British imprint XL Recordings is set to turn 25 this year, and it will celebrate its quarter-century birthday with an enormous compilation.
Pay Close Attention revisits material from the label's entire career, including music from the Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal, SBTRKT, Ratatat, M.I.A., the White Strips, The xx, Adele, and Tyler, the Creator, among many others.
The release will be available in a variety of options, including a quadruple-LP box set (which also features a DVD and poster), a double-CD set or a digital download. The accompanying DVD features a varied collection of music videos from the label's artists.
In a press release, label head Richard Russell said that "whilst XL has never had any outside ownership, Gil Scott-Heron advised me not to even consider XL an 'independent,' because everything is connected."
He also explained how the compilation breaks down. "Part 1 of this compilation are the roots of XL; underground music, made for DJs," Russell said. "These roots are still growing. Part 2 features some of the singular talents who have taken the label further than we ever envisioned. There is no unifying genre; hopefully the thread of originality is evident though."
XL will issue Pay Close Attention on August 25. The release can be pre-ordered here.
In addition, the label is releasing archival footage from their history. Below, you can watch a 15-minute Vampire Weekend documentary, along with some behind-the-scenes footage of Tyler, the Creator in Europe.
Pay Close Attention:
Disc one:
1. SL2 "DJs Take Control"
2. The Prodigy "Out Of Space"
3. Awesome 3 "Don't Go" (Kicks Like A Mule Mix)
4. Liquid "Sweet Harmony"
5. Jonny L "Piper"
6. Roy Davis Jr. ft. Peven Everett "Gabriel" (Live Garage Version)
7. Dem 2 "Destiny"
8. Nu-Birth "Anytime"
9. Basement Jaxx "Jump N'Shout"
10. Dizzee Rascal "I Luv U"
11. Wiley "Igloo"
12. Various Production "Hater"
13. Giggs "Talkin The Hardest"
14. SBTRKT "Wildfire" [ft. Little Dragon]
15. Jamie xx "All Under One Roof Raving"
Disc two:
1. The Prodigy "Firestarter"
2. Peaches "Fuck The Pain Away"
3. The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army"
4. Devendra Banhart "I Feel Just Like A Child"
5. Ratatat "Seventeen Years"
6. M.I.A. "Paper Planes"
7. Thom Yorke "The Eraser"
8. Gil Scott-Heron "New York Is Killing Me"
9. Radiohead "Weird Fishes / Arpeggi"
10. Tyler, The Creator "Yonkers"
11. The Horrors "Sea Within A Sea"
12. Jai Paul "BTSTU" (demo)
13. Bobby Womack "Please Forgive My Heart"
14. The xx "Angels"
15. Sampha "Too Much"
16. Vampire Weekend "Step"
17. King Krule "Easy Easy"
18. Adele "Rolling In The Deep"
Bonus DVD included in box set:
Prodigy "Firestarter" (Director Walter Stern)
Basement Jaxx "Where's Your Head At" (Director Traktor)
The White Stripes "Fell In Love With A Girl" (Director Michel Gondry)
Dizzee Rascal "Fix Up, Look Sharp" (Director Ruben Fleischer)
M.I.A "BirdFlu" (Director M.I.A)
Vampire Weekend "A-Punk" (Director Hammer and Tongs)
Radiohead "Lotus Flower" (Director Garth Jennings)
Gil Scott-Heron "I'm New Here" (Director Jane Pollard)
Tyler, The Creator "Yonkers" (Director Tyler, The Creator)
Adele "Someone Like You" (Live From The Brits 2011)
Pay Close Attention revisits material from the label's entire career, including music from the Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal, SBTRKT, Ratatat, M.I.A., the White Strips, The xx, Adele, and Tyler, the Creator, among many others.
The release will be available in a variety of options, including a quadruple-LP box set (which also features a DVD and poster), a double-CD set or a digital download. The accompanying DVD features a varied collection of music videos from the label's artists.
In a press release, label head Richard Russell said that "whilst XL has never had any outside ownership, Gil Scott-Heron advised me not to even consider XL an 'independent,' because everything is connected."
He also explained how the compilation breaks down. "Part 1 of this compilation are the roots of XL; underground music, made for DJs," Russell said. "These roots are still growing. Part 2 features some of the singular talents who have taken the label further than we ever envisioned. There is no unifying genre; hopefully the thread of originality is evident though."
XL will issue Pay Close Attention on August 25. The release can be pre-ordered here.
In addition, the label is releasing archival footage from their history. Below, you can watch a 15-minute Vampire Weekend documentary, along with some behind-the-scenes footage of Tyler, the Creator in Europe.
Pay Close Attention:
Disc one:
1. SL2 "DJs Take Control"
2. The Prodigy "Out Of Space"
3. Awesome 3 "Don't Go" (Kicks Like A Mule Mix)
4. Liquid "Sweet Harmony"
5. Jonny L "Piper"
6. Roy Davis Jr. ft. Peven Everett "Gabriel" (Live Garage Version)
7. Dem 2 "Destiny"
8. Nu-Birth "Anytime"
9. Basement Jaxx "Jump N'Shout"
10. Dizzee Rascal "I Luv U"
11. Wiley "Igloo"
12. Various Production "Hater"
13. Giggs "Talkin The Hardest"
14. SBTRKT "Wildfire" [ft. Little Dragon]
15. Jamie xx "All Under One Roof Raving"
Disc two:
1. The Prodigy "Firestarter"
2. Peaches "Fuck The Pain Away"
3. The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army"
4. Devendra Banhart "I Feel Just Like A Child"
5. Ratatat "Seventeen Years"
6. M.I.A. "Paper Planes"
7. Thom Yorke "The Eraser"
8. Gil Scott-Heron "New York Is Killing Me"
9. Radiohead "Weird Fishes / Arpeggi"
10. Tyler, The Creator "Yonkers"
11. The Horrors "Sea Within A Sea"
12. Jai Paul "BTSTU" (demo)
13. Bobby Womack "Please Forgive My Heart"
14. The xx "Angels"
15. Sampha "Too Much"
16. Vampire Weekend "Step"
17. King Krule "Easy Easy"
18. Adele "Rolling In The Deep"
Bonus DVD included in box set:
Prodigy "Firestarter" (Director Walter Stern)
Basement Jaxx "Where's Your Head At" (Director Traktor)
The White Stripes "Fell In Love With A Girl" (Director Michel Gondry)
Dizzee Rascal "Fix Up, Look Sharp" (Director Ruben Fleischer)
M.I.A "BirdFlu" (Director M.I.A)
Vampire Weekend "A-Punk" (Director Hammer and Tongs)
Radiohead "Lotus Flower" (Director Garth Jennings)
Gil Scott-Heron "I'm New Here" (Director Jane Pollard)
Tyler, The Creator "Yonkers" (Director Tyler, The Creator)
Adele "Someone Like You" (Live From The Brits 2011)
