XL Recordings: Pay Close Attention

"XL Recordings is a collaborative endeavour, and many people have contributed to its evolution. In the song “Out Of Space”, Liam Howlett of The Prodigy provided a blueprint when he sampled Kool Keith of Ultramagnetic MC’s rapping these words: “Pay Close Attention”. And whilst XL has never had any outside ownership, Gil Scott-Heron advisedme not to even consider XL “independent”; because everything is connected. This compilation is an attempt to illustrate some of these connections. Part 1 is the roots of XL; underground music, made for DJ’s. These roots are still growing. Part 2 features some of the singular talents who have taken the label further than we ever envisioned. There is no unifying genre, and I’ll happily confess to aesthetic opportunism; hopefully the thread of originality is evident though. We’ve never compromised. The rave music XL first became known for was known as “hardcore”; that spirit continues. To show our appreciation for your support: thank you DJ’s. And thank you also to the retailers, writers and of course, ravers." -- Richard Russell, London, 2014