Junkie XL

Junkie XL
Background information
Birth name	Tom Holkenborg
Also known as	Junkie XL, JXL
Born	December 8, 1967 (1967-12-08) (age 41)
Origin	Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands
Instruments	Keyboard instruments, guitar, drums[1]
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Artwerk
Associated acts	A Forest Called Mulu Mambo Jambo Nerve Weekend at Waikiki[1]
Website	www.junkiexl.com

Junkie XL

Tom Holkenborg (born December 8, 1967 in Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands), better known Junkie XL or JXL, is a Dutch musician. He uses the name JXL in cases where the term "Junkie" might cause offense. XL is for "Xpanding Limits".

Biography

Tom Holkenborg was born on December 8, 1967, in Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands.

He discovered music by learning and playing many instruments, including guitar, bass, piano and drums. Although he was classically trained by his mother (herself an accredited violin teacher), it wasn’t long until he discovered synthesizers and joined the Dutch New Wave group Weekend at Waikiki as a multi-instrumentalist and producer. In 1993 Holkenborg then produced the second metal album Almost A Dance by Dutch band The Gathering. He then expanded his horizon further to form the industrial rock band Nerve with vocalist Phil Mills, and released 2 full-length albums in 1994 and 1995. During this period, Holkenborg built his music repertoire by freelance producing and quickly landed projects for bands such as Sepultura, Fear Factory and Dog Eat Dog, as well as for video games, movies and TV spots.

Holkenborg’s solo efforts include 1998’s Saturday Teenage Kick, 2000’s Big Sounds of the Drags and 2003’s Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin. The latter counted collaborations with Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, Gary Numan, Robert Smith from The Cure, Public Enemy’s Chuck D.. It also included his breakthrough remix of the late Elvis Presley's moderately successful 1968 single "A Little Less Conversation" for a 2002 Nike World Cup Commercial. The updated version unexpectedly catapulted Holkenborg into the spotlight. The song became a #1 hit in more than twenty countries. Today and Booming Back at You (BB@Y) are his latest solo efforts.

Holkenborg is known as a talented remixer, drawing critical acclaim with remixes of tracks by Britney Spears, Bloc Party, Michael Bublé, Coldplay, Avril Lavigne. Sarah McLachlan, Rammstein, Scissor Sisters, Justin Timberlake, and the aforementioned Fear Factory. With an extraordinary work ethic, which routinely includes fourteen-hour days in his studio, Holkenborg keeps extremely busy creating the music for video games. He has contributed music to Sims theme music for the computer game The Sims 2, the soundtrack for the Xbox racing game Forza Motorsport, and the soundtrack for futuristic Xbox racing game Quantum Redshift. He has also provided music for the films Kingdom of Heaven, Domino and DOA: Dead or Alive. His song "Today" was featured as one of tracks on EA's Burnout: Legends, apparently before the album was released. "Today" is also on EA's Burnout: Revenge. He also produced a remix of the God of War 2 theme. Tom remixed Yonderboi's People Always Talk About The Weather in exchange of Yonderboi's remix of Today. His song, Cities in Dust (Ft. Lauren Rocket) is also on EA's Burnout: Paradise.

Holkenborg is responsible for the SSX Blur original soundtrack, along with contributions to many of the other SSX games in the franchise, and EA's Need For Speed: Pro Street.

Currently he is signed to Artwerk, the new Los Angeles-based label formed by Electronic Arts and Nettwerk One Music.^[2]

In September 2007, Holkenborg, joined the ArtEZ School of Music as its special teacher of 'Composition & Music Design'.^[3]

Holkenborg's single More was released in Fall 2007^[4]. Both Joost van Bellen and Gerald van der Kaap have been shooting the video for the clip in New York together with female singer Lauren Rocket. "More" is also featured on the soundtrack of the Need for Speed: ProStreet.

Tom Holkenborg remixed the Eagles of Death Metal's "Don't Speak" for the newest 2008 Nike advert "Take it to the Next Level"^[5]. On August 17, his manager confirmed to a Dutch magazine that Junkie XL has written and produced 3 tracks for Britney Spears' upcoming album. He also added that it is still unknown if the tracks will be on the record.

His song "Dark Territory" is included on newer Zune models.

Discography

Albums

• Saturday Teenage Kick (1997)
• Big Sounds of the Drags (1999)
• Radio JXL: A Broadcast From the Computer Hell Cabin (2003)
• Today (2006)
• Booming Back at You (2008)

Soundtrack albums

• Music From SSX Blur - iTunes Only (2007)
• Need For Speed: Pro Street - iTunes Only (2007)

Bootleg albums

• The Castbreeder a bootleg live album

Singles/EPs

• "Def Beat" 12" 1997 the most successful single of JXL's album Saturday Teenage Kick, featured in racing video games like Gran Turismo 3, Need for Speed: High Stakes, and Test Drive 5.
• "Billy Club" CDS 1997
• "Saturday Teenage Kick" CDS 1998
• "Zerotonine" CDS 1999 (also featured on Dave Seaman's Global Underground 016: Cape Town)
• "Love Like Razorblade" CDS 2000
• "Future in Computer Hell" (featured on Sasha's Global Underground 013: Ibiza)
• "Dance Valley 2000" CDS
• "Action Radius" (the track from the game Need for Speed: Underground and from the Unreleased beta of Need For Speed: Carbon)
• "Beauty Never Fades" 12" (feat. Saffron of Republica) (also appears in the trailer "EVE Never Fades" for the MMO Eve Online)
• "Breezer" 12" (with Sasha, featured on Deep Dish's Global Underground 025: Toronto)
• "Catch Up To My Step" CDS 2003 (feat. Solomon Burke) #40 (BEL), #63 (UK)
• "Don't Wake Up Policeman" CDS 2003 (feat. Peter Tosh)
• "Between These Walls" CDS 2004 (feat. Anouk) #35 (NL)
• "Obsession" 12" (with DJ Tiësto) #56 (UK)
• "Crusher" (feat. Saffron of Republica) - Theme song of Quantum Redshift
• "Red Pill Blue Pill" 2003 (from Animatrix OST)
• "UR / A Tear In The Open" 2005 Junkie XL's remix was included as the A-Side of Tiesto's single
• "Today" CDS 2006 (the title track from his 2006 release Today)
• "Colossus of Rhodes" a remix from the God of War 2 soundtrack, which was included as an extra on its release.he has also has had in Lumines II called Breezer
• "More EP" inspired on the souds of the classic arcade game Pacman, #40 (US) Billboard: Global Dance Track^[6]
• "More More"
• "Cities in Dust" a cover of Siouxsie & The Banshees
• "Beating Back At You Vol 1 (More Progressive)" it includes "Roux", an exclusive track for Beatport, and the Dub Mix of "Not Enough"
• "Beating Back At You Vol 2 (More Techno)" it includes versions of "Prevent Confusion", an exclucive track for Beatport, and "Zage" from the "Booming Back at You" album

Remixes

Featured games

• The Need for Speed (1995)
• Test Drive 5 (1998)
• Need for Speed: High Stakes (1999)
• Gran Turismo 3 (2001)
• Quantum Redshift (2002)
• EVE Online (2003)
• Need for Speed: Underground (2003)
• The Sims 2 (2004)
• Forza Motorsport (2005)
• Destroy All Humans! (2005)
• Burnout Legends (2005)
• The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005)
• Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)
• DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2 (2007)
• God of War 2 (2007)
• SSX Blur (2007)
• FIFA 08 (2007)
• Need For Speed: Pro Street (2007)
• Burnout Paradise (2008)
• FIFA Street 3 (2008)
• Mirror's Edge (2008)
• The Sims 3 (2009)
• FIFA 09 (2009)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Junkie XL

• Junkie XL official website
• Junkie XL at the Internet Movie Database
• JunkieXL YouTube Video Page at YouTube
• JunkieXL Interview with Alchemy SBS Radio 2008
• "JunkieXL - Mass Consumption", JIVE Magazine, May 2, 2005
• Interview with Garrett Shatzer for Onbeat, 2006
• Mixes from Junkie XL