The xx
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVXYZ ()
THESE NEW PURITANS
ESBEN AND THE WITCH
DJ BULLION
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEXX , WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THESENEWPURITANS , WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ESBENANDTHEWITCH , WWW.MYSPACE.COM/BULLIONNESS
THE XX follow up a string of critical successes with their biggest London show to date at Shepherds Bush Empire on Wednesday 3rd March 2010
The London quartet, featuring the dual lead vocals of Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim (who also play lead guitar and bass guitar respectively), Baria Qureshi (keyboards and guitar) and Jamie Smith (beats, MPC sampler).
These four nineteen and twenty year olds are childhood friends who formed while attending south west London’s Elliot School – the comp whose alumni also includes such acclaimed boundary-pushers as Burial, Four Tet and Hot Chip.
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 include everything from Aaliyaah to Cocorosie, Rhianna to The Cure, Missy Elliot to The Chromatics and Mariah Carey to The Pixies.
These influences combine via beautiful, hushed vocal duets and a brilliantly inventive use of samples and low-end frequencies to produce a stark, sweet melancholic pop.
The band’s debut album xx was released via XL Recordings imprint Young Turks to huge critical acclaim this summer.
An inherent contradiction, the tension between two forces that are unexpectedly tied together, is often the source of the power of great art. This is especially true in music; indeed, many of the most thrilling bands and records of our generation have shown the excitement and beauty that can often spring from such internal paradoxes.
‘xx’ Press Quotes:
“A triumph of young, idiosyncratic vision” – NME 8/10
“Heart-stopping stuff” – Mojo ****
“Utterly electrifying” – The Observer
“Sounding seriously, honestly – unbelievably! – unlike any other pop music going” – Dazed & Confused
“A remarkable debut” – Sunday Times ****
“A magnificently moody new world of indie-soul” – The Times ****
“One of the year’s most beautiful and original debut albums” – The Telegraph ****
“Seductively special” – Observer Music Monthly ****
January sees THESE NEW PURITANS release their much anticipated second album, ‘Hidden’. The album draws equally on on the rhythmic lexicons of dancehall and 20th century post-minimalism, with instrumentation redolent of both the oceanic brass of benjamin britten’s peter grimes and the plastic textures of modern US pop. it is sometimes brutal, sometimes melancholy, and sounds like nothing else. Live, their post-punk intensity is captivating, and the new songs and instruments used on the album are sure to add a sense of drama to the night.
PLUS ESBEN AND THE WITCH and DJ BULLION
Tickets SOLD OUT