The Guardian says they’ve got the world at their feet; they won the Mercury prize this year and are currently touring the planet. And now the xx have one more accolade – an iPhone app like no other.
On your own, the app allows you to view each member of the xx performing their role in one of three songs – Intro, Islands and Crystalised. It’s an intimate way to watch the band, but you can’t help but feel that something is lacking. Specifically, it’s the absence of the other two band members, and the noise they’re supposed to be making.
You’ll only get the full xx experience when three iPhone users team up, collaborating in a make-shift “band”. The app synchronises the playback streams from each device, so when the “host” phone begins to play, the other two start their streams at exactly the same time. You’ll need to turn on Bluetooth.
If each user selects a different band member, you’ll be able recreate the whole band experience from your phone, with a different instrument or vocal playing from each handset.
The app is free, and works on one, two or three iPhones. As a huge 132MB download, you’d also be much better off downloading it on wifi rather than 3G. And costing nothing, it also means that you’re getting three Mercury-prize winning tracks for free.
