X-Press Yourself

Skint records has a presence in Britain's electronic music scene that is unparalled by any other. Created early in the 90's they guided the sounds of the big beat to the masses created dance icons with the likes of Fatboy Slim, Lo-Fidelity All-Stars, Hardknox, Freq Nasty, Bentley Rhythm Ace, and of course X-Press 2. Their current roster has that same pedigree. Sporting such talent as Goose, Kidda, Lucky Jim, Midfield General and my favorites of late Alloy Mental. I would like to focus now if I could on a new X-Press 2 Greatest Hits package from Skint called 'Raise Your Hands'. 18 years in the making this compilation showcases some of the most seminal house tracks ever recorded.

The smash hit from 02 'Lazy' featured the vocals of Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and was their biggest commercial success but the trio cut their teeth (and paid the bills) with the sounds of songs like 'AC/DC', 'Muzikizum', and 'Smoke Machine'. Traveling the globe several times over and with residencies at home and abroad they have a catalogue of music that dwarfs many others in the genre. I have a couple of cuts from the new compilation to share and they represent the past and future of the group. 'Smoke Machine' has a tribal effect on your brain as it builds steadily with a latent nuclear siren backin it all up. Its hard to believe that this was released in 2001. It has all the elements which define solid electro right now and its almost 7 years old. Unreal. 'Supsasong' is another straightforward house trotter with progressive elements which also has a crazed muted drop off followed by a machine gun synth re entry that speaks volumes about the trios smart picks for remixers. Which is performed by fellow Brit duo Soul Mekanik. Last but certainly not least is the new track from X-Press 2 called 'Fire'. This is set to blaze with vocals from the legendary hip hop producer/creator Afrika Bambaataa

To celebrate the release, X-Press 2 have teamed up with the Europe’s premier dance music download store Trackitdown.net to offer an exclusive remix competition for the new single.
The Competition will open on 7th July 2008 and will last for one month, allowing producers time to download the remix parts and weave their vision of the future. The winner, as judged by the expert content team at Trackitdown and X-Press 2 themselves, will win themselves a digital release on Skint as well as £100 worth of Sample Packs from Trackitdown.net.

DL : X-Press 2 - Smoke Machine
DL : X-Press 2 - Smoke Machine (James Talk remix)
DL : X-Press 2 - Supsasong (Soul Mekanik remix)
DL : X-Press 2 - Fire (new) feat Afrika Bambaataa