[1] Originally launched in 1989[2] to release rave and dance music, the label began as an imprint of Beggars Banquet's more commercial dance label Citybeat, which was known for records by acts such as Freeez, Rob Base & EZ Rock, Starlight, Dream Frequency and the Ultramagnetic MCs.

During the early 1990s, XL releases were dance-oriented, ranging from Belgian techno (T99's "Anasthasia") to breakbeat hardcore (SL2's "On a Ragga Tip")[3] to drum and bass (Jonny L's "I'm Leavin'").

[4] Russell later broadened the label's musical horizons, whilst maintaining a credo of working with artists he saw as original and inventive.

In October 2007, Radiohead completed negotiations to sign with XL for physical release of their seventh studio album, In Rainbows.

As director of XL Recordings, Richard Russell was included in a 2007 Evening Standard list of the most influential people in London,[10] and in August of that year M.I.A.

[19] The label also released new albums by Radiohead, Friendly Fires, and the Horrors and singles by Jai Paul and Portishead, as well as the Adele Blu-ray/DVD, Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

A month later, on 8 May, the band released their ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, through XL to critical acclaim.

It served as a makeshift studio space for the label's various artists and his own projects until producer Rodaidh McDonald was assigned in September of that year to manage and properly equip it in preparation for the xx to record their self-titled debut album.

"[25] Russell and McDonald were inspired by the success of modest studios such as Hitsville U.S.A. and wanted to create an economic, non-commercial space.

[26] Set up specifically with the xx in mind, XL Studio features little outboard gear and is equipped with a Neotek Élan custom 24-channel mixing console, Yamaha NS10 studio monitors, and instruments that include an upright piano, Roland Juno-60, Moog Prodigy, Vox Continental organ, and Sequential Circuits Pro-One synthesizer.