." Indeed, Swedish production team Traktor's striking and unforgettable imagery of humanised primates prompted it to be singled out as "the best dance music video ever." And the tune wasn’t bad either. Based around an ingenious employment of a Gary Numan hook, the song became a huge international hit in 2002.

'Where's Your Head At' can currently be viewed as an impressive fulcrum for a career that first took off in 1999. Following years of working on the fringes of the music scene and making a word of mouth success of their now legendary club nights in South London, 'Remedy', their warmly received debut, spawned crossover club classics 'Red Alert' and 'Rendez Vu'. A genre-hopping yet typically energetic and joyous second effort, 2001’s 'Rooty', was followed by the darker yet arguably more cohesive 'Kish Kash' two years later. In between, they've won both Brit and Grammy awards and collaborated with a stellar and eclectic array of talent, from Dizzee Rascal to punk icon Siouxsie Sioux.

Despite working within the confines of an electronic genre that often pressurises its leading practitioners to make perfunctory gestures towards being vital and challenging, the pair seem genuinely at ease with their work, and, for a dance act, surprisingly unconcerned about what's happening elsewhere. "Our new album isn't a statement about what's going on now," explains Buxton, "we're only making the sounds that we want to hear. At the same time, the record probably does offer something different to what’s going on in dance music at the moment.

"With 'Kish Kash', we were pushing in a lot of different directions. Dance music was in a very boring state. We were doing a lot of live shows alongside rock bands, and ended up pushing for a sound inspired by that. Now, dance music feels very minimalist. Despite what the media might suggest, it is in a very healthy state, with plenty of good underground music coming out of places like Brazil and Baltimore. It seems to be alive again. It's just that we're not making minimal music. We decided to go back to being maximal rather than minimal and forget about what everyone else is doing."

'Crazy Itch Radio', their fourth studio album, follows the double platinum success of last year's singles collection, which featured the almost irritatingly infectious 'Oh My Gosh'. It's a glossy, blissful and wonderfully varied record that bravely attempts to combine the euphoric, scattergun approach of their first two albums with the coherence of 'Kish Kash'.

Ratcliffe feels that of all their albums to date, their latest makes for the smoothest listen. "We definitely wanted to get the warmth back, and more than anything, iron out some of the jagged edges we've left before."

"Even though I feel like it all sits together comfortably, this is probably our most eclectic album," agrees Buxton.

"Our music isn’t necessarily that challenging now. But it is very diverse. That probably just reflects the way that people are living now. We’re open to so much more than we used to be. Take the internet. If you get into punk, you can look into its history within weeks, you can really get into the depths of it. Years ago it would have taken ages just to hear about names and words." Buxton believes that the evidence of the culture's information free for all is everywhere, not least in music. "Kids now are switched onto so much more. If you're doing a DJ set in a club they don't really worry if you play drum n' bass, house, hip hop, they just love it anyway. That really speaks to me.

"Even in cinema, good art films wouldn't be seen in the mainstream very much. Now the mainstream enjoys what is considered art to a greater extent. The concept of the mainstream encompasses more than it used to." At this point, Ratcliffe quickly interjects, pricking any possible accusations of pretension by dryly pointing out that Buxton has made this rather serious point whilst sporting a frankly ludicrous false handlebar moustache. Buxton's laugh is infectious. It's not difficult to see why he's usually portrayed as the more enthusiastic and animated of the pair, balancing Ratcliffe's more reserved nature with toothy grins and a tendency to dominate the direction of the conversation.

This dynamic clearly hasn't done Basement Jaxx any harm. While they have been paid the back-handed compliment of being labelled a "party band", there is a healthy tension in their identity that pulls them away from what could otherwise be criticised as a one-dimensional approach. "A lot of dance music is just music that lives to be dance music, it's almost coldly functional at the expense of being emotive at times," argues Ratcliffe. "I like to think of our songs as little movies in a way, with the dance music element being almost secondary to telling a story, creating a picture and building the song. Perhaps the production is the dance element because we come from that background."

Buxton agrees, alluding to the range of disparate influences evident on 'Crazy Itch Radio'. "Like any other pop group, punk band, rave act... this album is just a collection of songs. "It's certainly not one-dimensional. There are some more melancholy ones on there. But ultimately it is a very 'up' album."

If things had panned out differently, however, the two sides to Basement Jaxx could have been far more explicit on their new record; 'Crazy Itch Radio' was originally formulated as a double album. "We recorded about 40 tracks," explains Ratcliffe. "Originally we wanted a double with one side of radio-friendly party tracks and one album where we just go off. "That would have contained stuff that would be far more liberated, with less structured soundscapes. Some if it might be dark, atmospheric or instrumental.

"In a way that kind of music is easier to create but it's just as enjoyable for us as our more accessible side. In fact, it's probably more enjoyable because there's no expectations associated with it." "And you wouldn’t need any songs at all," agrees Buxton. "But I think a lot of people who are really into Basement Jaxx would be very confused by an hour's worth of that material." Concerns about the reception of an album that would have been rooted in the dreaded concept tradition were not to blame for putting the kibosh on their grand plan, however. Robbie Williams was.

When they were invited to support Williams on his European tour, both Ratcliffe and Buxton had reservations, yet one factor swayed their decision. "We only agreed to do it because it involved five nights at Wembley Stadium at the end of the tour. And now that's become five nights at Milton Keynes Bowl," laughs Buxton. "It doesn't quite have the same ring does it?" Ratcliffe was initially adamant that he wanted no part in the tour. "My first answer was a definite no," he says. "I was extremely reluctant. Then I thought maybe it would be cool to do the second half of the tour so we could do the Wembley dates, which was the chance of a lifetime."

Having agreed to do the last few weeks, the pair ended up bowing to pressure from their management and record company to do the entire European leg of the 40-date tour. This made for a manic and rather rushed last few weeks of work on the album and created a deadline that destroyed any notions of a double album. "We've always done things that don't fit in with our straightforward party image," says Ratcliffe, "and we really wanted to have an album of our more alternative music this time, but the new deadline wouldn’t allow for it. "In a way it was good though because it gave us an unexpected deadline to get things done by. The tour has been alright, it has given us a break after working so intensely on the album. "We're only playing for 45 minutes a night, we're done by half eight. The rest of the time we're relaxing with drinks and good food." If this seems like a lukewarm response to touring with a genuine superstar, it's probably because it is. "It's not something we'd rush to do again," confirms Ratcliffe. I sense he's being diplomatic.

Top electronic acts are often criticised for the lack of animation in their live performances, with the sight of static technophiles standing behind walls of equipment lacking in visual impact. Fortunately for Basement Jaxx, this is a censure that's rarely applied to them. Staging live shows that encompass the obligatory big-screen displaying custom-made images, live musicians, singers and dancers, they also display an enthusiasm that some of their contemporaries lack. The duo always put the emphasis on fun over chinstroking abstraction. Perhaps this is why they are as comfortable playing to a small audience of house aficionados in a sweaty club as they are with tens of thousands of Robbie Williams fans.

"We're at ease with all kinds of audiences now," confirms Buxton. "On one hand we have people in a club being a little snobby, concerned with what is fresh and vital, and on the other, thousands of middle-of-the-road people who are there for Robbie Williams. It's our job to entertain all of them." He acknowledges that electronic acts do face a conundrum when it comes to playing live. "It can be difficult, because with dance acts, it's often just two guys behind a synthesizer and it can be deadly dull," he says. "Some bands have tried to acoustically replay what they've done in the studio but it sounds very bland, like lounge music." "They've got the notes there, but the whole excitement is lost," continues Ratcliffe. "The point was that it had been done irreverently in the studio. It's like hip hop, it's often just rubbish live. Kanye West and The Streets have tried to make live shows more interesting. But I suppose Mike Skinner is an interesting guy whereas a lot of people in dance acts just aren't interesting."

Of course, this is a problem that is not only associated with electronic music. "Bands in all genres of music are often boring live," says Buxton. "When we do festivals with rock bands, unless I know the songs really well, I’m completely bored, I don't care. I end up feeling like I’d rather watch a good film, something that's exciting and inspiring. That's probably true of a lot of the music that’s around at the moment though. I like Arctic Monkeys because of their sheer energy. Out of the other bands that are popular in the UK at the moment I can’t name any others that offer that. Most of them just pretend they're '64eep when actually they're pretty shallow."

Sheer energy is something that Basement Jaxx have managed to maintain, despite the fact that it is now 12 years since they first teamed up to hold club nights in the back room of an Irish pub in Camberwell. "I felt as much passion doing this album as I did when we first started," says Ratcliffe. "This was my hobby when I was a teenager, and I can't believe that I'm still doing it. Of course, the world around us has changed dramatically. "In terms of playing and going to clubs I am tired, and it will be good to have a break from it. But production-wise, I’m as enthusiastic as ever. Finding new white labels, generating ideas, keeping up with what sounds are about, that still gives me a buzz."

While their hunger to create is undiminished, the realities of getting older and the demands of their private lives do increasingly encroach on the pair's professional existence. "I get more tired than I used to," says Buxton. "We used to work until six or seven in the morning like hip hop producers. But now we have to finish in the evenings and keep weekends free to fit in with everyone else that we know. It just ends up making you ill otherwise. Relationships take more of a preference as you get older. When you're young you don't care, but you have to start explaining yourself as you get older, which is a bummer." When Ratcliffe discovered his girlfriend was pregnant in February, he wasn't prepared for the severity of the morning sickness that followed. "I never realised it could be that bad. It was like she had really bad food poisoning for six weeks solid. It was awful. I felt guilty about leaving her ill at home to come in and finish an album. I'm glad that period is over."

In the light of these external pressures, Basement Jaxx feel that they want to concentrate on work that is solely intended for their albums. "We haven't remixed at all in the last year," says Buxton. "We're lots of things really. We have been remixers, we're producers of our own work, for the live show we become a band. Working with collaborators does keep things fresh though, everyone's got a different angle on things." With contributions from regular live collaborator Vula (last heard on 'Oh My Gosh'), Swedish pop sensation Robyn, veteran composer Wil Malone and even a Russian accordionist called Serge, 'Crazy Itch Radio' confirms that even if they're having to rein themselves in a little more these days, they've still got enough pop nous to create the kind of kaleidoscopic, dizzy and ecstatic music that made their name. We'll just have to wait a little longer for the soundscapes.

THE SINGLE 'HUSH BOY' WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH XL RECORDINGS ON AUGUST 28^TH FOLLOWED BY THE ALBUM 'CRAZY ITCH RADIO' ON SEPTEMBER 4TH.

WORDS: JAMES HURLEY