It was set up in 2001 by Paul Mawdesley, Ged McAlea and Kevin Odell and is entirely based on contributions from unpaid writers.
[1] The site mostly publishes reviews and interviews covering primarily the indie, indiepop, shoegaze, folk, alt-country and electronica musical genres.
[2] The front page includes a regularly updated music player which showcases current songs recommended by the writers.
[citation needed] In addition, SoundsXP has forums to allow for discussion and comments on the articles, as well as live event notices which are free to use for bands and promoters for publicity.
[3] The site has organised a number of live events over the years featuring artists such as the Broken Family Band, the Bishops, Younghusband, Pete and the Pirates and many more.