| XL Recordings | |
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| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Tim Palmer, Richard Russell, Nick Halkes |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Official website | www.xlrecordings.com |
XL Recordings is an independent record label which was launched by Tim Palmer, Nick Halkes and Richard Russell with Beggars Banquet Records in 1989 to release its rave and dance music. The label has grown into one of the most commercially successful and influential independent record labels in the world.
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Beginnings
Originally the label was an offshoot of Beggars' more commercial dance label called Citybeat which was known for records by acts such as Freeez, Starlight, Dream Frequency and the Ultramagnetic MCs. However with the success of acts such as The Prodigy and SL2, XL superseded Citybeat in the company's line up.
Palmer, who also owned the dance music store Groove Records on London's Greek Street, initially employed Halkes and Russell (who as artists and DJ's were known as Kicks Like a Mule and had a UK Top 10 hit with 'The Bouncer' in 1992) to do a&r for the label. Russell had previously worked in the Vinylmania record store in New York's Greenwich Village, where he had met Palmer who was visiting the store.
During the early nineties, XL Recordings releases were dance orientated ranging from Belgium techno (T99- 'Anasthasia') to Breakbeat hardcore (SL2 - 'On A Ragga Tip') to Drum and Bass (Jonny L - 'I'm Leavin'). This period of XL's history has been recorded on the XL Recordings Chapters compilation series. In 1993 Halkes left XL to form the EMI-owned commercial dance label Positiva, and subsequently his own independent commercial dance label Incentive. In 1994 Palmer left XL and retired from the music business, leaving Russell in sole charge of XL.
Russell broadened the musical horizons of the label whilst maintaining a credo of working with artists he saw as original and inventive [1]
In 2003 the label won the Music Week A&R award. [2] and In 2009 the label won the "Music Week" Best Independent Label award. [3]
Russell has been consistently named as one of the most influential figures in the UK music business [4] and was recently named by the Evening Standard as one of London's most influential people [5]
Roster
Since the late 1990s expanded into other genres such as freak-folk, alternative rock and hip-hop and UK Garage. They are now the home to a range of artists including:
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Recently
RJD2, who left Definitive Jux to join XL, will record future albums with XL. [6]
XL Recordings has also released classic albums from overseas artists such as Gotan Project and The Avalanches.
Thom Yorke, of Radiohead fame, released his first solo record, The Eraser, on the label in July 2006. While not reaching Number One in any specific country (#2 in the US, #3 in the UK and #2 in Canada), it was Number One for worldwide sales during its initial week of release. In October 2007, Radiohead completed negotiations to sign with XL for physical release of their seventh studio album, In Rainbows.
In March 2008 XL added the widely tipped Friendly Fires, The Cool Kids and The Horrors. In September 2009, Holly Miranda was signed.
See also
External links
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