"I Will Always Aspire to Dillinja-esque Levels of Production": The Cornerstone Tracks of xxxy

First appearing on our Elevator Music compilation way back when, the Manchester raised, London based xxxy has gone on to do a bunch of amazing things; including playing the world over, getting a cat and releasing records on respected labels like Rinse, Ten Thousand Yen, Well Rounded and All City. He’s an artist we’ve had the extreme pleasure of watching grow with his latest work on TTY, ‘Progression’, really encapsulating the journey and the maturing his output has undergone since we first met in 2009. Ahead of his forthcoming appearance in the Roska Presents... hosted Room Two this Friday, we asked xxxy if he’d share five records from his past with us so we could build up a better picture of him in our mind’s eye than just the one that the music he’s released and the various pictures of him in white t-shirts with a contrasting beard have inspired… Dillinja - Thugged Out Bitch: So, I take it by this you were into a lot of drum & bass? What was it about the music you latched onto? Was it the shared experience of going out and getting wavey to it? I could have posted a jungle tune to show how legit I am but I was about 13 when jungle was in its heyday and despite early signs of beard, I was still unable to go to clubs and was probably into crap indie music at the time. When this tune came out I was going to clubs and ‘avin it large etc. I’m pretty sure I lost my mind to this tune a few times, though I’m not sure who played it... memories of this period of my life are hazy for some reason. Do you think that level of producership evident in a lot of d&b helped shape the way you produce? Like, are you meticulous with it all? Dillinja is the master of bass; always has been. I own loads of his records. He once came over to check if my monitoring was ok when I played on the Valve about 18 months ago. I also had a chat with Andy C that night, the teenage me would have been too excited to breathe. I started making d&b about this time. It was terrible but it was my first step into production and somewhat of an eye opener. I will always aspire to Dillinja-esque levels of production but I am sure I will never get near that. When do you think you’ll have earned enough from this game to buy a drop-top Audi TT? What colour would you get? I’m think metallic sky blue, right? Do they do lime green soft top TTs? If so I want one, oh and driving lessons. Igor Jadranin - Blue Phase: Being a little unfamiliar with Jadranin’s work, what I take from it is kinda how simple and fixed the beat is until (and after) the breakdown. It’s like he’s found a vibe and just stuck to working on that keel without deviating drastically, just finding his sample bed and preferred pads and then just colouring it in with drum work. Is that something you try to do yourself? I'm pretty unfamiliar with his work as well; I picked this up in Kristina Records, liked the cover, gave it a listen and thought it was a brilliant tune. It has a great breakdown where it slows down and builds up before dropping at the same speed. It's a really fun tune to mix. Finding a good groove is an essentially just part of making a good tune. If you have a good groove going with your drums you don't really need to go wild with the other elements. I am trying more and more to strip things down to a good groove and bass. We'll see if I achieve this but it’s a really helpful note for mixdowns. Wish Feat. Fonda Rae - Touch Me (All Night Long): Is this something you’d play out? How do people react to such a jam? I've played it out a few times normally towards the start of a long set, people normally get into it and get grooving… Do you actively search and dig for stuff like this? This is a classic so I’ve been aware of it for years - I reckon it’s about as old as me! I do keep my eye and ear out for stuff like this but I’m not picky about records. If I like it, I buy it. The importance and presence of a super strong vocal in a jam like this is unparalleled, don’t you think? Obviously the instrumental has its merits, but damn, the vocal drives everything. Are you working on any vocal led stuff yourself? Well I am trying to find the right vocalist at the moment but something may emerge in the coming months. I am really up for writing some songs again whether this is for myself or someone else we shall just have to wait and see... What else is coming up for you? I have another 12” coming out on Rinse and after that it looks like another Ten Thousand Yen 12” after that. Omar S - Set It Out: Another one where the vocal is just absolutely key… he just nails backing off an letting the vocal kill it. The thing I love about Omar S, aside from his music (obvs), is how uncompromising his persona is. Obviously people overshare nowadays online and with him, like how he keeps up that mystique and is just staunchly doing his thing the way he wants I find deeply loveable. How do you feel about all that, like having to present yourself to the world instead of the music? Do you think you struggle with that shit? Twitter fucking annoys me I am trying to stay off it as much as possible, I read an interview with Wiley in Shortlist (I know, I was in Heathrow) and he said "I hate Twitter because people are too accessible to you, and people who don’t know you – they say anything. Go home, get off there." he nailed it. If you don't like my record I'm cool with that but don't tweet me and tell me that I should make more tunes like ‘x’ or if you think my tweets are a bit grumpy then just click unfollow, don't fucking tell me about it… Anyway this is one of my favourite tunes, ever. Omar S is an absolute don and if I'm ever drunk enough on gin and this tune is on a karaoke juke box then I will sing it. This and "Mine to Give" are the only songs I would consider singing karaoke to. Mathew Jonson - Decompression: That snare and bassline combo, man... It’s a pure beast, but then, at the same time it’s built out of a few really simple elements. It really drives though. Do you think a love for music like this has affected the way you make music? Like the rawness of it? It's a really simple yet effective tune. I dunno if it's affected the way I make music, maybe it serves as a reminder not to overcomplicate things. After all, I am not making brostep. Catch xxxy in the Roska Presents hosted RM 2 on Friday. Photo: Gianfranco Tripodo for RBMA