''Becoming X'' is the debut studio album by English

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

band

Sneaker Pimps Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, '' Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and " Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an articl ...

. It was first released on 19 August 1996 in the United Kingdom by

Clean Up Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...

and on 25 February 1997 in the United States by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

. The album marked the only appearance of

Kelli Dayton Kelli Ali, also known as Kelli Dayton (born 30 June 1974), is a British vocalist, who was formerly the lead singer of the trip hop group Sneaker Pimps before going on to a solo career. Career Before Sneaker Pimps, Ali was part of a group calle ...

as lead singer before she was asked to leave the band; Chris Corner replaced her for the band's subsequent albums. ''Becoming X'' was commercially successful in the United Kingdom, while " 6 Underground" and "

Spin Spin Sugar "Spin Spin Sugar" is a song by English electronic band Sneaker Pimps, released in March 1997 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, '' Becoming X'' (1996). The album version is in true Sneaker Pimps style and format; there is a driv ...

" would become hits in the United States. Fueled by the success of the former single, the album spent 23 consecutive weeks on the US ''Billboard'' 200.

Background and recording

''Becoming X'' is an

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

and

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow temp ...

album, featuring

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and orchestral elements and samples. The title comes from the fourth track on the album and, as explained by vocalist Kelli Dayton, "X meaning whatever you want it to mean. Also like

generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s ...

, X as a blank. It's a feeling. So it's really purposefully ambiguous, like the songs are. We've tried letting people use their imagination to make it more personal to them." This concept was later referenced into the name of Chris Corner's solo project

IAMX IAMX is the solo musical project of Chris Corner of the band Sneaker Pimps. Founded in 2004 in London, it is an independent music project which also focuses on and experiments with visual art. Musically, IAMX spans multiple genres from electr ...

. The album was written by Corner and Liam Howe, with friend Ian Pickering contributing to the lyrics in what Corner calls "a total collaboration". The album's demos were recorded with Corner on vocals. However, the band felt the songs would work better with a female voice, so the band's manager and co-founder of the Clean Up label, Craig Mineard, sent the demos to Dayton, asking her to join the band as vocalist. Dayton liked the demos and agreed to join the band, on the condition of becoming a song-writing partner. As much of the writing for the album was already in place, Dayton went on to co-write the

b-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

. The album was recorded in Howe's bedroom studio in Elwick. The vocals were recorded in a cupboard that Howe made into a vocal booth. Possessing a higher

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...

than Corner, Dayton decided to record the tracks' vocals in a measured and subdued way to give them more emotional intensity.

Release and promotion

Various iterations of the record exist with different artwork and track mixes. The first version features a cover with metal circuitry designed by Foxy Design and was released in UK and Europe on August 19, 1996, on vinyl, CD and cassette by Clean Up Records. The album was released in US on February 25, 1997 by Virgin featuring the

Nellee Hooper Nellee Hooper (born Paul Andrew Hooper on 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer ...

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of "6 Underground" as bonus track. Due to the success of the singles "6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar", the album was

reissued In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Rec ...

in 1997 with artwork by

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited ...

. The reissue, referred to as the limited edition, features the Nellee Hooper remix of "6 Underground", the radio mix of "Spin Spin Sugar" and the Flight From Nashville mix of "Post-Modern Sleaze". This is the version provided on

streaming platforms Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

. The limited edition track listing was used for the 2008, 2016 and 2020 vinyl reissues of the album, although the original 1996 artwork was supplied instead of the Limited Edition artwork. This caused confusion, but One Little Independent Records insisted it was correct when it indeed was an error. Five singles were released from the album: "Tesko Suicide", "Roll On" and "6 Underground" in 1996, and "Spin Spin Sugar" and "Post-Modern Sleaze" in 1997.

Music videos A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

were made for the tracks "Tesko Suicide", directed by

Liam Howe Liam Coverdale Howe (born 29 September 1974) is an English record producer, musician and songwriter. Since co-founding electronic music band Sneaker Pimps in 1996, he has been a producer for Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, FKA Twigs, El ...

and Joe Wilson, "Six Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar", both directed by Toby Tremlett, and "Post-Modern Sleaze", directed by

Howard Greenhalgh Howard Douglas Greenhalgh (born 19 February 1963) is a British director of music videos and advertising. Biography Greenhalgh was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire and studied at the Royal College of Art, setting up the firm Why No ...

. The videos were later released on the 2001 video compilation ''The Videos'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. The band embarked on a tour of the UK in small venues and worked their way up to a two-year world tour to promote the album, also appearing on

music festivals A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

and

TV shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

. During their tour, they opened for Blur and

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk an ...

, and played with Tricky and

Lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

, establishing themselves as a trip hop band. The band's popularity was cemented when "6 Underground" was included on the soundtrack of the 1997 film '' The Saint'', out on April 4. On July 22, 1997, the band featured on the

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

track " Long Hard Road Out of Hell", included in the motion picture ''Spawn''. In October, the band opened for

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publication ...

on his United States tour promoting the '' Richard D. James Album''. The United States tour put a strain on the relationships in the band, leading to Howe prematurely leaving the tour, the tour itself stopping, and the subsequent firing of singer Kelli Ali, who wouldn't appear on the band's second album ''

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

''. On August 19, 2022, the band began "a month of song and video celebrations" on their YouTube channel to mark the 26th anniversary of the release of the album.

Critical reception

''Becoming X'' got mostly positive rieviews from contemporary critics, who often compared Sneaker Pimps to trip hop artists like Portishead and Tricky. In a positive interview for ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

'',

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

defined the album "one of the most engaging byproducts of post-Portishead trip-hop", albeit being more guitar-driven than their predecessors. Jeremy Helligar wrote "Sneaker Pimps manage to be ominously spooky on ''Becoming X'' without indulging in Tricky’s gothic pretension and hypnotic without lapsing into Portishead’s one-note gloom" in his positive review for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

''. In a 3 star out of 5 review for ''

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 co ...

'', Ken Micallef wrote that whilst not deviating from the female-fronted trip hop band formula, the band manages to "make pop as tension-filled as an

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

novel". Calvin Bush from ''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...

'' gave the album 3 stars out of 5 and defined it "spiky indie pop in a

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste prod ...

-meets-Portishead fashion", noting the singles "Tesko Suicide" and "6 Underground" came across like "an indie kid version of Morcheeba with slashier guitars". Ryan Schreiber gave the album a 6.3 score on

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

, likening Sneaker Pimps to "an electrified version of

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WA ...

" and praising the vocals, the beats and the guitars, albeit criticizing the songs for seemingly "lose a lot of their appeal once you're familiar with them". In a more critical review for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'',

Dele Fadele Ayodele Fadele (8 August 1962 – March 2018) was an English musician and music journalist who was active from the mid-1980s. He wrote for the ''NME'' in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was one of the first music critics to introduce then eme ...

commended the band's original sound for blending electronic, orchestral and rock elements but ultimately described the result as boring.

Track listing

*"6 Underground (Nellee Hooper Edit)" − 3:48 (US bonus track) *"No More" - 4:15 (Japan bonus track) *"Clean" - 5:17 (Japan bonus track) *"Johnny" 4:14 (Japan bonus track) *"Precious" 4:18 (Japan bonus track) *"Walk the Rain" - 4:58 (Japan bonus track)

Samples

* "6 Underground" sampled John Barry's track "Golden Girl" from the film ''Goldfinger'' (1964) * "Becoming X" sampled

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

's track "Next Time Around" (1971) *"Spin Spin Sugar" sampled

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering wo ...

's "Visage" (1961) * "Post-Modern Sleaze" sampled the ritual music from the final scenes of the film ''The Wicker Man'' (1973) * "Waterbaby" sampled

David Sylvian David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt, 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan. The band's androgynous look and increasingly ...

's track "Let the Happiness In" (1987), "Guru Sri Chinmoy Aphorism" by

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound feature ...

and

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few h ...

(1974) and Jimmy Fontana's track "Il Mondo" (1965) * "How Do" sampled the Rachel Verney vocal audio from the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

in the 1973 British horror film ''The Wicker Man'' * Live versions of "Spin Spin Sugar" often sampled

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize t ...

's track "Boing Boom Tschak" (1986) * "Can't Find My Way Home", the B-side to "6 Underground" sampled

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

's track "Go Down Easy" (1973) * The demo version of "Low Place Like Home" sampled

's tracks "Before the Bullfight" and "Wave" (1986)

Personnel

Sneaker Pimps

− vocals, guitars * Chris Corner − guitars, keyboards *

− production, keyboards, guitars, drums, samples, percussion, programming * Joe Wilson − bass, keyboards *

Dave Westlake Dave Westlake (born 26 December 1970) is a British musician and drummer, known most for his work with Sneaker Pimps and The Mighty Boosh Band. He has since moved on from performing and recording with Sneaker Pimps to joining fellow band mate ...

− drums, programming *Ian Pickering - lyrics, keyboards

Other personnel

Jim Abbiss Jim Abbiss is a British music producer, best known for his work on records including the debut album of Editors ('' The Back Room''), Arctic Monkeys' Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, '' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'', ...

, C. Goddard,

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

, Oggy AKA Augustus Skinner, Luke Gifford − engineering *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Shee ...

, Flood,

, Line Of Flight,

, Luke Gifford − mixing *Andy Wright,

Marius De Vries Marius de Vries (born 1961) is an English music producer and composer. He has won a Grammy Award from four nominations, two BAFTA Awards, and an Ivor Novello Award. Education Marius de Vries was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Bedfor ...

− additional programming and keyboards

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Becoming X at Sneaker Pimps Legacy
{{Sneaker Pimps Sneaker Pimps albums 1996 debut albums Albums produced by Flood (producer) Albums produced by Peter Collins (record producer) Albums produced by Jim Abbiss Alternative rock albums by English artists Downtempo albums Industrial rock albums