“THERE ARE admirable potentialities in every human being. Believe in your strength and your youth. Learn to repeat endlessly to yourself, ‘It all depends on me’.”
So said the French writer André Gide and for the three young people who make up London band The xx it could well serve as their motto - particularly for member Jamie Smith, who was largely responsible for producing their debut album xx.
London
The xx was formed by friends Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith in southwest London about four years ago. Romy and Ollie are the nucleus of the band, with Jamie joining later. However they all knew each other since childhood.
“I grew up in Fulham. Ollie and Romy grew up in Wandsworth, “ Jamie tells me during our Tuesday afternoon interview. “We’re all about 10 minutes away from each other. Romy and Ollie went to nursery school together and I met them when I was 11. Romy and Ollie started the band when they were 16, playing covers, and then I joined a year later to help with the live show, making the backing beats, and at 18 became a full time member.”
X can signify the unknown in mathematics, a kiss at the end of a text or email, or part of the rating on a pornographic film. It is a letter with many meanings, so why did they choose to call themselves The xx?
“The band name came before anything. Romy and Ollie just wanted to start a band and then needed a name for it,” says Jamie. “They like the idea of X for aesthetic reasons and because it’s ambiguous, and industrial, but people have different ideas as to what it means and we like that.”
The place where you grow up leaves a mark on you, a definite imprint upon your character. It is one of the things that moulds you into who you are. London is one of the world’s great cities and has shaped the outlook of countless musicians, whether it be The Clash (‘London Calling’, ‘White Man In Hammersmith Palais’ ) or the idiosyncratically English songs of Ray Davies. The xx are no different. London is a potent influence on who they are.
“It’s hard to explain how a place influences you,” says Jamie, “but since we started touring and travelling to different cities we can see how London did play a big part in affecting our music. Where we come from the music that’s played is garage, dubstep, and electronic music. That played a big part in influencing us.”
The xx’s music is sparse, atmospheric, and melancholy. Sometimes it is little more than a drumbeat and a restrained guitar line over which Romy and Oliver’s voices muse and drift in a quiet, almost conversational manner. The songs are imbued with a late night atmosphere and the intimate quality of the vocals makes it seem as if the singers are imparting secrets to the listener. How much does the music The xx produce reflect their personalities?
“We definitely are mellow and not party animals,” says Jamie. “The music reflects the time of writing, songs being written at night when we’re on the borders of tired and delirious, that’s why our songs sound like they do.”
Listening to The xx it’s no surprise to find the band are fans of The Cure, Japan, and Young Marble Giants. Their citing of Womack & Womack, the late r’n’b star Aailyah, Mariah Carey, Ginuwine, and Missy Eliot as influences is less obvious, but then there is a rhythmic quality to The xx’s music. For every laid back number like ‘VCR’ there are tracks like ‘Islands’, whose popping riff would keep any dancefloor moving and the mighty ‘Crystallised’, driven by a guitar riff that pulses with energy.
“‘Crystallised’ was one of the first songs we wrote when I joined,” says Jamie, and you can detect a little touch of pride in his voice. “We all brought our own part to it. I was inspired by Ennio Morricone and stuff like that and we spent months in a basement in Wandsworth coming up with that and the rest of the album.”
It is only in the last few months that most people have heard of The xx. It seems the band has come out of nowhere to suddenly be the height of indie cool and most acclaimed new act from Britain. The truth though is a little different.
“People say it must be weird how quickly it happened but it’s taken four and a half years,” says Jamie. “We were working with the label Young Turks for a year before we started recording the album so it’s been a slow building process for us.”
The producer
From talking to Jamie you get a clear picture of a young man with a definite artistic vision, who knows what he wants, and has the confidence to demand it. After working with a series of different producers, the band, principally Jamie, opted to produce the album on their own. It was an audacious move by the 21-year-old, especially as very few artists are allowed to do production on their debut.
“We worked with five producers, all mostly dance producers,” says Jamie. “We learned from each producer and each has had an influence on the album, but it became obvious that I had my own preferences and I wanted it to sound as I wanted it to sound so it was obvious for me to do it.
“We hadn’t recorded anything previously and we knew how we wanted it done. It was the first thing I’d produced. It was scary but everybody who is starting out, they’re doing what they really love and they probably feel like they should be the ones producing it. I had to take that chance.”
Nonetheless once xx was released the band quickly started to ascend the ladder. Indie/alernative fans quickly embraced them while xx enjoyed critical acclaim, earning four star reviews from Allmusic, The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times. Since then the band have been on a relentless schedule of touring. How dramatically have their lives changed?
“Since the album came out we’ve been on tour and we haven’t been home for more then a few days,” says Jamie. “We’ll only be home for two/three days at Christmas. It is gruelling but fun.”
Gruelling it must be because in November The xx’s guitarist/keyboardist Baria Qureshi quit, forcing the band to cancel several European dates.
“Baria has left the band,” Romy Madley Croft told the NME. “I guess ‘personal differences’ would be the standard way to say it. I guess it’s just the intensity of being on tour, things are so much heightened.”
However ‘the show must go on’ and despite Baria’s departure, there have been many highlights.
“It’s just great to get to see all these places and get to do what we love,” enthuses Jamie. “New York was amazing. It was overwhelming, but once we got used to it it felt more familiar. I could see myself living there. I know a lot of bands move there to find inspiration and soak up the artistic energy but that’s seen as a bit of a cliché. It is tempting to do but most of the music we listen to comes out of England so it wouldn’t be right to record in New York yet.”
Jamie has already turned his mind to the band’s next album and is keen to develop his skills as a producer for both The xx and other artists.
“After the summer I hope to set up my own studios in London and then it’s however long it takes on the next album,” he says. “We’re looking forward to getting creative again. I have started producing beats for hip hop acts that will be coming out next year and on remix work as well. When I find a band I really love I am sure I will want to produce them.”
The xx make their Galway debut when they play the Róisín Dubh on Wednesday December 16 at 9pm. See www.myspace.com/thexx and www.thexx.info
