X-Press 2

X-Press 2
Origin	London, England, UK
Genres	Dance, house, deep house
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Skint
Members	DJ Diesel DJ Rocky

X-Press 2 are a British electronic dance music duo. The members are DJ Diesel (Darren House) and DJ Rocky (Darren Rock). Ashley Beedle left to pursue solo projects in 2009.^[1] They were DJ Award winners in 2002 and Ivor Novello winners in 2003.

History

X-Press 2 first rose to underground prominence through the tracks "Muzik Express"^[2] and "London Xpress" ^[2] which were both released on Junior Boys Own Records. X-Press 2 also gained plaudits on the club scene for regularly playing in clubs with their multi-decked^[3][4] (up to six decks with three DJs) sets.

Their debut US single, "The Sound" peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1996.^[5] 2001 saw the release of their album Muzikizum which contained two more US dance chart entries: "Smoke Machine" (number 31)^[6] and "Lazy", which peaked at number one in 2002 and also peaked at number two^[7][8] on the UK Singles Chart in the duo's native United Kingdom, as well as winning them the prestigious Ivor Novello award in 2003.^[9] The lead vocals on "Lazy" are sung by David Byrne of Talking Heads, and on "I Want You Back" by Dieter Meier of Yello.

Makeshift Feelgood appeared in 2006, featuring Tim DeLaughter, Kurt Wagner, Anthony Roman from Radio 4, Kissing the Pink and Rob Harvey.

In 2013 the "Kill 100 (Carl Craig re-mix)" was used by Raf Simons for his debut Spring/Summer 2013 show ^[10] in his role as creative director for Dior.^[11]

X-Press 2 are currently signed to Skint Records,^[12] a BMG company.

Discography

Albums

• Muzikizum (2002) - UK #15
• Makeshift Feelgood (2006)^[8]
• The House of X-Press 2 (2012)
• "MMXV" (2015)

Compilation albums

• Remixes (2002)
• Raise Your Hands – The Greatest Hits (2008)
• Coast 2 Coast (2008)

Singles

• "Muzik X-Press" (1993)
• "London X-Press" (1993) - UK #59
• "Say What!" (1993) - UK #32
• "Rock 2 House" / "Hip Housin'" (1994) - UK #55
• "The Sound" (1996) - UK #38
• "Tranz Euro Xpress" (1996) - UK #45
• "AC/DC" (2000) - UK #60
• "Muzikizum" (2001) - UK #52
• "Smoke Machine" (2001) - UK #43
• "Lazy" (feat. David Byrne) (2002) - UK #2
• "I Want You Back" (2002) - UK #50
• "Give It" (2005) - UK #33
• "Kill 100" (2006) - UK #59
• "Let Love Decide" (feat. Roland Clark) (2012)
• "Sintara" (feat. Mutiny) (2015)
• "Metrowave" (feat. Leo Zero) (2016)

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

1. "everyHit.com Note". everyhit.com.
2. "Junior Boys Own Discogs".
3. "BBC News".
4. "Billboard Magazine, 2002".
5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 284.
6. "Billboard Magazine , Dec 2001".
7. "Official Singles Charts, 14 April 2002-20 April 2002".
8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 612. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
10. Youtube.com
11. "Monsieur Simons: Raf Simons at Dior". Vogue.
12. "Skint Loaded". skintentertainment.com.

External links

• X-Press 2 discography at Discogs
• X-Press 2 on Resident Advisor