Jamie xx

Before he was a solo name, Jamie xx was the producer at the heart of the xx, the London band whose debut album went platinum in the UK. Born James Thomas Smith in 1988, he joined schoolmates Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Baria Qureshi in 2006, a year after they formed, wielding an MPC given to him for his eighteenth birthday. Elliott School, their alma mater, also counts Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet among its alumni, and he traces his taste for dance music to two uncles who DJed.

The Jamie xx name first appeared on a 2009 FACT mix, followed by remixes for Florence + The Machine and Adele. His 2011 collaboration with Gil Scott-Heron, We're New Here, reworked I'm New Here for XL Recordings, and he went on to produce Drake's 'Take Care' and co-produce Alicia Keys' 'When It's All Over'. Debut album In Colour (2015) entered at number three in the UK and earned Mercury Prize and Grammy nominations. He also scored the ballet Tree of Codes. In Waves arrived in September 2024 on Young, with Romy, Oliver Sim, Robyn, Honey Dijon and The Avalanches among its guests, scored 84 on Metacritic and was followed by two sold-out Alexandra Palace shows.