Mercury Prize 2010 winners the xx: from the sandpit to universal critical acclaim
Their first album was recorded in a converted garage the size of a bathroom, mainly at night.
Romy Madley Croft, the singer and guitarist, and Oliver Sim, the bassist and vocalist, are ideal friends and have known each other since they were toddlers.
The pair met the third band member, drummer Jamie Smith, at Elliott School, in Putney, which is notorious for producing a number of alternative bands, including Hot Chip, Burial. The Maccabees and Four Tet.
Reviewers described their music, which has been compared to the Cocteau Twins, as “urban”, “melancholic” and “dream-like”.
Their songs have appeared on a number of adverts and tv series. The instrumental “Intro” has become a TV favourite, cropping up as the backdrop to everything from the BBC’s General Election coverage to sports highlights and episodes of thriller series like ’Cold Case’ and ’Law & Order’.
Other tracks have been featured on youth programmes like Misfits, 90210 and E20.
Their self produced eponymous debut album garnered universal critical acclaim upon its release, featuring highly in NME and Rolling Stone’s “best of the year” lists.
It initially failed to even break into the top thirty even though it jumped from 44 to 16 in the charts following the group’s Mercury nomination.
With the band’s Mercury success it is likely to climb much higher.
Related News:
- Sixers hang on late to even series with Celtics
- Devils rally past Flyers for 3-1 series lead
- Kings shut down Blues to take 3-0 series lead
- Grizzlies bounce back, even series with Clips
- Devils erupt in 4-1 win over Flyers; series tied
- Thunder edge Mavs again for 2-0 series lead
- Coyotes beat Preds for 2-0 series lead
- Rangers blank Sens, take 2-1 series lead
- Panthers beat Devils to knot series at 1-1
- Hawks tie up series with OT win over Coyotes
Details :
Submited at Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 10:00 am on Celebrity by jessica
Comment RSS 2.0 - leave a comment - trackback