IN MARCO'S WORDS:

Look who’s back.

I know, it’s surprising for us too.

After finishing the Alchemy Series back in 2014, Marko and I really thought that was the final end for XP8. Hell, the last song of the third and final EP was titled “XP8 Is Dead”. We don’t do subtle, never have.

It’s been 7 years since, and apart from a couple of rogue remixes here and there - some of which never officially released either - we left XP8 sleeping the sleep of ages.

The scene did die.

At least “our” scene did. As the world became a darker place thanks to the unending economic recession and the rise of fascism worldwide, there has been less and less space for goth club nights and reckless debauchery. Millennials were supplanted by Gen Zers, and the latter have even less care for scenes that happen out there, in the real world. Everything is online, and since we still don’t have fully functioning haptic virtual reality, there is no way to replicate the thrill of yet another night in seedy clubs, high on life and looking to score.
That is, all of what XP8 ever was.

We both grew up, at long last.
Marko is now married and has a beautiful daughter.
I, too, settled down. At least for a while.

And then, of course, the annus horribilis happened. 2020. Pandemic. Lockdowns. Zoom call after Zoom call. Amongst all that trauma, this collective long and painful dark night of the soul from which I feel we learned absolutely nothing at all, we both thought it was a pity to not celebrate the 20th anniversary of XP8’s inception. At least a little bit.

And here we are: TWENTY is that little celebration.
Two songs only: “Back To Light” written by me, the first XP8 song ever that I wrote, composed, and arranged. I then worked with JD Tucker of Grendel fame to add a little oomph to it, which brought back the synergy of the time I played in his band. I even wrote the lyrics and threatened to sing it… thankfully Marko came to the rescue in the end. It’s a song about regaining hope, and it is indeed inspired by one person. In a classic twist of XP8 luck, a person that has since decided to go on a separate path from mine. Life happens, and it hurts. The Light never leaves.

“Lockdown Logic” is Marko’s techno romp. It’s the kind of song that will force you to dance no matter where you are. The kind of song that I really wished we released back in the day. It would have been a massive dancefloor hit. Who knows, maybe it will.

And so, here we are: we aren’t really back. But we wanted to share our music with you all.
One last time.

Marco Visconti
4 June 2021