The X-Structure

The X-Structure are an experimental virtual band that was formed in the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa, during the dark winter months of 2008.

The band consists of four wild and adventurous members who all share a passion for life and a flair for exploration and adventure. Their style progresses back and forth and takes inspiration from all parts of life, both now and back then. A common thread however can be found in their music and can be described as Downtempo, Trip-hop, Electronica, Ambient, Cinematic, and always Experimental, and finally their very own coined genres, Space-trip, Spacehop and Spacetronica. Their greatest inspiration is God, the creator of everything that is seen and unseen, and through this their music is an expression of philosophical ideals, romantic notions, divine revelations and spirit-led visions of the past, the present and the future and which all culminates into an act of spontaneous music creation.

Within the band each member's personality is reflected in the instruments they play. Each member also possesses uniquely honed skills that are invaluable to the them when out in the field.

Starrzan, the Wild, is the front-man of the band, plays the leads, and adds the occasional subversive vocals to the mix. Nightowl, the Innocent, creates the mood and atmospheric soundscapes through keys and strings. Chacma, the Gracious, is on the drums and plays anything he can tap a beat on. Epic Beard, the Wise, is the oldest and wisest and plays the bass.

And so The X-Structure's music retells the tales of their adventures, challenges and discoveries and of the revelations that they encounter in life.

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The story so far…

During 2008 The X-Structure released two full-length albums, Westcoast Trip, their debut album, and days of night, featuring a diverse array of musical style. They also tried their hand at experimenting with a remix album where they remixed the vocals of artist Shannon Hurley into what is now known as The Remix Experiment Part 01.

In early 2009 they joined the ranks of Bushmen Records, an all South African underground music netlabel, and released their 3rd full-length album, Earth Epic, which took The X-Structure's music to a whole new level of earthly proportion. Following on this was a 3 track album called 3 in 1 which spoke of equality, the gift of giving freely and of dreaming of the future.

Their 6th album, Redux, was a collection of previously unreleased tracks that were rediscovered in a remote APE (Adventures on Planet Earth) warehouse in June 2009 and released shortly afterwards. In it the band traveled back to 2007 where another part of the mysterious origins of The X-Structure was revealed. On discovery many of the tracks were still incomplete but with the expert skills of The X-Structure the finishing touches were added to that chapter of their epic story. Later that year they completed a 4 track album called The Album, which featured the vocal talents of Jade Wang.

During September 2009 the band's front-man and good-looking leader, Starrzan, was involved in a motorcycle accident whilst on a mercy mission on the streets of his hometown Bellville. This gave him some much needed rest but at the cost of a broken leg and a smashed knee. He took this time, in-between watching episodes of Samurai Jack, to reflect on his life, the many blessings in it and his dreams for the future. Almost a year after their last release The X-Structure finally released their long awaited album Doxology. This album was jointly released by the South African netlabel, Bushmen Records, and the Italian netlabel, 51beats. Through this joint release the album was downloaded by many people from around the world and enjoyed great success.

Following quick on the heels of Doxology, The X-Structure released their 9th album, Meta, at the beginning of October 2010. Meta further progressed on The X-Structure's sound, yet still retained elements of their past experiences, and brought forward new sounds and ideas that the band had discovered on their journey thus far. It had a "space-trip" ambient feel to it which would again be explored by the band later in 2011.

The end of 2010 marked a great moment for The X-Structure with the release of their 10th album, Flight of Man. From its release the album was a great success, with some fans claiming that it was The X-Structure's best album to date. During that time the band's visual identity was also slowly but surely coming to light. The updated band member artwork was created by Russian artist Sideburn, and South African artist Rayne created a logo of his vision of the band’s signature “X” symbol.

Deep Heaven, released in March 2011, was The X-Structure's next big musical waypoint and marked the way forward for great things to come in 2011, and beyond. The album further explored the band's concept of "space-trip" music, blending elements of trip hop, ambient and electronica.

Continuing swiftly in the steps of its musical precursors, that of expressive soulful experimentation and genre-bending creation, was The X-Structure's 12th album, New Earth, released in July 2011. It was a vision of the future with a firm foot in the present and a long gaze into the past. Interesting things were in the making for our band of daring adventurers and only time would reveal what adventures and ultimate mission the Creator had in store for them. One thing was for sure, they were willing, they were able, and they were open to whatever grand adventure was coming their way.

The future was indeed in the making, but first our band of time-travelling adventurers had to return to The Past, a 4 track album, that featured songs made in and around 2005 by the enigmatic band member nightowl.

Shortly after this, on their return to the present time of October 2011, The X-Structure released their 14th album, boldly titled The Future. The Future, according to the band, was a definitive "time-travelling" soundtrack and again told fantastic tales of amazing visions of the future and profound realities of the present.

Liberation, the band's 15th release, ended 2011 with a bright light in the darkness, a beacon of freedom standing tall in a world often caught in despair. The year 2012 was on the horizon and would again be a year of new challenges and new opportunities, a year of change that would set the course for even greater things to come. Something wild, yet good, was in the making.

Exploring the wild side of life was indeed the case for The X-Structure with the release of Wild Places at the beginning of the winter season of South Africa, June 2012. The songs retrained the essence of the sound which had slowly been forming since the previous two albums, The Future and Liberation, and continued its course into the unknown reaches of musical expression and soulful contemplation. Accompanying it was the profound message of perseverance, courage and purpose, and of a greater story that is being told, and which has started since before the beginning of time.

The band's latest album, Mountain, symbolised their ongoing journey of discovery, which proved to be a daring endeavour. Drawing inspiration from their past yet again, they told the grand story of the challenges of going up the Mountain and the glory that is to come if we see the signs and accept the teachings that have come our way before hand. There was, as always, more to it than met the eye.

Their next adventure was uncertain, yet great things was to be seen ahead on the distant horizon.

All of The X-Structure's albums can be downloaded, for free, from their website, http://thexstructure.com.

Find us on other links on the web:

• The X-Structure's music collection on archive.org


• http://twitter.com/Starrzan


• http://bushmenrecords.co.za/about.html


• http://www.facebook.com/thexstructure


• http://twitter.com/BushmenRecords