Together As One

That simple guitar pluck. Two bars of single note 4/4 moving fluidly up and down the scale. That was all it took. And with that first minute of Intro, the world fell under the spell of The xx.

The thing with the London trio; they didn't, and still don't, fit into any box. Their music isn't pop because there's darkness in their songs. It's definitely not indie, not with all those textures. Dance? Nup. No big beats, too much guitar. And don't even try to tag this with any sort of rock brush. Because The xx don't just write tunes. What they create are expressions and feelings, turning notes and rhythms into pure emotion, with as much diversity as all those sensations shooting around inside you.

Vocalist/guitarist Romy Madley Croft is at home in the English capital enjoying a break in the touring schedule, two weeks out from The xx's Australian visit. The band have just finished playing some of their largest headline shows in the United States, and if their Facebook account is anything to go by were eager to share their experiences, and more of themselves, than ever before. 

“We were keen to document it a little more than we have done before,” Madley Croft agrees. “We don't have Twitter or another way of talking to our fans – I don't think Twitter would really suit us – so we just try and keep in touch, put a few pictures up and a few thank yous and stuff, because we went to some different, smaller places that we've never been to before in America and in going to those places people would wait outside and you'd meet them, and actually having conversations with the people that had come to see us reminded us that it's nice to have that connection with your fans. I definitely want to do the same thing in Australia and document it to show our appreciation for the people that come to our gigs.”

Support for the three-piece isn't something that's new, although it's certainly spiked at a steep level since the band released their second record in September last year. Coexist charted in the top ten around the world, hitting number one in a handful of countries and reaching number two in Australia. Formed in 2005, it's been a long road for the band to get to this point, but even more so for Madley Croft and her creative other, Oliver Sim, the male vocal counterpoint and bassist for the group.

Friends since they were toddlers, the pair connected creatively during high school, falling in love with music and going to gigs at age 14 before deciding to form a band a year later. Inconceivably, neither knew they could sing. Madley Croft discovered her voice while teaching herself the guitar, vocals helping her get the timings right. She liked what she found. Sim too was singing on his own. However, both he and young Romy were too shy to show off their new skills to each other. As a compromise they sang together.

“I was just grateful that it didn't sound awful,” she laughs. “When you start singing with your best friend it's not always going to [end] well, so the fact that it didn't sound awful was a good starting point for us. It's quite a nice thing that it worked out.”

These duelling vocals are the heart and soul of the band's songs, channelling a feeling of chemistry and connection. “The combination of our voices together, that's something I'm very grateful to have, and I know that not every band has that type of thing. Oliver and I have been friends since we were two/three years old and I still find it funny that when we sing together our voices have always fitted, and we've never tried to make them fit. That's something that we've been pleasantly surprised by.

“It's nice, also, to have him up there with me – it helps my confidence. None of us were that confident when we first started getting up on stage, and I definitely appreciate that it's a unique thing. And depending on if you're a guy or a girl you might prefer a boy or a girl singer, so with a little bit of both hopefully [we] can appeal to more people.”

What makes the work of Madley Croft and Sim so transcending, though, is the production of Jamie 'xx' Smith. A fellow classmate of the pair at Elliott School, Putney, the refrain which Smith shows with his striking production was critical in helping the band take home the 2010 Mercury Music Prize, and has remained vital to The xx's continuing success.

“He really is just the perfect bridge between Oliver and I,” Madley Croft enthuses. “He's so brilliant at just capturing us, he knows how to record us, exactly what to put in and what to take out, and I'm so glad that he does have that personal self-restraint because we've worked with other producers and they filled those spaces with that signature sound. Luckily Jamie is not just any producer, he's our best friend as well so it doesn't seem like we're getting a producer in, he's just a part of the band; we are, the three of us, the band.

“But it's so great that he can do the production side as well because we know how it's going to sound and we can talk about it. We can say, 'I'm not really sure about that,' and he's not going to get his ego bruised. And I feel a bit more confident saying it [to him] than to a producer that I don't know and maybe am a bit nervous speaking to. I think that's why the music sounds the way it does; there's honesty between us and it's really important that he's in the band.”

Considering the fact that Madley Croft “didn't think anyone was going to hear the first album,” this whole ride has been one incredibly pleasant surprise. And as The xx continue to develop, fans all around the world should look forward to sharing more special music in the future.

“I've always felt a bit older than I was,” Madley Croft finishes. “But when I look back on the lyrics and the songs of the first album I can really see the difference, the guitar riffs, those different moments from being sixteen to nineteen, but with Coexist it was just about a short amount of time, y'know, early-twenties. But I do feel like we did a lot of growing up on the road really, and we have changed. I didn't think we were a very young band, but when I look back at pictures I'm like, 'Oh yeah, okay, we do look quite young.' I hope we're still inspired when we're in our late-twenties.”

Tuesday 2 April - Metro City, Perth WA
Thursday 4 April - Festival Hall, Melbourne VIC
Friday 5 April, Festival Hall, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 6 April - Hordern Pavilion, Sydney NSW
Sunday 7 April - Hordern Pavilion, Sydney NSW
Tuesday 9 April, Convention Centre, Brisbane QLD