Mermaid of Salinas

Album: Junto (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song came courtesy of a friend of Basement Jaxx, the Italian classical and flamenco guitar player Andrea Terrano. The Jaxx duo of Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton had the track for the song for about a year when Terrano played them a smooth jazz piece he was working on. The duo combined elements of their track with parts of Terrano's, and came up with the basis for the song.
  • Las Salinas is a very well-known beach on the island of Ibiza. The lyrics of the song, penned by Andrea Terrano and Basement Jaxx' Felix Buxton, recount the true story of a sexual liaison between the Italian guitarist and a stranger in the sea.

    In our interview with Buxton, he explained that in 2012, he and Terrano went on holiday to Ibiza. Terrano was a free man, having recently broken off a long relationship. He was, however, feeling a bit down over the breakup. His spirits were lifted when he met a lady and the couple went for a walk in the waves. When they came to shore about an hour later, Terrano had a big smile on his face. "It was a spiritual, healing moment for him," Buxton said.
  • Andrea Terrano is not known as a vocalist, but he sang lead on this track. The chorus vocalists were folks who had come through the studio over a period of a few months; many of them weren't pros, but just happened to be around. Basement Jaxx will often have friends and acquaintances record vocals for certain songs that don't need Juilliard graduate.
  • The bridge came about during a live show when the duo was DJing. While playing an early version of the track, they stopped the music and Terrano played some live guitar, which according to Buxton was "wicked." Using a recording of the performance, Terrano did it again in the studio, and that part was added to the song.

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