XL Recordings is a British

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and

Nick Halkes Nick Halkes (born Nigel Halkes) is a UK based music industry executive best known for signing a breaking dance act the Prodigy and being one of the founders of the XL Recordings label. He is now an artist manager and music publisher managing Lia ...

. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL has worked with Adele, Arca, Azealia Banks, Basement Jaxx, Beck,

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

, Electric Six, FKA Twigs, Giggs, Gil Scott-Heron, Gotan Project, The Horrors, Yaeji, Jai Paul,

Jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

, King Krule,

Lemon Jelly Lemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London that formed in 1998 and went on hiatus starting in 2008. Since its inception, the band members have always been Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for awards ...

, M.I.A., Nines, Peaches, The Prodigy, Radiohead, Sampha, SBTRKT, Sigur Rós, Tyler, the Creator, Vampire Weekend, The White Stripes, and

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), an ...

. The label releases albums worldwide and operates across a range of genres.

History

1980s and 1990s

The label was launched in 1989 to release rave and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

. It was originally an imprint of Beggars Banquet's more commercial dance label Citybeat, which was known for records by acts such as Freeez, Rob Base & EZ Rock, Starlight, Dream Frequency and the Ultramagnetic MCs. However, with the success of acts such as The Prodigy and SL2, XL superseded Citybeat in its lineup. During the early 1990s, XL releases were dance oriented ranging from Belgian techno ( T99's "Anasthasia") to breakbeat hardcore (SL2's "

On a Ragga Tip "On a Ragga Tip" is a song by British breakbeat hardcore group SL2, released as a single in 1992. The song contains samples of Jah Screechy's "Walk and Skank" and Kid 'n Play's "Gittin' Funky (UK Remix)". The song was a success, peaking at 2 ...

") to drum and bass ( Jonny L's "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. After Palmer retired in 1996, Russell took over the running of the business. Russell later broadened the musical horizons of the label, whilst maintaining a credo of working with artists he saw as original and inventive. In 1994, the label released The Prodigy's second album, '' Music for the Jilted Generation'' which debuted in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

at number one, and in 1997 it released the third album by The Prodigy, '' The Fat of the Land'' which entered the British and American charts at number one and went on to be number one in 26 countries.

2000s

June 2000 saw the release of Badly Drawn Boy's '' The Hour of Bewilderbeast'' which won the 2000 Mercury Music Prize.Critic Reviews for The Hour of Bewilderbeast

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. Retrieved 23 June 2011 The next year, The White Stripes third album '' White Blood Cells'' was released together with reissues of the band's previous albums, '' The White Stripes'' and '' De Stijl''. In 2003 XL Recordings won the ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' A&R award, and also released The White Stripes fourth album ''

Elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

'' which was their first UK number one album and eventually reached double

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

certification in Britain. In the same year XL released

's first solo album, '' Boy in da Corner'' for which Dizzee was awarded the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the ...

for the best album of 2003. In March 2005, M.I.A.'s debut album '' Arular'' was released after several months' delay. Thom Yorke, from Radiohead, released his first solo record, '' The Eraser'', on the label in July 2006. In October 2007, Radiohead completed negotiations to sign with XL for physical release of their seventh studio album, '' In Rainbows''. Radiohead subsequently went on to release through XL, and have so far released everything since their eighth studio album '' The King Of Limbs'' on the label. As director of XL Recordings, Richard Russell was included in a 2007

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

list of the most influential people in London, and in August of that year M.I.A.'s second album '' Kala'' was released—

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

named it the ninth best album of the decade. In March 2008 XL added Friendly Fires and The Horrors. In 2009 the label won the "

" Best Independent Label award; Adele won the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, and at the same ceremony Radiohead won Best Alternative Album for ''In Rainbows'' as well as Best Boxed or Special Edition Album. Also in 2009,

's debut album '' xx'' was released on XL Recordings partner label Young, and in September Giggs was signed.

2010s

On 11 January 2010, XL Recordings released Vampire Weekend's second album '' Contra''. It was the band's first album to reach number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Gil Scott-Heron's thirteenth studio album '' I'm New Here'' was released in February; it was Scott-Heron's first release of original material in sixteen years and proved to be his last studio album. Recording sessions for the album took place between 2007 and 2009 and production was handled by XL Recordings-owner Richard Russell. In July, XL signed Jai Paul, who was shortlisted for BBC's

Sound of 2011 Sound of... is an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003, and is now widely covered by the corporation's online, radio and TV outle ...

, and in September

the xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), an ...

's eponymous debut album won the Barclaycard

, acquiring best British and Irish album of the year. On 24 January 2011, XL Recordings released the album '' 21'' by Adele. In February the (then) 19-year-old OFWGKTA member Tyler, the Creator was signed for a one-album deal for his debut studio album and commercial debut '' Goblin''. Singer Gil Scott-Heron died in May and his final recordings, " I'm New Here" (produced by Richard Russell), and the remix album, "

We're New Here ''We're New Here'' is a remix album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and English music producer Jamie xx, released on February 21, 2011, by Young Turks and XL Recordings. A longtime fan of Scott-Heron, Jamie xx was approached by XL ...

" made with Jamie xx were released on XL Recordings. The label also released new albums by Radiohead, Friendly Fires, and The Horrors and singles by Jai Paul and Portishead, as well as the Adele Blu-ray/DVD, '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall''. On 24 April 2012, XL released ''

Blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly consid ...

'', the debut solo record by Jack White. It entered the UK album charts at number one, displacing '' 21'' by Adele. In 2012, XL Recordings was named 'Label of the Year' at the Music Week Awards in London. XL also won awards for 'Best A&R' and 'Best Artist Campaign'. Label head, Richard Russell, became the youngest ever recipient of the lifetime achievement 'Strat Award'. Sales of Adele's ''21'' helped increase XL Recordings' bank balance from £3 million to £32 million in the space of 12 months. As of March 2011, XL Recordings had released three albums that had sold over a million copies in the UK: The Prodigy's '' The Fat of the Land'', Adele's '' 19'', and Adele's '' 21''. In April 2016, Radiohead's Parlophone albums transferred to XL Recordings. A month later, on 8 May, the band released their ninth studio album, '' A Moon Shaped Pool'', through XL to critical acclaim.

XL Studio

In early 2008, Russell transformed the rear garage of the label's

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

headquarters into a small, in-house recording and mixing studio called XL Studio. It served as a makeshift studio space for the label's various artists and his own projects until producer

Rodaidh McDonald Rodaidh McDonald is a Scottish record producer and record company executive. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and currently resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. His production and mixing credits include The xx, King Krule, Adele ...

was assigned in September of that year to manage and properly equip it in preparation for

to record their self-titled debut album. According to McDonald, "before Richard brought me in to be Studio Manager, it was just a bit of a free-for-all. Artists could come in and rehearse, demo or write here and things like that ... but it was good idea and we decided we should be stepping it up and making records here." Russell and McDonald were inspired by the success of modest studios such as Hitsville U.S.A. and wanted to create an economic, non- commercial space. Set up specifically with the xx in mind, XL Studio features little

outboard gear Musical outboard equipment or outboard gear is used to process or alter a sound signal separately from functionality provided within a mixing console or a digital audio workstation. Outboard effects units can be used either during a live performanc ...

and is equipped with a Neotek Élan custom 24-channel mixing console, Yamaha NS10 studio monitors, and instruments that include an upright piano, Roland Juno-60,

Moog Prodigy The Moog Prodigy was a monophonic analogue synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1979 to 1984. Of the 11,000 produced, versions released after 1981 included a control voltage/gate input on the back that allowed the VCF to be triggered and cont ...

, Vox Continental organ, and

Sequential Circuits Pro-One Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer; it became a market leader and industry standard, used ...

synthesizer. Russell and McDonald augmented the studio to twice its original size after the xx's album, which was done in what became the studio's control room; they incorporated an adjacent office as the studio's live room for musicians. In 2016, the WSDG completed the construction of a new recording studio in the basement of the XL Recordings offices in New York City.

Roster

2022 roster

As of 2022, XL Recordings is home to a range of artists including: * Arca * Baba Stiltz * BadBadNotGood * Batu * CASisDEAD * Dark0 * dvr * Everything Is Recorded / rLr * GILA * Hugo Massien *

Ibeyi Ibeyi is a French musical duo consisting of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The duo sings in English, French, Spanish and Yoruba, In Yoruba, Ibeyi (''Ìbejì'') means "twins". Their music has elements of Yoruba, French and Af ...

* Jack Peñate * Jack White * Jai Paul * Joy Orbison *

* Kenny Beats * King Krule / Archy Marshall * Kurupt FM *

Låpsley Holly Lapsley Fletcher (born 7 August 1996), known by the stage name Låpsley, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Her debut album '' Long Way Home'' was released on 4 March 2016. Early life Låpsley was born in York. Her m ...

* LISS * Mssingno * Mumdance * Nines * Overmono *

Peggy Gou Peggy Gou is a South Korean DJ and record producer based in Germany. She has released seven EPs on record labels including Ninja Tune and Phonica. In 2019, she launched her own independent record label, Gudu Records, and released a DJ-Kicks c ...

* Powell * Powell Tillmans * Radiohead *

Ratatat Ratatat ( ) is a Brooklyn-based electronic rock duo consisting of Mike Stroud (guitar, melodica, synthesizers, percussion) and producer Evan Mast ( bass, synthesizers, percussion). History Beginnings and first album, ''Ratatat'' (2001–200 ...

* Rozzma * RATKING * Rostam * Sam Gellaitry * Sigur Rós * Smerz * Special Request * The Higher * The Smile * Thom Yorke * Yaeji *

Zomby Zomby is a British electronic musician who began releasing music in 2007. He has released music on several labels, including Hyperdub, Werk Discs, and 4AD. Zomby's influences include oldschool jungle music and Wiley's eskibeat sound. Car ...

Alumni

* Adele * Atoms for Peace * Azealia Banks * The Avalanches * Basement Jaxx * Badly Drawn Boy *

Be Your Own Pet Be Your Own Pet (also known as BYOP) is a four-piece punk/garage rock group from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography The band formed in 2004, while all members were in high school at Nashville School of the Arts. Playing house shows and gigs a ...

* Beck * Bobby Womack * Blue Roses / Laura Groves *

Capitol K Capitol K is the name under which Kristian Craig Robinson works as a musician, producer, recording engineer and label manager. He was born in Malta and raised in Dubai, Brunei and England, and now based in London. Capitol K first came to pr ...

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...

* East India Youth * Electric Six * Eyedress * Friendly Fires * Giggs * Gil Scott-Heron *

Golden Silvers Golden Silvers were an English band from London signed to independent record label XL Recordings. The line-up consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Gwilym Gold, Ben Moorhouse on bass guitar, and Robden Alexis Nunez on drums. Early stages The b ...

* Gotan Project * Holly Miranda * The Horrors * House of Pain *

Iceage Iceage is a Danish punk rock band from Copenhagen. The band was formed in 2008 and has released the albums '' New Brigade'' (2011), '' You're Nothing'' (2013), '' Plowing Into the Field of Love'' (2014), '' Beyondless'' (2018), and '' Seek S ...

Karen Elson Karen Jill Elson (born 15 January 1979) is an English model and singer-songwriter. Early life and education Elson was born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and attended North Chadderton School as a child. She has a fraternal twin sister, film ...

* Kwes * Kaytranada * Leila *

* Liquid *

Magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

* M.I.A. * Monsta Boy *

Novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

* Nu-Birth * Okay Kaya * Peaches * The Prodigy * QT * RJD2 * Roy Davis Jr. feat. Peven Everett * Shamir * SL2 * Super Furry Animals * Sunless '97 * The Cool Kids * Titus Andronicus *

The Streets The Streets are an English music project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner. The project has released six studio albums: '' Original Pirate Material'' (2002), ''A Grand Don't Come for Free'' (2004), ''The Hardest Way to ...

* Tyler, The Creator *

Various Production Various, or Various Production, is an English dubstep/electronic music duo formed in 2002. The group blends samples, acoustic and electronic instrumentation, and singing from a revolving cast of vocalists. Its members, Adam and Ian, purposefu ...

* Vampire Weekend * Wiki * Wiley *

Willis Earl Beal Willis Earl Beal (also known as Nobody) is an artist and musician. Early years Willis Earl Beal was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. In his early twenties Beal joined the U.S. Army, moving to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Beal was ...

* Zongamin

References

External links

* *
Interview with Richard Russell, HitQuarters Sep 2008
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1989 Electronic music record labels Drum and bass record labels English electronic dance music record labels Alternative rock record labels British independent record labels Indie rock record labels Pop record labels Beggars Group

History

1980s and 1990s

2000s

2010s

XL Studio

Roster

2022 roster

Alumni

See also

Affiliated labels/imprints

Formerly affiliated labels/imprints

Inactive affiliated labels/imprints

Other

References

External links