His career as a DJ also began around the same time, when in 1993 he begun a residency at a very eclectic club, ‘Aeroanta’, where he had the opportunity to showcase all kinds of music from bossa nova and jazz to dub reggae, much of which he has since taken a great deal of inspiration from in his production.

     His studio work began to gain focus as he began to immerse himself in the growing Jungle scene. XRS began to develop his studio skills resulting in early tracks such as ‘Boom Man’ and ‘Power to the People’. Although they remained very underground, they made it into the record boxes of pioneers of the growing jungle scene in Brasil such as DJ Patife, DJ Marky and DJ Andy.

     His next big step came in 1995, when together with friend and co-producer, Ramilson Maia, he started his own record label Innerground Recordings. They launched the label with an EP ‘From the Land to the City’ under the name XRS Land. The EP earned accolades both domestically and internationally with the French music magazine ‘Coda’ recognising the potential in XRS when they described him as ‘a promising figure in the Brasilian Electronic scene’. Despite the quality of the music they were making, the label could not support itself and so was put on a shelf.

     However, XRS continued to produce and DJ, and in 1998 begun another project with his wife Paula. It was a harder-edged approach to drum & bass and was known as ‘Friendtronik’. Their tracks were big on dance floors all over Brasil, and later that year they released an album on Sony/MMM called ‘Friendtronik@Periferia.com.zl’ which went on to receive wide critical acclaim.

     In 1999, the newly formed Sambaloco Records invited XRS to release material through them, what followed was a full-length album – the now highly sought-after ‘Sarau’. Drawing influences from a huge variety of music styles including, this jazzy drum & bass caught the imagination of Brasilian dance floors and beyond. DJ Patife even included two of the tracks on his mix-CD ‘The Sound of Drum & Bass’ which went on to shift over 50 000 units in Brasil alone – no mean feat.

     However, things really began to kick off for XRS, as it did for Marky & Patife, when V Recordings picked up on the great drum & bass coming out of Brasil. Label bosses Bryan Gee and Jumpin’ Jack Frost snapped up one of the tracks from the ‘Sarau’ album, ‘Secrets of the Floating Island’ along with tracks by Patife and Marky and released the classic ‘Brasil EP’. This EP was a defining moment in the history of drum & bass for many reasons, most notably that it breathed new life into the genre and gave it new direction and a fresh approach. ‘Secrets of the Floating Island’ and the ‘Brasil EP’ opened doors for XRS and launched his career in the UK and Europe.

     With the DJ careers of Marky & Patife really beginning to take off in the UK, DJ Marky & XRS began working together in the studio. They released more music on V Recordings, including a track on the ‘Flava EP’. However, XRS really landed in the UK when he and DJ Marky produced the track ‘LK’. Also released on V Recordings, this track was playlisted by Radio 1, reached number 17 in the charts and even made an appearance on Top of the Pops! The release of ‘LK’ not only made a name for XRS, but it helped build his reputation amongst his peers. As this grew he and Marky began to sign their tracks to different labels, started collaborating with other major names in the drum & bass scene, and a demand for their remixing abilities also grew - with remixes for Everything but the Girl amongst others requested.

     As XRS spent more time in the studio with Marky he found they were accumulating a lot of tracks, and in 2003 they made the decision to launch a label together to give themselves an outlet for their work, and they named it Innerground Records. They decided to release a joint artist album and release it on Innerground. Their first release on the label came in November 2003 a 12” containing two tracks taken from the album “In Rotation/Rudebwoy”, two more 12”s followed in Spring 2004, and in March of that year they released the album “In Rotation”. Containing high profile collaborations with the likes of Vikter Duplaix and Brasilian Minister for Culture Gilberto Gil ‘In Rotation’ received wide critical acclaim and support from the public.

     The international album tours that supported the album release gave XRS a platform to build on his name as a DJ, and subsequently demand for his services have increased dramatically. Marky & XRS now regularly tour together as a back-to-back DJ partnership that seems to contain the same electric vibe that is created when they get together in the studio.

     Today, XRS is still spending a great deal of time in the studio, both with Marky, and alone and making more great music. He also devotes a lot of time to the label, Innerground Records, building up the label by signing great tracks by other big names. His DJ schedule is busy, both in Brasil and on tour abroad with Marky, and he also works as an engineer for other producers, both in drum & bass and also for house and techno artists.

 

     DISCOGRAPHY

     ARTIST TRACK RELEASE
     XRS Secrets of the Floating Island Brasil EP (V Recordings)
     DJ Marky & XRS Tudo feat. George Clinton Brasil EP (V Recordings)
     Fernando Porto, Patife & XRS Sambassim (remix) Brasil EP (V Recordings)
     DJ Marky & XRS So Nice So Nice
     DJ Marky & XRS Unlimited Gold Flava EP (V Recordings)
     DJ Marky & XRS Closer Soul:ution Vol 1 (Soul:R)
     DJ Marky, XRS, M.I.S.T. feat. Jenna G Sunshine Soul:ution Vol 2 (Soul:R)
     DJ Marky & XRS LK LK (V Recordings)
     DJ Marky & XRS LK - featuring Stamina MC LK (V Recordings)
     XRS Calypso Drum & Bass Fiesta (V Recordings)

     XRS & Koloral
     Look
     Drum & Bass Fiesta (V Recordings)
     XRS Calhambeque
     US3 Get Out (DJ Marky & XRS remix)
     ETBG Corcovado (DJ Marky & XRS remix)
     Ive Mendes Beira Mar (DJ Marky & XRS remix)

     DJ Marky & XRS Real Good Soul:ution Vol 3 (Soul:R)
     System X (XRS) L Razor L Razor (Critical)
     System X (XRS) Angeldancer L Razor (Critical)
     XRS Search The Sound of Movement (Movement Records)
     MC Tali Lyric on my Lip (DJ Marky & XRS remix) Lyric on My Lip Remixes (Full Cycle)
     DJ Marky & XRS feat. Vikter Duplaix Moments of Lust In Rotation (Innerground)
     XRS featuring Cleveland Watkiss Breeze In Rotation (Innerground)
     XRS featuring Gilberto Gil Dia De Sol In Rotation (Innerground)
     XRS Backspin In Rotation (Innerground)
     DJ Marky & XRS Rotation In Rotation (Innerground)
     DJ Marky & XRS Rudebwoy In Rotation (Innerground)
     DJ Marky & XRS Highlights In Rotation (Innerground)
     DJ Marky, XRS & Calibre I Know In Rotation (Innerground)
      DJ Marky & XRS Terapia In Rotation (Innerground)
     DJ Marky & XRS Tijuana Frogs In Rotation (Innerground)
     DJ Marky & XRS Misto Quente In Rotation (Innerground)
     XRS Get Down Get Down (C.I.A.)
     DJ Marky & XRS Return to Paradise Get Down (C.I.A.)
     DJ Marky & XRS feat. Dynamite MC Feeling World of Dynamite (Strong Records)
     XRS Crowds in Clouds Crowds in Clouds (Wildstyle)
     XRS Cold Hand Crowds in Clouds (Wildstyle)
     DJ Marky & XRS Soul Samba In Rotation Summer Flavours Part 1 (I’Ground)
     DJ Marky & XRS feat. Cleveland Watkiss Breeze (DJ Marky VIP) In Rotation Summer      Flavours Part 1 (I’Ground)

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