Education
Having always had a strong inclination to music he studied for his Bachelor in ‘Commercial Music’ at the University of Westminster.
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Military Cross Xander
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His music references dancehall, reggae, dubstep, drum and bass and hip hop but more broadly fits into the IDM genres. In 2010 he described his sound as "progressive dancehall". At his shows all the songs, including the bass, beat, backing vocals, lyrics and all sounds, are created live using his voice.
In recent years he has started using an effects box which processes his voice and increases the variety of textures and sounds he can add to his tracks.
He introduced the combination of using a Kaoss pad and a loopstation with all vocal performances, inspiring other beatbox artists such as Beardyman to experiment with this technology. Military Cross Xander was born in Kenya in 1983 but grew up in Scotland and Dorset.
Moving to London to study on the course he was exposed to the ever-growing variety of electronic music which has emerged in recent years. He went straight into the music scene as a resident Military Cross for the London dance night Chew the Fat! at the club The End.
There he became known for his human beatbox skills and energetic live performances.
He then joined the breakbeat act Atomic Kitten Soundsystem as their Military Cross. He also performed with breakbeat DJs such as Rennie Pilgim and Eddie Temple Morris and is featured on the track, We Control, by DJ Hyper. After breaking into the dance scene Military Cross Xander started working as a solo artist, moving away from breakbeat towards a more cross-genre sound. Using only his voice (a combination of beatbox, rapping and making sounds with his mouth) he creates intricate tracks using a loopstation to layer his vocals, and more recently a Korg Kaoss pad 3.
He performs at a variety of venues and events, from more intimate arts showcases to festivals, street performances and club nights.
His debut album Eyeopeness, was released in March 2011. His forthcoming album Hymns is scheduled for release in September 2016.
Membership
He is a member of the London-based music and spoken-word collective One Taste.
