Richard X
| Richard X | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Richard Philips |
| Also known as | Richard X |
| Origin | Whalley, Lancashire, England |
| Genres | Electropop, synthpop, dance-pop |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, music producer |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Virgin |
| Website | BlackMelody.com |
Richard Philips, better known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for artists including Annie, Kelis, Liberty X, Rachel Stevens and Sugababes. According to an early issue of the now defunct Popworld magazine, Philips' alias comes from a postcard which was sealed with a kiss misinterpreted for the letter X.
Richard X is known for his "synthesised, grungy pop music", which was inspired by bands such as The Human League and Kraftwerk. His original intention was to "reinvent" pop music by making records that are "deliberately unplayable". Referring to his 'Girls on Top' bootlegs, Richard X says, "At the time it was inspired by anti the po-facedness of the electronica scene as much as anything. The production side, how it sounded – rough and spiky, electronic and modern – was what did it for me. Taking pop and putting it through a blender sound wise was the spirit of the times."
Richard X started his career in the underground music scene creating popular bootlegs, which are "illegal, under the counter remixes which combined two existing records to make an entirely new song." Under the pseudonym Girls on Top, Richard X released a series of vinyl-only underground singles. He says bootlegs were "escaping from that world of formatting – which the DJ culture and club culture relies on so much. They were supposed to be the future of pop music." His mashup "I Wanna Dance with Numbers" helped establish as the most common mashup template the combination of vocals from a female pop singer with a critically noteworthy song.
Island Records heard "We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends", which was a mash-up of Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me" and Gary Numan/Tubeway Army's "Are 'Friends' Electric?", and requested that Sugababes record it. Richard X said he was "very keen to do it as long as it remained what it was. It was raw, it was against the grain and it was still pop music." Sugababes' version of the song, which kept the Adina Howard title of "Freak Like Me", was recorded in Richard X's flat in Tooting. He said, "there was a loop, some handclaps, the Sugababes and a semi-broken synthesiser." Released as the first single from Sugababes' second studio album Angels with Dirty Faces, it charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, the first of many for the girl group.
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