Initially XL was dedicated to the D.I.Y. rave scene of London, or as XL called it, “Acid House.” “Their noisy, abrasive records were shunned by all media and had a f**k-you aesthetic reminiscent of the two other great D.I.Y music movements- punk and hip hop.” The essence of this movement was captured by Liam Howlett and his band, The Prodigy, in Experience LP, released in 1992. The Prodigy and their growth was a defining moment for XL. But soon after Russell took over the label in 1996, he decided to broaden his outlook to sign other interesting artists from different genres. When asked about the vision behind signings at XL Recordings in a BBC interview, Russell said, “We look for music which is original, which has a unique outlook, which is unafraid, which stands for something and which has scope.”
The simpleton duo Jack White and Meg White have brought rock back to the fundamentals with their baseless music and basic yet hard hitting beats. With Meg on drums and Jack on guitar and main vocals, they fuse folk, and hard rock and roll with inspirations from 60’s Brit Pop and Broadway. The White Stripes, real names John Anthony Gillis and Megan Martha White, originated from Detroit, Michigan in 1997. Initially they attempted to try and pass off as a brother/sister band. In actuality the band mates were once married.
The White Stripes first truly emerged into the mainstream in 1999 with their debut self-titled album. Many agreed that the band was within the same “circle” as The Strokes and The Hives in the garage rock revival scene. Since then The White Stripes had continued to merge different kinds of sounds into their formula of success. 2005’s Get Behind Me Satan was a great example of diversity with “disco-metal and light, marimba-driven pop.” Also 2007’s Icky Thump was held together with the extra sounds of bagpipes and mariachi horns.
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Current roster of active artists as of December 2009:
Adele, Basement Jaxx, Be Your Own Pet, Beck, Blue Roses, Cajun Dance Party, Devendra Banhart, Discovery, Dizzee Rascal, Elvis Perkins, Friendly Fires, Gil Scott-Heron, Golden Silvers, Gotan Project, Holly Miranda, Jack Peñate, M.I.A., Magistrates, Monkey, Peaches, RJD2, Radiohead, Ratatat, Sigur Rós, Tapes 'n Tapes, The Cool Kids, The Horrors, The Raconteurs, The White Stripes, Thom Yorke, Titus Andronicus, Vampire Weekend
Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, Rostam Batmanglij, and Chris Tomson make up New York City’s Vampire Weekend. The band formed early in 2006, while at the same time concluding their studies at Columbia University. The band released their first EPs themselves until their popularity grew in 2007. XL Recordings signed them that same year.
Their self-titled album was released in 2008, which was a critical success along with their first single A-Punk. Vampire Weekend’s growing popularity stems from their joyful preppy sounds (and look), and their noticeable inspiration from island music. The describe their sound as "Upper West Side Soweto."
Their anticipated second album Contra is to be released January 12, 2010.
Ed Macfarlane, Edd Gibson and Jack Savidge make up the Friendly Fires. The trio from St. Albans, England showed they’re faces in 2006 and have been successful since with their dance driven, indie pop music with old school disco influences that are nearly impossible not to move to.
The Friendly Fires first gained popularity through their lives performances followed by their first two EP’s Photobooth and Cross The Line released in 2006 and 2007. Their first big single was Paris in 2007. XL Recordings later signed them aboard for their debut album Friendly Fires back in 2008.
The fairly new band is hard to snag information on, but their energetic presence and their unique revival of disco sounds may have you looking for more.
XL is a very interesting label. I found each of the artists you posted unique in their own way, and i'm excited to check out some of their other ones. Great post.
ReplyDeleteVery cool stuff! I've never heard of XL or any of these bands, but they all sound like stuff I may be interested in so I'll have to check them out.
ReplyDeleteThe White stripes are phenomenal, I didn't know Jack and Meg White's actual names; interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of XL either, yet I knew half the artists on their roster. Very interesting label.
ReplyDeleteProdigy's "Breathe" was my favorite song since I was like born. No joke haha. Good info, man.
ReplyDeleteXl is becoming more well known each year. Good layout and I liked that you chose well known artists along with other's that we didn't know.
ReplyDeleteI would like to have read more of your impressions on the label as a whole
Good work.