XO: Momentum
Momentum Music Fund Recipient 2015
After being described as “The future of UK dance” by The Telegraph, and tipped as one to watch by the likes of Annie Mac, Mistajam and Huw Stephens, XO’s already proven himself to be a rising gem among the ranks of new producer talents.
Before he’d even made the jump to releasing music officially, the Stafforshire based producer uploaded a handful of edits online throughout 2013. This got him spotted by Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, who named him as his “Discovery Of The Week” within a few months of the first upload. The following year saw the young protège move on to uploading his first batch of original material. Streaming two tracks (What’s Luv and Holdin’ On) as a pre-release, and despite making the choice to not have a PR or plugger on board, the support still came flooding in. Key players included: Pitchfork, Noisey, Mixmag, ID, The Fader and Redbull, championing his fresh and exciting sound. This was alongside existing nods from his peers, including: Diplo, SOHN, Chase & Status, Odesza, MNEK, How To Dress Well and Snakehips, all counting themselves as early fans.
His long awaited debut EP Through The Night was released in December 2014 and was soon followed up by a second, The Ethereal Experience in July 2015 via UK independent label He Loves You Not Recordings.
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The Momentum Music Fund will enable those involved in the XO project to take it to the next level, independently. The award will not only help to cover formal costs such as PR and radio, but will also aid in developing visual content, brand direction and more.
“I’d like to thank everybody involved in the Momentum Music Fund for selecting me. This award means I can now push on and help elevate my project to the next level while still remaining independent. I’m massively grateful to have received the award and can’t wait to get started on new material with the help of Momentum and co” – XO