’23 Splendour Spotlight: X CLUB.

Alfie’s X-Rated X-Club Extravaganza. A SITG act you cannot miss.

Hot off the back of their Boiler Room debut at AVA festival in Belfast, homegrown heroes ‘X CLUB.’ make a triumphant return to Australia at Splendour in the Grass. After what can only be described as a year of massive success touring across the US and Europe they are a must-see at SITG 2023. Having solidified their status as trailblazers for techno in Australia, Ben Clarke and Jesse Morath bring an infectious energy to all their performances, with piercing hi-hats, surging basslines and body-shaking kicks, their selections influence the crowd into a non-stop groove for the entirety of their set. X CLUB. has a mountain of new music on the way, heavily inspired by the ever-growing and recently repopularised 90’s techno subgenre, Hardgroove. Focusing on funk elements and looping drum breaks, hardgroove differs from traditional techno as it draws on ideas that predate X CLUB., such sounds driven into the scene by the likes of Jeff Mills or Steve Bicknell.

Now a three-time X CLUB. viewer (once in Sydney, twice now in London), I have had the pleasure of experiencing what they have to offer and can only imagine that they have so much more in store. Their latest performance was held at Brixton’s infamous ‘Phonox’ in East London, where Australian dance music label ‘Steel City Dance Discs’ wrapped up their 5 Fridays at Phonox residency. SCDD is host to a vast majority of huge names in the dance scene and many Australian dance-heads would know the likes of Skin on Skin, salute, Pretty Girl and, of course, X CLUB. themselves. Phonox is a club of about 400 maximum capacity, but even if there were only 200 people there, it would still feel absolutely packed. Naturally swarming with Australians for their last visit to London for a while, I felt at home jumping around to a set so sharp and refined it could cut diamonds. Featuring a lot of their new material for both their own record label (‘Hide The Junk’ (2022)) and others, it was everything I wanted and more. Hearing my personal favourite song of theirs – ‘Habitual Drum Loop no.8’ (2022) – was also a religious experience as the clock approached 4 AM.

For those who have not yet thrown themselves into the world of X CLUB., I couldn’t recommend these blokes more for you to go and see while you are at SITG if you want a proper jump around. They deserve as many people coming out to see them as they can get. Watch their AVA Boiler Room set for a taste of what is to come, as well as their mix at the notorious HÖR Berlin. To nominate a few songs for your playlists as well I implore you to listen to ‘Habitual Drum Loop no.8’ (my fav), ‘Hide the Junk’, and ‘SENSATION’ for a nice variety across their tempos and styles. 

FUCKIN AAAVVEE IIITTTTTT LAADDDSSSS, Alfie xoxo

Hottest Moments of X CLUB.’s AVA Boiler Room set:

8:10

15:25

22:30

25:40

33:30

1:00:30

1:02:45