The xx have won the Mercury Prize for their debut album ‘xx’ beating out eleven other nominated acts including Wild Beasts, Biffy Clyro, Foals, Laura Marling, I Am Kloot and Dizzee Rascal.
Emerging as one of the biggest buzz bands of 2009 after releasing their debut, The xx were then four 19 year olds from London (Yeah 19, WTF) whose tunes had a unique voice amidst a year heavy with guitar-driven indie pop and uptempo folk bands, xx combined a sound reminiscent of Portishead and Joy division, minimalistic beats drawing from contemporary hip hop, dub and electro, and the mixed vocals of Romy Croft and Oliver Sim.
“We’ve had the most incredible year,” Sim said as the band accepted the award. “It’s like we’ve woken up every day to something incredible we weren’t expecting. It’s felt a bit like a haze. Just being here has been like a weird moment of clarity of what’s happened, it just means so much.”
