The xx Interview

"A lot of the songs were written at night. We would play our instruments really quietly because we didn’t want to wake anyone in my house up.”

Emerging from the same London comprehensive that spawned Four Tet, Hot Chip and countless others The xx are something of a mystery. Amid a British guitar scene dominated by braggadocio the group aim to reside in the shadows, bound by both shyness and a sense of mystery. Formed at school, The xx seem to recall something of the romance of the adolescent in their adoption of symbols such as the sun and the moon as their own. “I think I find those symbols quite romantic, and quite peaceful,” says singer Romy Madley Croft. “I like that poetic style of imagery. I prefer to sing about those things, rather than a relationship or whatever.”

The xx - VCR

NTERVIEW: THE XX

NTERVIEW: THE XX

Padraic Halpin

An interview by

17 Aug 2009

ARTIST: 

 The xx

An album "head and shoulders above its contemporaries", The XX's self-titled debut cames out today on the back of very much warrented positive press. The Londoners' co-vocalist Oliver Sim tells Ragged Words about creeping up on the outside in the great New Band Of 2009 race and recommends a few modern r 'n' b albums to help us forget about some Trevor Nelson approved horrors.

The album’s out today and the reviews have been overwhelmingly good – must feel pretty rewarding?

“It feels really amazing to get it out there now. We finished it four months ago so the only people to hear it were my mum and dad and you always know what your mum is going to say, she’s always going to be proud of you so it’s nice to get someone a bit more removed.”

The xx - Islands

The xx

Biography

The xx are a Mercury Prize-winning trio formed in 2005 in London, England, United Kingdom. The band members are Romy Madley Croft (vocals, lead guitar), Oliver Sim (vocals, bass guitar), and Jamie Smith, known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC sampler). Second guitarist and keyboardist Baria Qureshi left the band in 2009.

Bonding over a shared love of dark, emotive 80s guitar sounds and the high-end sheen of American R&B, The xx’s unique sound befits a band whose wide range of influences combine beautiful, hushed vocal duets and a brilliantly inventive use of samples and low-end frequencies to produce stark, sweet, melancholic pop.

In 17 August 2009, the group released their debut album xx on Young Turks label. The album was recorded in a small garage and produced by the band. It garnered critical acclaim and has been generally well-received, scoring an average of 86/100 based on 24 professional reviews. Also it ranked on “best of the year” lists with Rolling Stone placing it at #9 and NME placing it at #2.