X-Press 2

X-Press 2 are a London house act whose story runs all the way from the acid house explosion of the late 80s to the present day. Originally a trio, they now continue as a duo, Darren Rock (DJ Rocky) and Darren House (DJ Diesel), after founding member Ashley Beedle left to pursue his own projects in 2009. Rocky and Diesel first met in Hayes, Middlesex, in the mid-80s, and share a sense of musical discovery forged on the acid-house dancefloors of Shoom and Spectrum and the Balearic playgrounds of Ibiza. The name came from acid house figure Terry Farley, who adapted it from S'Express after the pair had planned to call themselves Rock 2 House.

They first rose to prominence with percussive, US-influenced anthems like "Muzik Express" and "London Xpress" on Junior Boy's Own, records that helped define the early-90s underground, before their first hit single "Say What" reached the UK top 40. Their most celebrated work came through a long association with Skint. Their 2002 debut album "Muzikizum" gathered an unlikely cast of guest vocalists, and its centrepiece "Lazy," featuring David Byrne, reached number two in the UK and won the Ivor Novello Dance Award. A second album, "Makeshift Feelgood," followed, again pairing deep, rolling house with distinctive voices, from Lambchop's Kurt Wagner to The Music's Rob Harvey.

That approach, house built around unexpected guest vocals over strong, melodic production, is the thread through everything they do, and away from the albums they have also released for labels like K7, Defected and Get Physical. As DJs they became known for a certain multi-deck bravado, at their peak playing sets across six or seven turntables rather than the usual two. Few British house acts have moved so comfortably between underground credibility and genuine mainstream reach, and fewer still have done it over such a long span.