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.”

Yet the band have a clear pop touch. Live, The xx throw in covers by Aaaliyah and old school R&B merchants Womack & Womack alongside their own material, though strangely The xx seem to be both hampered and fuelled by their introversion. The band’s twin vocalists [Romy sings with bassist Oliver Sim] often vie for attention, yet never seem to trip on each other’s toes. “Neither of us thought when we were children that we were going to be singers - we’re not natural performers,” Romy admits. “We’ve had to work hard to be singers. When we made the first single we were so polite, like ‘You first, no you first’.”

Style-wise, The xx seem almost communal in their addiction to noir. “I’ve always worn black. I suppose people in my family have worn dark colours, and that’s maybe rubbed off. We’re aware that it’s good to look like a collective, that we need to look like a band. But we’ve never sat down and discussed it, it’s almost subconscious - a group understanding of what looks good.”

The xx’s debut album, ‘xx’, is out now.

Words by Robin Murray