The xx

Born in the mid-2000s in southwest London, The xx coalesced around Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith—aka Jamie xx—and, originally, Baria Qureshi, who met at the Elliott School in Putney. Rooted in slow-tempo indie pop and dream pop, the trio crafts a stripped-back sound of clean guitars, simple bass lines, interwoven vocals, and understated electronic rhythms, with touches of R&B and British electronica. Their debut album, xx, released in 2009 on the Young label (formerly Young Turks), cemented this minimalist approach and won the Mercury Prize in 2010, quickly raising The xx’s profile on club and festival stages across Europe and North America. Coexist (2012) deepened the play with silence and a more intimate aesthetic, while I See You (2017) signaled a more pronounced turn toward electronic textures and club influences—reflecting Jamie xx’s parallel work as a producer—while preserving the economy of means that defines The xx both in the studio and onstage.