X-Press 2

X-Press 2
OriginLondon, England
GenresEDM, house, deep house
Years active1993–present
LabelsSkint
MembersDarren House (DJ Diesel)
Darren Rock (DJ Rocky)
Past membersAshley Beedle

X-Press 2 are an English 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

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Explaining the band's name, Darren Rock (aka 'DJ Rocky') explained that acid house legend Terry Farley of Fire Island came up with it. Rocky said, "We were originally going to call ourselves Rock 2 House, but [Farley] wasn't really into that. So he renamed us X-Press 2. He basically liked the S'Express so kind of adapted that."[2]

X-Press 2 first rose to underground prominence through the tracks "Muzik Express"[3] and "London Xpress" [3] 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[4][5] (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.[6] 2001 saw the release of their album Muzikizum which contained two more US dance chart entries: "Smoke Machine" (number 31)[7] and "Lazy", which peaked at number one in 2002 and also peaked at number two[8][9] on the UK Singles Chart in the duo's native United Kingdom, as well as winning them the prestigious Ivor Novello award in 2003.[10][11] The lead vocals on "Lazy" are sung by David Byrne (formerly 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 [12] in his role as creative director for Dior.[13]

X-Press 2 are currently signed to Skint Records,[14] a BMG company.

Discography

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Albums

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Compilation albums

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Singles

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Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[15] 		UK
Dance
[16] 		UK
Indie
[17] 		AUS
[18] 		IRE
[19] 		ITA
[20] 		NED
[21] 		NZ
[22] 		SCO
[23] 		US
Club
[24]
1993 "Muzik X-Press" — — — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"London X-Press" 59 — — — — — — — — —
"Say What!" 32 — — — — — — — — —
1994 "Rock 2 House"/"Hip Housin'"
(featuring Lo-Pro) 		55 1 — — — — — — 52 —
1996 "The Sound" 38 3 — — — — — — 58 1
"Tranz Euro Xpress" 45 6 — — — — — — 53 —
2000 "AC/DC" 60 5 8 — — — — — 67 —
2001 "Muzik X Press" (re-issue) 86 29 12 — — — — — — —
"Muzikizum" 52 25 4 — — — — — 56 — Muzikizum
"Smoke Machine" 43 4 7 — — — — — 40 31
2002 "Lazy" (featuring David Byrne) 2 1 1 52 15 37 78 31 4 1
"I Want You Back" 50 4 8 — — — — — 65 —
"Smoke Machine" (re-issue) 80 11 13 — — — — — 98 —
"Supasong" 100 19 18 — — — — — — —
2003 "Call That Love" 90 23 24 — — — — — — —
2004 "Strobelight Silhouette" 86 4 17 — — — — — 90 — Non-album single
2005 "Give It" (featuring Kurt Wagner) 33 4 7 — — — — — 27 8 Makeshift Feelgood
2006 "Kill 100" 59 6 6 — — — — — 50 27
2012 "Let Love Decide" (featuring Roland Clark) — — — — — — — — — — The House of X-Press 2
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "everyHit.com Note". Everyhit.com.
  2. ^ "X-Press 2 Interview". Skiddle. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Junior Boys Own Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  4. ^ "X-Press 2: Your views". News.bbc.co.uk. 19 April 2002.
  5. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (6 April 2002). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 284.
  7. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (8 December 2001). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
  9. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 612. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  10. ^ "Ivor Novello Awards 2003: Winners". bbc.co.uk.
  11. ^ "The Ivors 2003 - The Ivors". The Ivors.
  12. ^ "Youtube.com". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Monsieur Simons: Raf Simons at Dior". Vogue.
  14. ^ "Skint Loaded". Skintentertainment.com.
  15. ^ "UK chart peaks". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  16. ^ UK dance singles charts peaks:
  17. ^ UK indie singles charts peaks:
  18. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 306.
  19. ^ "Irish chart peaks". irish-charts.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  20. ^ "Italian chart peaks". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  21. ^ "Dutch chart peaks". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  22. ^ "New Zealand chart peaks". charts.nz. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  23. ^ Scottish singles chart peaks:
  24. ^ "US dance club singles". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  25. ^ "British certifications – X-Press 2". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 May 2023. Type X-Press 2 in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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