![The xx- Heart Skipped a Beat [with lyrics]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110903220240im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DjUX2LESOpM/0.jpg "The xx- Heart Skipped a Beat [with lyrics]")
![The xx - Infinity (Flufftronix Remix) [Dubstep Bootleg, now official remix]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110903220240im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ApQDo2B5rPk/0.jpg "The xx - Infinity (Flufftronix Remix) [Dubstep Bootleg, now official remix]")
![Henry Van de Velde (3 April 1863 – 25 October 1957[1][2]) was a Belgian painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium](http://web.archive.org./web/20110903220240im_/http://cdn0.wn.com/pd/0b/75/ce3d6dc29baf8f1efa8c8fcd2bcc_grande.jpg "Henry Van de Velde (3 April 1863 – 25 October 1957[1][2]) was a Belgian painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium")
| Name | The xx |
|---|---|
| Landscape | Yes |
| Background | group_or_band |
| Genre | Indie rock, Indie pop |
| Origin | London, England |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Label | Young Turks |
| Url | |
| Current members | Romy Madley CroftOliver SimJamie Smith |
| Past members | Baria Qureshi |
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, 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; 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.
Second guitarist and keyboardist Baria Qureshi left the group in 2009. Initial reports stated that this was due to exhaustion, but the band later said they made this decision due to "personal differences". The band claimed Baria was invited to join them at the Mercury Music Prize awarda, but Baria stated on her Twitter account she had not been asked at all. According to Oliver Sim he invited Baria to join the band on stage at the awards but this did not occur, a situation that has been ignored by the wider press.
The band were chosen by Matt Groening to headline two nights of the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he curated in Minehead, England. In addition, the band played in five of North America's most popular music festivals, Coachella, Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.
In September 2010, the band were announced as the winners of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for their debut album xx, by judges Lewis Martins and Eliza Cowen, who commented on how fantastic they thought the band's music was. Also in September, the band presented a 3-D audio-visual sculpture and played at the Big Top during Bestival 2010 on the Isle of Wight. The band were nominated for 'Best British Album', 'Best British Breakthrough' and 'Best British Band' at the 2011 BRIT Awards held on 15 February 2011 at the O2 Arena in London; however, they did not win in any of the categories.
Category:Musical quartets Category:2000s music groups Category:Musical groups from London
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
![Henry Van de Velde (3 April 1863 – 25 October 1957[1][2]) was a Belgian painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium](http://web.archive.org./web/20110903220240im_/http://cdn9.wn.com/pd/0b/75/ce3d6dc29baf8f1efa8c8fcd2bcc_thumb.jpg "Henry Van de Velde (3 April 1863 – 25 October 1957[1][2]) was a Belgian painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium")
