Xan Tyler is a British

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

based in Scotland.

Career

Born and raised in South

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Tyler began her singing career as a backing singer. After working with numerous

bands Bands may refer to: * Bands (song), song by American rapper Comethazine * Bands (neckwear), form of formal neckwear * Bands (Italian Army irregulars) Bands () was an Italian military term for Irregular military, irregular forces, composed of nati ...

and as a session singer, she signed to

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

as one half of synth pop duo Technique (the other half being musician Kate Holmes, now of

Client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuable ...

). In 1999, Tyler and Kate Holmes collaborated with

Mad Professor Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser (born 27 March 1955, Georgetown, Guyana) known by his stage-name Mad Professor, is a British dub music producer, engineer and remixer. He has collaborated with reggae artists Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, ...

to create Mission Control. Mission Control released one album, ''Dub Showcase'' on Poptones and Tyler joined Mad Professor on a European tour in 2000. ''Dub Showcase'' also featured a vocal from

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development ...

. 1999 also saw Tyler's first success as

Technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s * Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by ...

with the release of "Sun is Shining", released on Creation Records, which reached number 64 in the UK Singles Chart in April of that year, followed by "You & Me" which got to number 56 in August. One of the

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, 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, poem, or photograph ca ...

ers on "Sun is Shining" was

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

Matt Darey Matthew Jonathan Darey (born 29 November 1968) is an English trance music producer and performer. Darey has sold over two million albums and singles with numerous top 40 chart hits. Music career Darey was born in Leicester, England. Some of his ...

, for whom she later performed vocals on the track "Wanna be an Angel", released under the name of Tekara in 2004 on

Platipus Records Platipus Records was a British trance music record label that was based in London, England. It was founded in 1993 by Simon Berry, and early releases included Union Jack (band), Union Jack and Art of Trance. Later, the label included artists ...

In 2001, she teamed up with

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 ...

producer

Timo Maas Timo Maas (born July 27, 1969) is a German DJ/ producer and remixer. His remix of Azzido Da Bass's single " Dooms Night" helped launch his career in 2000. In its wake, he also released ''Music for the Maases Volume 1'', a mix album consisting ...

and as Orinoko they released "Island" on Positiva Records. Tyler worked with the pop ska band The Joys of Sound, and produced a number of tracks. In 2020 their song "Too Much Is Never Enough" was placed in a Campervan Co. advert for Sky TV. On 23 June 2011 it was announced that Tyler was joining Client to take over live lead vocals. In 2014, Tyler started work on her solo EP with London-based producer Stuart Crossland. The "Into the Blue" EP was released on 8 December 2014. In 2015, Tyler collaborated with producer Kramer in Scotland on three new tracks, written by Tyler. The resulting three track single was released in 2016. In 2017, Tyler provided backing vocals for the album ''Songs My Ruined Gave To Me'' by folk artists, Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds. Tyler sang on five songs on the album. One of which, "I Hate You", featured

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. Prior to joining the Police, Summers had been a member of several bands during the 1960s, including Zoot Money's Big Roll ...

on guitar. In April 2020,

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label with headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on several of the label's first releases. Joyful N ...

named Kramer their 2020 Artist-In-Residence, and simultaneously announced a new partnership with Kramer for the rebirth of his

Shimmy Disc Shimmy-Disc is a New York City–based independent record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, artists like Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Low, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, W ...

label. Tyler is Kramer's sole collaborator on "Let It Come Down". Their debut LP ''Songs We Sang In Our Dreams'' was released on 12 June 2020. Tyler released Clarion Call an album with

on Ariwa, in July 2021. The album received favourable reviews including Uncut Magazine who described it as 'delicious' and 'extraordinary'. In 2023 Tyler signed to the Last Night From Glasgow label and released the first single from her solo album, funded by Creative Scotland and produced by Boo Hewerdine. The single features a guest vocal from

The Delgados The Delgados are a Scottish indie rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. The band is composed of Alun Woodward (vocals, guitar), Emma Pollock (vocals, guitar), Stewart Henderson (bass guitar), and Paul Savage (drums). Biography The band was f ...

' singer

Emma Pollock Emma Pollock (born 20 December 1972) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, musician, and a founding member of the bands The Delgados and The Burns Unit. She is also one of the founders of The Fruit Tree Foundation project and a contributor to ''Vo ...

. She was based in Scotland. "Holding Up Half The Sky", Tyler's debut solo album was released on Last Night From Glasgow on 24th May 2024 in Glasgow. It entered the Official Scottish Albums Chart at No.4, the UK Vinyl Chart at No.10 and the Independent Albums Chart at No.12 the following week. Each of the twelve songs on the album tell a woman's story. One of the songs was inspired by Molly Drake who was

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridg ...

's unsung mother. Molly and Nick's music was not well known on their lifetimes. The song tells of the sadness of a dead man's mother.

Reviews

September 2009decbelblog.com "Tyler offers something different for us all. Think of a mix between Fiona Apple and Alicia Keys." December 2014 from unappreciatedscholars.com: 'Into the Blue has been a wonderful end-of-year discovery. Electro-acoustic in all its glory with a great vocal performance. Another wonderful infectious work that sticks around in the brain for a long time post-listen.' January 2015 from Undercover Rock Life: 'Into The Blue is definitely a good 6 song EP that steps into the land of electro acoustic. If, one of my favourite tracks of the EP, is definitely a notable piece of electro-ambient that, I do think, can open the door to a remarkable future. June 2020 'On Songs We Sang in Our Dreams, boyish humor blooms into something mature and feminine, thanks largely to the band’s crystalline vocalist, British singer Xan Tyler.' PITCHFORK. June 2020 'the voice of Xan Tyler restores prestige to one of the most important indie producers of the 80s and 90s.' HYPFI.IT June 2020 '"Vicky" tackles unnerving intimacy and internalized emotional conflict with multi-dimensional composition and fearless grace.' Earmilk June 2021 ‘…….tough lyrics, soft sounds….. 4* The Scotsman September issue 2021 ‘……..delicious…..extraordinary…….’ 7/10 UNCUT Magazine July 2021 "probably the most wonderful album I've heard this year" Boogaloo Radio

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Xan Living people Singers from London English women singers Year of birth missing (living people)