The Amazing Tale Of THE XX

The xx are an English indie pop band, formed in London in 2005. The band's members met while studying at Elliott School, notable for alumni including Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet. They became a trio when their second guitarist and keyboardist, Baria Qureshi, departed in late 2009. In September 2010 they won the Barclaycard Mercury Prize.(BIG DEAL) They are currently working on their second album, which is to be released in 2012


The group's debut album, xx, was met with critical acclaim, achieving a rating of "Universal acclaim" on Metacritic. The album also ranked well on "best of the year" lists, placing ninth on the Rolling Stone list and second for NME. In the 2009 NME The Future 50 list, The xx were positioned at number six, and in October 2009, they were named one of MTV Iggy's "Top 10 Bands with Buzz" (at the CMJ Music Marathon 2009)


Their debut album, xx, was released on Young Turks on 17 August 2009. Though the band had previously worked with producers including Diplo and Kwes, they produced xx themselves, while Jamie Smith and Rodaidh McDonald mixed it. The xx recorded their album in a small garage that was part of the XL studios, often at night, which contributed to the sleek, whispery nature of the album. In August 2009, the band headlined their own concert tour. The xx have toured with artists including The Big Pink and Micachu. Their single "Crystalised" was featured on iTunes (UK) as Single of the Week, starting from 18 August 2009.


The xx's song "Intro" was extensively used on television: most recently in the first episode of HBO/NHL series 24/7, "Road To The 2011 Winter Classic", as well as in an AT&T commercial featuring Apolo Anton Ohno; often during NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games; during the series Cold Case; during the series Suits; for the Newsnight coverage of the 2010 general election; on Mercy ("The Last Thing I Said Was" episode) and also in Law & Order on the Dutch television network Net 5. It was also used as the opening theme in the Greek version of Next Top Model. "VCR" was featured in a Lie to Me episode. In episode 7 of the online BBC EastEnders spin-off E20 their cover of "Teardrops" was used. "Heart Skipped a Beat" was featured in a 2009 episode of 90210, as well as being the feature song for the March 2010 E4 advert for 90210. "Islands" was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and an episode of The Vampire Diaries. "Crystalised" was featured in an episode of Gossip Girl, and "Stars" was used in E4's youth drama Misfits in December 2009. In January 2010, the xx performed in a 11-date sold-out tour in Scandinavia and Germany. A track mix of "VCR", "Shelter", "Intro", and "Crystalised" was also used in the Karl Lagerfeld Fall/Winter 2011 fashion show. Their music is currently being frequently used on the school drama Waterloo Road. Also, their song "Shelter" appears in the film I Am Number Four.