James Thomas Smith (born 28 October 1988), known professionally as Jamie xx, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, and remixer. He is known for both his solo work and as a member of the

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band

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), ...

. He has been described as a "driving force" behind the xx, contributing to the group's significant commercial and critical success. As a solo artist, he has been recognised with a 2015

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

nomination, and a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album nomination for '' In Colour''.

Career

2006–2009

Smith was born in London on 28 October 1988. His musical career began in 2006 when he joined

accompanying old schoolmates Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Baria Qureshi of the Elliott School in London, notable for alumni including Hot Chip,

Burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

, and

Four Tet Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

. He first used the stage name Jamie xx in July 2009 in a promotional mix for the band's debut album '' xx'' released on the ''

FACT A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' magazine mix series. The mixtape was compiled by Jamie Smith and featured, amongst others, four tracks credited to Jamie xx – one self-production and three remixes. The ''xx'' album went on to become

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

in the UK. Afterward, Smith went on to do more remix work for artists like

Florence + The Machine Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

, Jack Peñate and Glasser.

2010–present

In late 2010, a Jamie xx remix of the song "NY Is Killing Me" from

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackso ...

's last album '' I'm New Here'' aired on radio stations across the UK and Europe. The remix of "I'll Take Care of U" followed in January 2011. Both singles drew the attention of the general public and the critics. They set the way for a 13-track remix album entitled '' We're New Here'', produced entirely by Jamie xx and credited to "Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx". The album was released on 21 February 2011 on the XL Recordings label, but a full-album preview could be streamed on the website of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' as early as 14 February. ''We're New Here'' received critical acclaim and was named "a cohesive, considered masterpiece in its own right" by

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Ele Beattie. On 6 June 2011, the two-track self-produced single " Far Nearer / Beat For" was released. The song "Far Nearer" was selected Best New Track by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', and the

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

single charted at number 128 on the UK Singles Chart. Later the same year, Smith produced the title track off

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

's second album, ''

Take Care ''Take Care'' is the second studio album by Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake. It was released on November 15, 2011, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from the Weekn ...

'', which features

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

. In addition, Smith helped create several reworks for

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

's song "Bloom" which were released on a remix album entitled '' TKOL RMX 1234567''. He also co-produced the song "When It's All Over" with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

on her '' Girl on Fire'' album. In 2014, he announced an upcoming collaboration with John Talabot on Tim Sweeney's Beats in Space online radio show. In 2014, he released the singles "Girl/Sleep Sound" and "All Under One Roof Raving". On 27 March 2015, he released two singles: " Loud Places", featuring

's Romy Madley Croft, and " Gosh". On the same day he also announced that his debut album, '' In Colour'', would be out on 1 June 2015. Ahead of its release, ''In Colour'' was streamed on iTunes as a preview with album-spanning visuals that 'reacted' to each sound. It was ultimately released on 29 May 2015 to widespread critical acclaim, debuting at number three on the UK Albums Chart and receiving nominations for the 2015

and for

Best Dance/Electronic Album The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — honor quality dance music, dance and electronica albums in any given year. The award was first presented ...

at the 58th Grammy Awards. Jamie xx composed the score for a ballet, ''Tree of Codes'', commissioned by

Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first takin ...

for its 2015 edition. Based on a novel of the same name by

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), '' Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works '' Eat ...

, the ballet was choreographed by Wayne McGregor and had a set created by Olafur Eliasson. In 2020, he released his first single in five years, "Idontknow", which received positive to lukewarm reception from critics. He was credited on

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

's 2021 album '' Call Me If You Get Lost'' as a co-producer on the track "RISE!". Jamie xx has worked on each of his The xx bandmates' respective solo albums: he produced Oliver Sim's '' Hideous Bastard'' (2022), and co-produced Romy's '' Mid Air'' (2023). On 20 September 2024, Jamie xx released his second opus ''In Waves'' on the independent Young record label.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Other charted songs

Other tracks

Remixes

Awards and nominations

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MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

, , - , rowspan=4, Rober Awards Music Poll , rowspan=2, Himself , Best Male Artist , , - , Best Electronica , , - , rowspan=2, " I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)"
, Song of the Year , , - , Floorfiller of the Year , , - , AIM Independent Music Awards , " Loud Places" , Independent Video of the Year , , - , International Dance Music Awards , Himself , Best Indie Dance/Underground DJ , , - ,

, rowspan=5, '' In Colour'' , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=11, 2016 ,

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, , - ,

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

, Album Award , , - , Elle Style Awards , Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Brit Awards , British Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Himself , British Male Solo Artist , , - , rowspan=2, International Dance Music Awards , Best Indie Dance/Underground DJ , , - , " Loud Places" , Best Alternative/Indie Rock Dance Track , , - , rowspan="2" , UK Music Video Awards , rowspan="6" , " Gosh" , Video of the Year , , - , Best Alternative Video – UK , , - , Camerimage , Best Music Video , , - , Rober Awards Music Poll , Best Promo Video , , - , rowspan=2, 2017 , D&AD Awards , Best Music Video , , - ,

, Best Music Video , , - , rowspan=2, 2025 , Hungarian Music Awards , '' In Waves'' , Foreign Electronic Album or Recording of the Year , , - , Clio Awards , '' In Waves'' , Mixed Campaign , , -

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1988 births 21st-century English musicians DJs from London English electronic musicians English male musicians English record producers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) British remixers XL Recordings artists British electronic dance music DJs 21st-century British male musicians The xx members Young (record label) artists