XL Middleton & Moniquea ‎- Europe Tour (2016)

XL Middleton is a musician from California whose format falls into the funk-laden style the region has traditionally been known for. The Pasadena-based artist/producer has been hard at work for years crafting melodic, chord-heavy tunes and which have earned him accolades on major websites such as Uproxx, Okay Player and HipHopDX, where a collaboration with Crooked I made the rounds, as well as national print coverage in the Washington Post and major local print coverage in LA Weekly, where his album Tap Water made it to a Best of 2015 list. XL has toured internationally in Japan, Canada, and throughout Europe, catering to fans of the funked-out West Coast sound – a fanbase which, although not the norm in mainstream music, has been finding its way back to notoriety, with artists like XL at the cusp of what has become known as the modern funk movement.

XL has released volumes of work, the sound of which embodies the party feel, bringing music back to where it was before it found its way into upscale clubs, while at the same time mixing it with a futuristic brand of funk inspired by legends such as George Clinton, Roger Troutman, & Cameo, not to mention hip hop funksters like Battlecat & DJ Quik. He evolved from his beginnings as a hip hop artist to a full-fledged modern funk musician, educated by the music he once sampled in the course of creating rap beats. At an XL show, you might find him singing notes through a vocoder, rapping, or shredding solos on a shoulder synth (more colloquially known as a "keytar"). He operates his own label, Cavi Sounds, founded as Crown City Ent. in 2003 and relaunched under the current label name in 2016. In addition, he founded another imprint, MoFunk Records, with Funkmosphere resident DJ and fellow LA native Eddy Funkster. XL has also released music in conjunction with noteworthy labels such as Bastard Jazz, Omega Supreme, and Voltaire, effectively bridging the gap between fans of modern funk/80's boogie and 90's g-funk, all of which has been tremendously influential to the XL Middleton sound.

In addition to his own solo material, XL produces music for modern funk songstress Moniquea, and is gearing up to release his next solo album in 2017.

Tracklist:

01. XL Middleton - Can't Get Away (From Your Love)
02. Moniquea - Checkin' Out
03. XL Middleton feat Moniquea & Eddy Funkster - Killin' It (No Weeso Funk)
04. Moniquea - His Lady
05. Throwback Zack VS. DPG - Gangsta Satisfaction
06. Pink Fink - Fear The Night
07. XL Middleton + Eddy Funkster feat Moniquea & Domino - California Fly
08. Loose Shus VS. E-40 - Sprinkle Me Ladies
09. Prince Charles & The City Beat Band - Don't Fake The Funk
10. Diamond Ortiz - Calling All Squares
11. Toshiki Kadomatsu - Step Into The Light
12. General Caine - Girls
13. Shiro Schwarz VS. Suga Free/Snoop Dogg - The Breeze Is So Fly