XXXWhy

It may surprise people to learn that xxxy (known to his mother as Rupert Taylor) started his musical journey in a band he now describes as “fairly straight up indie music [that] later got into beta-band-style, stoned weirdness”. Given his style now, one has to wonder why he underwent the drastic transition from rock god hopeful to hotly in-demand producer. In Taylor's case, the answer is the same one that befalls so many garage bands: “musical differences”. That, and some pretty hard partying it seems. Upfront, Taylor figured “making [his own music] was a solution to that.” He continues, “also, my musical tastes changed as I got older due to going out more (and possible narcotic use), so I was more interested in making dance music and doing it alone!”

Cue Taylor's immersion into the house and techno nights of his youth. It was there in countless quixotic bus trips to Manchester with friends he discovered what really got him going and twhat experiences he wanted to impart to listeners through his music. “A good groove, a little bit of roughness and that UK underground rudeness,” he says. And groove is exactly what he does as xxxy. All you need to do is take a listen of Taylor's slinky, house-inflected UK garage on EP's like Bash and Everything, and it's little wonder why he has caught the attention of critics and labels all over the world for the last couple of years.

Despite the attention, xxxy's growing success seems surprising to no one but Taylor himself. “I think if you told the 16-year-old me that I would get to play my music in Asia, America and Australia I would have told you where to go…” He muses that “it can be pretty difficult to get your voice heard as there are a lot of producers around now pushing swung UK music, I think a little bit of luck and maybe having a couple of tracks that really catch people's ears can definitely help to break someone.”

It's clear Taylor seems to take things in his easygoing stead when it comes to his career trajectory, be it selecting a label to handle his newest release or choosing from the plethora of opportunities that have befallen him in recent years. One of these is touring Australia as part of Origin. Then again, it's probably a no-brainer for Taylor. What better way is there to spend New Year's Eve than with some the world's best DJs and electronic musicians that you now can count amongst your friends? “Yeah I think I know about half the line-up personally, so it's going to be a great festival for me and them. It will be nice to have a night off on New Years Eve to see my friends play and hang out, the line-up is incredible, so I hope we can all show the punters a good time and play some great music for them.”

So besides dazzling audiences on New Year's Eve, what else can fans expect from him heading into 2013? For one, it looks like there will be more of xxxy, but Taylor is tight-lipped about what is planned except for that he is preparing himself for “a larger project“ as well as “some really exciting projects already under way, which,” he adds, “will hopefully turn into something good.” Another thing for fans to look forward to might be the appearance of that ever-elusive full-length release. “Writing an album can be a real labour of love and it's been a dream of mine since childhood so at some point there will be an xxxy album.” He goes on, “I think I am competent enough now as a producer and have the right vision to make an album, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding.”

xxxy will be playing the following dates:

Friday 28 December - The Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
Sunday 30 December - Origin NYE, Fairbridge Villiage, Perth WA