All The members are very close friends and have been for many years. Darren, Simon, and Lee previously had been with other bands together, but a decision was made to reform with a new singer and bass player. With the addition of Aaron and Ian to the band, the formula fell into place. The common values of musical dedication and open-mindedness towards their style made them form as a tight, close knit unit. After beginning their work in late 2005 with multi Grammy award winning producer/mixer/engineer Ken Lewis in NYC, XtortYa completed the shaping of their sound to a diverse yet solid statement of who they are.
XtortYa aims for a style of music that is both felt by listeners and makes everyone move. A hugely diverse range of songs have been written to accomodate every emotion and feeling within the band to communicate with their listeners. Writing songs with the mix of Hip Hop, Dance, R n B, and Rock to give different moods and vibes to their music.
The band managed to create this diverse style by the use of the unusual equipment. The drummer has a Roland V-Drum kit, which generates a Dance and Hip Hop feel to the beats and also leaves room for a lot of versatility. The Guitarist uses a 7-string guitar and the bass player uses a 5-string bass. This creates the phat low-end melodies and the very chunky rhythms. The DJ uses sample gear, rather than turntables to create a cleaner, trance feel to some songs and catchy rhythms to others. This presents an open platter for the singer to use to his maximum potential.
A lot of pride is also taken by the band in the regards to the recording and mixing processes of the music industry. Spending hours and hours working on songs on their home studio, where they contunually write and design their music to acheive songs that speak out exactly what XtortYa is about.
The band works together with other industry professionals on video productions, live stage recordings, and photo editing to make sure their fans dont miss a thing. Two of the video productions earning national AVPA recognition, including the National video award for 'Best Stage Production Video' and finalists in the 'Music film clip of the year' category in 2006, and their debut video release being nominated as a finalist for the Music Video category in 2007.
Other credits for XtortYa include a huge following from the extreme sports market, with their music being featured in: FreeriderMX's behind Bars DVD (2007), Dirt Actions 2008 DVD release, Push Kiting DVD (UK, 2008), Rapid Bikes 2008 DVD and LOAM 2 (late 2007)
XtortYa have also been known for their stage performance at their gigs, pumping the crowd with their high energy performances and creating a great show for both eyes and ears.
"The rush of performing in front of mammoth crowds giving them a chance to bounce like they have never bounced before is all our music is about". -XtortYa-
![[au]](/media/images/flags/au.gif "Australia")
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