{"id":64156,"date":"2016-02-08T09:57:44","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T09:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/?p=64156"},"modified":"2016-09-22T14:33:22","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T14:33:22","slug":"new-noise-xo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/2016\/02\/08\/new-noise-xo\/","title":{"rendered":"New Noise: XO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Meet electro-funk newcomer XO.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Spring is looming on us, the light is changing in the evenings and we need a new tune for walking home to, that fits the atmosphere.\u00a020-year-old British electro-funk newcomer XO might just have the perfect solution with his new double A-side release,\u00a0Divine Disaster\/Night Time Solace. Teaming up with Aussie nu-soul vocalist James Chatburn, who’s buttery-soft R&B lines are warped and bent over glitchy city grooves; it’s debatable which side of the genre-fence this music falls in to, making it more interesting than the standard vocal-y dance-y tracks that continuously get pumped out but the music industry. Is it deep-house, is it electro-soul… Or are we detecting softer notions of UK bass? Whatever you pick-up from it, we are sure\u00a0Divine Disaster\u00a0is going to be one of those tunes you play repeatedly this year, and actually\u00a0don’t\u00a0grow tired of.<\/p>\n

Since uploading edits to Soundcloud two years ago, XO has accumulated praise from DJ giants across the globe, including SOHN, Diplo and Annie Mac of BBC Radio 1 – and rightly so. As if reading about him releasing widely acclaimed records by the time he barely entered his twenties wasn’t enough to make you give your own life a reality check, the young producer, whose real name is Sunil Heera, put out the songs on his own record label He Loves You Not Recordings – adding yet more weight to a heady start in his career.<\/p>\n

Art is often a soul-searching process for its makers and recording this EP has turned out to be somewhat of a cathartic process for the musician. \u201cDivine Disaster\u201d, XO tells us, is about how \u201cour head and heart can sometimes be in two different places”, referring to the song’s lyrics.\u00a0“In some cases we confront it” he continues, “and in others, well… We just learn to live with it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Wonderland caught up with the superstar-in-making to chat about his influences, how he got this far and dream collaborations. Oh… And we managed a virtual heist of his record collection.<\/p>\n