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| Image courtesy of Jeffery Vash |
What were you doing at age 17?
I think for most kids that age it takes all the energy they can muster just to get through their last couple years of high school and keep from going completely insane (hormones are a hell of a drug, y’all). When I wasn’t in school, I split my time between riding on the roofs of my friend’s cars and blowing shit up, but that’s just me.
Marcel Everett, better known as XXYYXX, makes us all look like slacker punks by comparison.
At the tender age of 17 he’s already put out 3 albums, a handful of EP’s and remixed for Usher. Yeah, that Usher. The same dude that mentored J. Biebs. Everett’s ambition is even more evident when you take a look at his touring schedule which includes/ed performances at the San Francisco Noise Pop Festival, Mexico City’s Cerimonia festival, and a few dates later this summer opening for CHVRCHES. Pretty good for a high school junior.
“About You” is a slow builder, but one of the most satisfying pieces of electronica I’ve heard in months. Icy synths brush up against alien-reversed vocals, with a minimalist beat and rap break that sounds like it was sampled from a tribal funeral ceremony. Unique stuff, definitely, but delicious nonetheless. Oh, and it has one of the sickest videos ever, check it out below.
XXYYXX will be at the Hopscotch Music Festival this September, and we’re already getting our schedules arranged as perfectly as we can so that we don’t miss a minute of his set. We’re nerds like that.