Xenomania
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Xenomania are one of the UK's leading pop production houses, put together by writer and producer Brian Higgins. Members of the Xenomania writing and production team include Nick Coler, Niara Scarlett, Giselle Sommerville, Miranda Cooper (who shares co-writing credits in nearly all Xenomania-written tracks), Lisa Cowling and Tim Powell.
Xenomania have produced and remixed some of the catchiest and most successful pop songs of the 2000s, including tracks for Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Kylie Minogue, Cher and Steps. In particular, all 16 of Girls Aloud's singles (not including their collaboration with Sugababes on "Walk This Way", produced by Dallas Austin) have been produced by them and have reached the top ten. Girls Aloud's former manager, Louis Walsh, is a big fan of their work.
They were also scheduled to work with Britney Spears, but the song they submitted, "Graffiti My Soul" was decided as not appropriate for her 2003 album In The Zone; the track was later featured on Girls Aloud's second album What Will The Neighbours Say?.
Brian Higgins found early success producing hits for Dannii Minogue, which led him to work with Cher on her single "Believe". Although the single out-performed all expectations and won him three Ivor Novello awards, when London Records was sold in the late 1990s, he found himself without a label, so he decided to set up Xenomania as an independent production company. In an interview with the BBC, Higgins described the choice of the word "Xenomania" as meaning "an openness and love of all cultures and influences".
In 2007, Xenomania worked with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Alesha Dixon, and produced two songs for Sugababes' fifth studio album Change. They are continuing studio sessions with Girls Aloud for their new album Tangled Up. The production team have also been working with Franz Ferdinand, a step out of both Xenomania and the band's comfort zones.
A common feature of Xenomania produced tracks is a reverse-cymbal noise which usually precedes a verse or chorus. It is evident at the start of Sugababes' "Red Dress", at 0:06 of Girls Aloud's "The Show", at 0:06 of Kylie's "Made Of Glass", at (but not limited to) 0:13 of Cher's "Believe", and at (but not limited to) 0:13 of Girls Aloud's "It's Magic".
