The Many Faces Of X-Press 2

With a career spanning three decades, X-Press 2 are still very much at large, as they look forward to Shine's third birthday at The Warehouse in Leeds on Saturday November 1st.

They are probably most famous for their grammy award-winning number two hit, 'Lazy' (hear below), but their impact on the underground as part of the legendary Junior Boys Own crew with tracks like 'Muzik X-Press' will never be forgotten - the track is still a favourite with the likes of Richie Hawtin today, and was recently given the remix treatment by, among others, Eats Everything.

In the early part of the century they were snapped up by Skint Records and became serious players on the world stage, making three successful albums for the Brighton imprint, made famous by the likes of Fatboy Slim.

Down the years, the X-Press 2 duo of Rocky and Diesel will have answered a gazillion questions about music, so we thought we'd try and catch them about something different - a topic of their choice.

Rocky went for his interest in hill walking, but warned us that Diesel would not be drawn on anything beyond music. He was right. As much as we tried to lure Diesel away from his obsession, we had to admit defeat.

So cue a wide-ranging discussion about the Lake District, real ale, and the slightly more earnest subject matter of quality control at record labels in the modern era… first up Rocky.

What was it that got you in to walking? Not many steep hills where you're from...

It was on a holiday in Cornwall. There was a walking guide book in the room we were in. We decided to do a coastal walk. The weather changed, we got soaked and lost. I decided at that point, that I needed to get some kit if I was going to carry on.

I then went to the Lake District with some mates from Liverpool, who'd all been going for years. I was under the impression that the Lake District was just that, a bunch of lakes. On the first day we climbed Dove Crag and had lunch in the priest's hole. That really was the point where I was hooked.

Do some people you know just not get it? Like, they think you're a bit weird for spending the weekend hundreds of miles away and getting rained on?

No I don't really see that at all. Most of my friends are into it. I only get positive comments about it.

Do you have any other mates in the industry who enjoy the great outdoors as well?

Ross Allen, Andy Thompson (publisher) regularly join the crew.

People tend to be one or t'other, so... Lake District or Yorkshire Dales? Or neither?

I'm sorry to say I've never been to the Dales, so it has to be the Lakes.

What is your favourite walk and why?

It's fairly near to London in the Chiltern Hills and joins up three villages, Ibstone, Turville and Fingest. I've lost count the amount of times I've done it.

Have you ever been recognised by a member of the public on a mountain? We can imagine we would find it quite funny to see half of X-Press 2 sporting a Berghaus and a rucksack on top of Scafell Pike.

No never!

Have you ever done the three peaks challenge over a weekend? Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, Snowdon. Or the Yorkshire three peaks? Or indeed, any kind of mission that took it to the extreme?

Sadly not. I did talk about the three peaks with a mate, but we never got round to it.

To us, walking and real ale are inextricably linked - being able to drink proper beer at the end of a long walk is like the ultimate reward. Are you into it as well? If so, what are your faves?

Of course!! Bluebird Bitter from the Coniston Brewery is my fave Lakeland pint. When we're down the Wye, I'll go for Butty Bach or something from the Kingstone Brewery. I'll go with the seasons as well, so summer time it's all IPAs and hoppy lighter brews, then as the temperature drops, I'll switch it to porters and stouts. Lovely!

Beyond walking, what other outdoor pursuits are you in to?

I cycle. I've got a decent road bike which I got earlier this year. I've also recently discovered the joys of downhill mountain biking after a few days down by the Wye and in the Forest of Dean. I've also canoed the Wye a few times, something else I love doing.

We then moved onto music with Diesel...

Given the revival of vinyl, it got us thinking about whether there is a place for a revival of some of the model that went with it, i.e. a credible house music labels using formal A & R men again. So firstly, what is your definition of an A & R man?

I suppose the true or maybe historical definition would be someone who can spot creativity or potential. From then on it's down to artist development and to help maintain and mature the act.

Down the years you've been particularly associated with Junior Boys Own and Skint, so how were you developed by those guys?

I would say that both labels gave us the chance to be creative. In a way we were left to our own devices but of course every now and then we would have the odd nudge whether it was direction or the naming of tracks or mixes.

At JBO, what was Terry Farley's influence on your creative output?

Well, Terry was the one who suggested that we go in the studio in the first instance. Basically myself and Rocky and then he persuaded Ashley Beedle to join us.

He chose the A-side mix for 'Muzik X-Press' (hear below) as there were a number of passes and gave us both the track name and the X-Press 2 moniker.

Did you have Terry sitting in the studio with you when you were creating your early tracks?

No. Just Me, Rocky and Ash and engineer Danny Arno.

What was it that brought you into the JBO fold in the first place?

We were all going to the Boys Own parties and built our friendship through the club scene until Terry asked us if we would like to play at a Boys Own party in Vauxhall. From then on we were always around the Boys Own offices where later Rocky helped out on their fanzine.

Can you remember a creative disagreement from the JBO days that still rankles a bit with you? Kinda like 'the one that got away' that was never released or was changed beyond what you wanted it to be.

Not that I can think of. What I liked about those days is that you went with your heart and put music out without analysing it.

So eventually you were signed up to the Skint family… were you given a long deal in the beginning or were you given your extended time there as a result of the success of Muzikizum?

Our deal with Skint was the classic three album 50/50 deal. Obviously the success of Muzikizum and with the singles on the album enabled us to delivery a further two albums.

How hands on was Norman Cook at the beginning and throughout?

Norman wasn't involved at all apart from doing a remix of 'Lazy'. Everything was being handled by Andy Mac (A&R) Damien Harris (label owner aka Midfield General), J.C. (label owner).

Did you, Rocky and Ashley need a bit of persuading that you were the right kind of act to be making multiple albums?  Given that most of the music delivered by your DJ sets wouldn't have come from albums, that must have been a bit of a step.

Essentially it was our manager at the time Chris Butler who suggested that we do albums. We were always happy to do singles. But I think the fact that we agreed to do an album was that we saw it as a challenge.

You have to remember at that time, which was early 2000 our peers and friends like Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Pressure Drop, Leftfield etc were all doing albums so it felt like a natural progression. I think the main thing is that it got us to fully immerse ourselves into recording and writing and working with vocalists.

Given all of the experience you've had of the above, what would you say the benefits are of the current era where there is less money out there to pay for the influences discussed above?

I think it's easier and more accessible to make music and promote it.

Without creative input from labels, do you think that for a producer to make it these days, they generally need to have more of a grasp of musical composition and sound engineering than they did previously?

Completely. Today to 'make it' you have to do everything on your own. When we started you just bought records and DJd, which then led to the studio where you would be teamed up with an engineer. Now you have to manage, promote, produce as well as DJ.

X-Press 2 headline the Shine Third Birthday at The Warehouse in Leeds on Saturday November 1st - head here for more details, tickets below.

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