SoCal duo X&G is making their label debut on Insomniac Records with a gripping and impressively cohesive Four-Track EP, featuring Josh Pan and Dread MC.
Last month, Christian Williams (Xian) and Aaron Spasiano (Gaszia)—together known as X&G—offered up the lead single, “Losing Myself,” from their EP of the same name. The titular cut played out as the SoCal-based duo’s debut release on the imprint and served as a proper precursor for the subsequent full four-track package that quickly followed in its footsteps.
“‘Losing Myself’ was conceived by us taking the groove of a really goofy bongo loop, which turned into the opening bassline,” says X&G. “And that sort of inspired the whole concept of this song: ‘losing’ yourself in the music and just having fun and not being too serious about things all the time.”
That same carefree attitude is echoed throughout the entire EP, and, per usual, the powerhouse pair of producers are not afraid to take risks. After blowing the lid off with the aforementioned single, X&G moves into darker rave territory on ‘Get ‘Em,” a wall-rattling weapon that incorporates massive old-school stabs before blasting through punchy basslines and mind-wrecking drum programming. For the latter half of the release, they bring onboard two in-demand vocalists to take their respective features to the next level. Bristol’s own Dread MC hops in on “Transform,” using his beast-mode bars to beef up the more aggressive, amped-up angle the boys take on this turn. Closing things with “Beat Me,” they welcome a couple of familiar faces back into the fold. They are joined by Salt Lake City house producer nate lowpass (who they teamed up with on “Hate Machine” back in 2017), as well as long-time collaborator and esteemed vocalist josh pan (from their previous stints together on OWSLA, Symphonic Distribution and Ultra). This shared history together truly comes to life on “Beat Me,” as X&G switches gears and wraps pan’s stunning spoken word delivery with growling synths, acid-laced riffs, and the type of top-tier drum work that put them on the map in the first place.
“We both put a lot of love into this EP and are super stoked how it turned out,” they add. “Each song feels different, yet similar. Combined, they make the X&G sound: a dark, shadowy, yet fun and energetic palette of sounds and atmosphere blurred together. It’s really fun to say ‘f**k the rules’ and create something new and undefinable. We’re just lost in the process and lost in our own world having fun with it and going with the energy. Shout out to everyone who was part of the process!”
‘Losing Myself’ is a crowd-pleasing effort from X&G, and only further cements their credibility as one of the most exciting names to be bopping around the bass-heavy house scene. They are currently coming off a well-received three-tracker with the trustworthy Deadbeats crew, and you should definitely be on the lookout for more fire from these boys.
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