Jamie xx

Jamie Smith was an English record producer and DJ whose Grammy-nominated 2015 solo dance album, In Colour, was a major critical and commercial success in the U.K. as well as the States. Born and raised in London, Smith's desire to make music for a living began in his early teens. Luckily, he attended high school with three similarly music-obsessed teenagers by the names of Romy Madley Croft, Baria Qureshi, and Oliver Sim. Together, the four of them founded the indie pop band The xx in 2005 when Smith was 17. Taking the stage Name of Jamie xx, Smith and his band released their debut album, xx, later that year, which quickly went platinum in the U.K. Smith toured with xx in support of the album, all the while working on his own material, which was inspired by the electronic dance music genre that was overtaking the U.K. and U.S. In 2011 Smith released a remix album called We're New Here, which sampled the spoken word icon Gil Scott Heron's final album I'm New Here. The album was credited to both Smith and Scott-Heron, and was deemed by some critical circles in the U.K. as a bonafide masterpiece. While still riding the wave of acclaim from We're New Here, Smith and xx released their second album in 2012, Co-Exist. The album debuted at Number 1 on the U.K. charts, and the band spent the next few years touring in support of it. All along, however, Smith had a burning desire to return to his solo work. After a year or so touring with xx in support of Co-Exist, Smith took a break from the band to write and record what would become his debut solo album. That album, In Colour, was released in 2015 and was universally lauded by critics, making several year-end Top 10 lists.