First known as the silken-voiced guitarist for the xx, Romy Madley Croft also makes joyous, proudly queer dance music as Romy. With her band, Madley Croft pioneered a hushed hybrid of indie and electronic music that resonated with critics and fans alike: Their 2009 self-titled debut album won the Mercury Prize, and their later chart-topping efforts included 2017's I See You. On her own, Romy wrote songs for Dua Lipa and King Princess, and brought some of that larger-than-life pop euphoria to the 2020 single "Lifetime."

Madley Croft began playing guitar when she was 15, not long after she came out as gay. With her friend and future bandmate Oliver Sim, she explored South London's club scene in the late 2000s. She fell in love with dance music's power to unite outsiders, and DJed at several queer clubs. 

Around this time, Madley Croft, Sim, and Jamie xx formed the xx. The band's moody, intimate sound made the most of her soft vocals and muted guitar technique on 2009's Mercury Prize-winning The xx. Their success continued with 2012's Coexist, which reached number one the U.K. Album Charts. Both Madley Croft and Sim appeared on their bandmate Jamie xx's 2015 solo debut album, In Colour, and the group returned in 2017 with I See You, a more fleshed-out sounding work that, like its predecessor, topped the U.K. charts.

During the hiatus that followed I See You, Madley Croft pursued a career as a songwriter to artists ranging from King Princess to Jehnny Beth. She contributed to Dua Lipa's Grammy-winning single "Electricity" and connected with producer Fred Again while working on music for Halsey. As she continued to write songs for others, Madley Croft kept some for herself. Created during the early 2020 lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, her debut single, "Lifetime," took inspiration from Ultra Naté and the other favorites from her early club days, as well as her longing for the communion of the dance floor during the social distancing era. Working with a team of queer, female, and non-binary artists that included Fred Again and engineer Marta Salogni, Madley Croft released "Lifetime" in September 2020 and followed it with remixes by Planningtorock, Jayda G, and HAAi. In 2022, Romy and HAAi appeared on Fred Again's single "Lights Out," and Fred Again appeared on Romy's "Strong." ~ Heather Phares

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