About this episode
Hrishikesh Hirway interviews The xx about their song 'Crystalised' and their journey as a band.
The xx formed in 2005, when they were still in high school. They signed to the UK label Young, and put out their first album in 2009. It won the prestigious Mercury Prize, and was named one of the best albums of the year by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and more. Since then, the Guardian has named it one of the best albums of the 21st century. This year, the three band members, Romy Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie xx played together as The xx for the first time in 8 years. I spoke to them in between the weekends at Coachella, where they were opening their sets with the song “Crystalised.” It’s the first song they ever released, back in April 2009, when the lineup also included Baria Qureshi on guitar. I spoke to Romy, Jamie and Oliver, here at my studio, about how they first found each other, and how they made “Crystalised.” For more info, visit songexploder.net/the-xx.
People in this episode
Host: Hrishikesh Hirway
Guests: Romy Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie xx
Topics covered
- The xx
- music history
- album analysis
- band reunion
- songwriting process
Keywords
- The xx
- Crystalised
- music
- interview
- album
- Coachella
- Mercury Prize
- songwriting
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The xx, Young, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, the Guardian
Books & works: Crystalised, Mercury Prize, best albums of the 21st century
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