On July 7th loveable London trio X-Press 2 take a trip down memory lane, with the release of Greatest Hits double album ‘Raise Your Hands.’ The first CD is a roll-call of some of the best dance-tinged songs ever recorded, from ‘Muzik X-press’ to ‘Lazy’, whilst the ssecond CD throws up sought-after remixes by Radioslave, Freeform 5 and Norman Cook, as well as alternate versions by the boys themselves. “It’s fantastic getting all the best bits on the one album,” says Rocky, “I can now play my favourites without having to trawl through boxes and shelves full of records trying to find them!”

Look out too for brand new track, ‘Fire’, featuring Africa Bambaataa, which orig inally came about as a remix for a high profile rapper, turned down by his American label. Long fans of Bambaataa, the boys were delighted when he stepped in on vocals. Rocky adds: “Planet Rock is in my all time top 5 records. The reason I got into this. Fire started as a remix that we continued to play in our DJ sets. It always got a huge reaction, so we decided to use it for the album.”

Rocky, Diesel and Ashley Beedle aka X-Press 2 have been friends since the inception of what we now call dance music, first as partygoers and soon after as DJs, producers and remixers. ‘Muzik-Xpress’/’London Xpress’ exploded onto the scene back in 1993 and was soon followed by the equally massive ‘Say What’, ‘Hip Housin’ and ‘Rock 2 House’. Back with fresh mixes (by X-Press 2 and Skylark), ‘Muzik X-Press’ is re-released in May.

Following the success of these initial tracks, X-Press 2 were propelled to the forefront of the house music world, and began regular DJ slots at some of the best clubs worldwide, whilst continuing their ubiquitous solo projects, plus group tracks, including the anthems ‘The Sound’ and ‘Tranz Euro Xpress’. The turn of the millennium marked a signing to Skint and the release of their debut album, the 100,000 selling ‘Muzikizum’. It spawned the dark, brooding behemoths that were ‘Smoke Machine’ and ‘AC/DC’, not to mention the Ivor Novello award winning David Byrne collaboration, UK # 2 and worldwide chart hit ‘Lazy’

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Following ‘Lazy’s’ massive success, families, clubs and more solo projects soon gave way to the creation of second album ‘Makeshift Feelgood’, which marked a creative move forward, more song-oriented and a bona fide artist’s album, instead of a set of 12” floor fillers. Vocal collaborators included Kurt Wagner of Lambchop on ‘Give It’, a slow-building gospel-house epic, and Robert Harvey, of nu-baggy indie dancers The Music, on moody second single ‘Kill 100’. Last but not least, classic cover version ‘Witchi Tai To’ was perfectly voiced by Tim DeLaughter from The Polyphonic Spree.

Since then, the boys continue their passion for music, leaving no stone unturned in unearthing musical gems, rocking the world’s premiere clubs, festivals and raves, and producing under various monikers. Prolific remixers, they have sprinkled a little magic onto dozens of classics by everyone from Missy Elliot and Kelis to Nitzer Ebb. Of the former two artists, Rocky laughs: “It was basically sticking Hoover noises over R’n’B tracks. No, seriously, it’s so much easier when you have a strong vocal to begin with and that was the case with both of these.” The Nitzer Ebb mix was picked up by Sven Vath who included it on his Sounds Of The Season album.

Catch X-Press 2 at Glastonbury and across the UK and Europe this summer celebrating 20 years of Acid House. Don’t miss their Manumission residency after last year’s storming closing party.

RAISE YOUR HANDS TRACKLISTING

CD1

1.Lazy

2. London Xpress

3. Smoke Machine

4. Kill 100

5. AC/DC

6. Muzikizum

7. Give It

8. Muzik Xpress

9. Rock 2 House

10. Fire

11. Witchi Tai To

CD2

1. Lazy (Freeform Five Remix)

2. Kill100 (Carl Craig Remix)

3. Supsasong (Soul Mekanik Remix)

4. Call That Love (Radioslave Remix)

5. Muzikizum (Superchumbo Remix)

6. Give It (Switch Remix)

7. Lazy (Norman Cook Remix)

8. Don’t Make Me Wait (Diesel Remix)

9. Enjoy The Ride (Ashley Beedle Remix)

10. Fatboy Slim – Star 69 (X-Press 2 Remix)

11. Missy Elliot – We Run This (X-Press 2 Remix)

12. Nitzer Ebb – Join In The Chant (X-Press 2 Remix)

13. Kelis – Milkshake (X-Press 2 Remix)