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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the

Beggars Group Beggars Group is a British record company, founded by Martin Mills, that owns or holds stakes in various record labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings, and Young (record label), Young. History The company had i ...

. It releases an average of six albums a year. The label releases albums worldwide and operates across a range of genres.

History

1980s and 1990s

Originally launched in 1989 to release

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

and

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

, the label began as 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 The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in the Bronx, New York City. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as ...

. However, with the success of acts such as

the Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

and SL2, XL superseded Citybeat in its lineup. During the early 1990s, XL releases were dance-oriented, ranging from Belgian

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

( T99's "Anasthasia") to breakbeat hardcore (SL2's " On a Ragga Tip") to

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

( 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 Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the United Kingdom, UK. The record label was set up in 1993 in music, 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquar ...

, and subsequently his own independent commercial dance label

Incentive In general, incentives are anything that persuade a person or organization to alter their behavior to produce the desired outcome. The laws of economists and of behavior state that higher incentives amount to greater levels of effort and therefo ...

. After Palmer retired in 1996, Russell took over the business. Russell later broadened the label's musical horizons, whilst maintaining a credo of working with artists he saw as original and inventive. In 1994, the label released

's second album, '' Music for the Jilted Generation'' which debuted atop the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

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

2000s

June 2000 saw the release of

Badly Drawn Boy Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show '' The Magic Ball'', which he saw on TV ...

's ''

The Hour of Bewilderbeast ''The Hour of Bewilderbeast'' is the debut studio album by British musician Badly Drawn Boy, released on 26 June 2000. Damon Gough, who performs as Badly Drawn Boy, wrote, produced, and played several instruments on the album's eighteen tracks, s ...

'' which won the 2000

Mercury Music 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 ...

.Critic Reviews for The Hour of Bewilderbeast

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

. Retrieved 23 June 2011 The next year,

the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

' third album ''

White Blood Cells White blood cells (scientific name leukocytes), also called immune cells or immunocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign entities. White blood cells are genera ...

'' was released together with reissues of the band's previous albums, ''

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

'' and ''

De Stijl De Stijl (, ; 'The Style') was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden (Theo van Doesburg, Jacobus Oud, J.J.P. Oud), Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár, Jan Wils) and Laren, North Holland, Laren (Piet Mo ...

''. 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 We ...

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

Elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

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

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 ...

certification in Britain. That same year, XL released

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

'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 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 ...

for the best album of 2003. In March 2005, M.I.A.'s debut album '' Arular'' was released after several months' delay.

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

, from

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 ...

, released his first solo record, ''

The Eraser ''The Eraser'' is the debut solo album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 10 July 2006 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, the longtime producer for Yorke's band Radiohead. Yorke wrote and recorded ''The Er ...

'', 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 ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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 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 ...

, 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,

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), ...

'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 Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

's second album '' Contra'', the band's first album to top the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

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 thirteenth studio album ''

I'm New Here ''I'm New Here'' is the 15th and final studio album by American vocalist and pianist Gil Scott-Heron. It was released on February 8, 2010, by XL Recordings and was his first release of original music in 16 years, following a period of personal an ...

'' was released in February; it was Scott-Heron's first release of original material in sixteen years and would ultimately be his last studio album before his death the following May. 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, and in September

'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 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, ...

. In February the (then) 19-year-old OFWGKTA member

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 ...

was signed for a one-album deal for his debut studio album and commercial debut ''

Goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearan ...

''. 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 (record label), Young Turks and XL Recordings. A longtime fan of Scott-Heron, Ja ...

" made with

Jamie xx 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 band the xx. He has been described as a " ...

were released on XL Recordings. The label also released new albums by

, 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 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...

'', the debut solo record by

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

. It entered the UK album charts at number one, displacing '' 21'' by

. 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 over 12 months. As of March 2011, XL Recordings had released three albums that had sold over a million copies in the UK:

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

's '' The Fat of the Land'',

's '' 19'', and Adele's '' 21''. In April 2016,

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

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 a road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, which passes through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the sur ...

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 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 Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

space. Set up specifically with the xx in mind, XL Studio features little outboard gear and is equipped with a Neotek Élan custom 24-channel

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...

, Yamaha NS10 studio monitors, and instruments that include an

upright piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temper ...

, Roland Juno-60, Moog Prodigy, Vox Continental organ, and Sequential Circuits Pro-One 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 A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center. Overview A control room's purpose is produc ...

; 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

XL Recordings

As of 2025, XL Recordings is home to a range of artists including: * Arca *

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and Hip hop production, production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinsk ...

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 ...

* CASISDEAD * Charlotte Day Wilson * Everything Is Recorded / Richard Russell * Fontaines D.C. * Ibeyi * Jim Legxacy * Joy Orbison * Kenny Beats * King Krule / Archy Marshall * Makaya McCraven * Overmono * Nourished by Time * Jai Paul * Peggy Gou * Jack Peñate *

* Ratatat *

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a we ...

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

* Smerz * Special Request * The Smile *

Standing on the Corner (band) Standing on the Corner is an American avant-garde music collective led by Gio Escobar. Emerging from the New York underground art and music scene, they have been referred to as a post-genre band and praised for their use and blends of differe ...

* Yaeji

XL Recordings alumni

* Atoms for Peace *

Azealia Banks Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. S ...

* The Avalanches * Basement Jaxx *

* Be Your Own Pet *

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

* Bobby Womack * Blue Roses / Laura Groves * Capitol K *

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 Discovery ...

* East India Youth *

Electric Six Electric Six is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Detroit in 1996. They are known for combining elements of Rock music, rock, disco, garage rock, Heavy metal music, metal, New wave music, new wave, and punk rock. Since achieving wide ...

* Eyedress * Friendly Fires * Giggs *

* Golden Silvers * Gotan Project * Holly Miranda * The Horrors *

House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. They are best known for their 1992 hit single " Jump Around", which reached number 3 in their nati ...

* Iceage *

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

* Karen Elson * Kaytranada * Kirin J Callinan * Kwes * Leila *

Lemon Jelly Lemon Jelly are 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 ...

Liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

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 judici ...

* M.I.A. * Monsta Boy * Nines *

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 wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

* Nu-Birth *

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...

* Ratking *

* QT *

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician and record producer based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as S ...

* Roy Davis Jr. feat. Peven Everett * Shamir * SL2 * Super Furry Animals * Sunless '97 *

The Cool Kids Cool Kids may refer to: Music * The Cool Kids (duo), an alternative hip-hop duo Albums * Cool Kids (album), ''Cool Kids'' (album), a 1983 album by Kix * ''Cool Kids'', a 2011 EP by Natalie Walker Songs * Cool Kids (song), "Cool Kids" (song), a ...

* Theoretical Girl *

Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...

The Streets The Streets is an English musical project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner (musician), Mike Skinner. The project was founded in the early 90s, while Skinner was still a teenager; however, no music would formally eventuat ...

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

Wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...

* Wiley * Willis Earl Beal *

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 ...

* Zongamin

Young roster

* Daniela Lalita * Ethan P. Flynn *

FKA twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 16 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and dancer. She was a backup dancer for numerous musicians, and made her musica ...

* John Glacier * John Talabot * Kamasi Washington * Koreless * Mechatok * Oliver Sim * Romy * Sampha *

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), ...

* Treanne

Paul Institute

* A. K. Paul * Fabiana Palladino * HIRA * Pen Pals * REINEN * Ruthven

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 1989 establishments in England