The XX

The XX (formed 2005, in London)

The XX are an alternative rock / pop outfit from London, England. The original four members met at Elliott School in London. The school is notable for having spawned a number of artists and musicians, such as Burial, Four Tet and Hot Chip. The XX are now a three-piece, after keyboardist Baria Qureshi left in 2009. The remaining members of the band are Oliver, Romy and Jamie.

The XX: Music

The XX rose from underground to cult success with the release of their debut album on Young Turks, entitled xx. The album was received well amongst a wide range of music critics in both the UK and the USA. The album was self-produced, despite the band having previously worked with Diplo and Kwes.

The album was recorded in a garage that was a part of the XL Recordings studios. Much of the recordings were done at night, which reportedly contributed to the hushed nature of the album's content.

Many of their songs have been used to soundtrack TV commercials, especially the track 'Crystalised', which was also selected as iTunes (UK) Single of the Week in August 2009. Similarly, their cover of Womack & Womack's 'Teardrops' was used on the online Eastenders spin-off, E20 and 'Islands' featured on an episode of the Grammy award-winning Grey's Anatomy. The fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld used 'VCR' as the soundtrack to part of his autumn / winter collection show in 2011.

When the creator of The Simpsons was asked to curate the All Tomorrows Parties festival in Minehead, UK, he invited The XX to play, along with Iggy & the Stooges, Spiritualized and Joanna Newsom.

In 2010, The XX won the Mercury Music Prize, ahead of artists such as Biffy Clyro, Dizzee Rascal, Paul Weller and Corinne Bailey Rae.