Having first gained notoriety on the underground club scene for their simultaneous use of multiple decks during frenetic live sets, electro-dance DJ troupe X-Press 2 released their debut album ‘Muzikium’ in 2002, spawning a huge hit in ‘Lazy’, which featured David Byrne of Talking Heads vociferating on, amongst other things, his lacklustre work ethic.
The trio came through with second LP ‘Makeshift Feelgood’ in 2006, bringing aboard the likes of Polyphonic Spree frontman Tim DeLaughter, The Music’s Rob Harvey, and Anthony Roman of NYC post-punks Radio 4 as featured guest artistes. Now also known as hosts of the ‘House Of X-Press 2′ show on Ministry Of Sound Radio, X-Press 2 released a new single, ‘This Is War’, earlier this week via Skint Records, and have an as-yet untitled new album in the works.
Ahead of their Wickerman festival set this weekend, we sought out the X-Press 2 boys wanting answers to our Same Six Questions, which they duly gave in perfect unison.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
Like most DJs, making music was a natural progression from DJing. Our first venture into the studio was to remix a band called The Farm, who required a mix that was more ‘dancefloor friendly’. From there we remixed a couple more indie bands which culminated in our first studio session as X-Press 2.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
The inspiration for the latest album doesn’t necessarily come from one specific source. We get inspired by whatever we are playing out during DJ sets, and on the radio show, as well as stuff we’re reading, listening to or watching at the time we go into the studio. That all then gets regurgitated into an audible album format.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Our process is very much sample-based, though rather than using sample libraries we tend to use source material from our vinyl record collections, we are mainly looking for lost or unused samples to use. We then start to work on sounds, generally using analogue-based synths and drum machines which we and our engineer programme in a bid to make sense of the whole thing. When we’re working with vocalists we will initially write just a rough backing track, sometimes it can just be a groove with beats, or a groove section with either chords or a suggestion of a melody.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
So many different people influence our work as we have a broad range of musical tastes, so it would be difficult to identify just a few, but I suppose it’s whoever we are listening to at the time we make an album, either consciously or unconsciously. That said, music listened to at the time of recording the last album ranged from Orchestre Rail Road to Syl Johnson to Steve Lacy to Radiohead to MMM to Reggie Dokes to Roots Radics to Archie Shepp to Norman Weeks to Golden Flamingo to PJ Harvey to Omar S… I could go on.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Be open minded… oh and check the lyrics.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
Just that the album works as a coherent piece of music and that we reach double platinum! Future-wise it’s looking bright as our show ‘House Of X-Press 2′ on Ministry Of Sound Radio continues to grow and we are about to record our first show for BBC 6music’s 6Mix, which we are very excited about. Also we have some amazing festivals in the summer, plus Ibiza and a tour of South East Asia later in the year.
MORE>> www.myspace.com/xpress2
Sections: Q&A X | Tags: X-Press 2
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