The story so far…

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

The bands 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, breakbeat, chillout, cinematic, and even experimental at times, and finally their very own coined genre, space-trip; or so they would like to think. Their greatest inspiration is God, everything that is seen and unseen, and through this their music is an expression of philosophical ideals and spontaneous musical 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.

The X-Structure’s music retells the tales of the adventures, challenges and revelations that they encounter in life. During 2008 they released two full-length albums, Westcoast Trip 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 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, Starrzan, was involved in a motorcycle accident whilst on a mercy mission on the streets of 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 of the future. Almost a year after their last release, The Album, The X-Structure finally released their long awaited album Doxology. This album was jointly released by 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 the release 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 “spacey” 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 the band’s signature “X” logo.

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 experimentations and genre-bending creations, 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 daring band of 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 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, October 2011, The X-Structure released their 14th album, boldly titled The Future. The Future, according to The X-Structure, was a definitive “time-travelling” soundtrack and again told fantastic tales of amazing visions of the future and profound realities of the present.