On Friday Netflix released XOXO, a fictitious film about a young, aspiring producer that’s given the opportunity of a lifetime when asked to perform in a huge music festival. With DJ icon Pete Tong as its music supervisor, it’s no surprise that the best thing about the movie is the soundtrack itself.
XOXO is the first EDM culture centric film that has been released since Zac Efron’s box office bomb, We Are Your Friends, hit movie theaters last year. The film, a Netflix original and exclusive, depicts the story of a small-town bedroom producer (Graham Phillips) who gets the opportunity of a lifetime when his manager and best friend (Brett DelBuono) alerts him that he’s managed to snag a last-minute spot to perform at the nation’s largest biggest electronic music festival, XOXO. What’s the catch, you may ask? He only has 8 hours to prepare his set, pack up his stuff, find transportation, get to the festival location (presumably somewhere in California), and deliver a performance that undoubtedly will break him onto the scene as EDM’s next up-and-coming producer.
The sub-plots include, frankly, a myriad of clichés. These include a naïve festival girl (Sarah Hyland) scouring the grounds to find her EDM prince that she met online, a couple that will be raving together for the last time given that one of them is set to move to the Big Apple (Hayley Kiyoko) and refuses to accept that the future of their relationship is doomed, a failed producer/DJ (Chris D’Elia) that resorts to making snarky and sarcastic jokes to ease the pain of coping with his shattered dreams, and a young aspiring music professional gaining the courage to break away from his father’s strict expectations to prove that he can make it on his own. Don’t get me wrong, the film is cute despite it perpetuating the fictitious stereotypes that continuously place the electronic music scene under the scrutiny of many (will there ever be an EDM inspired movie that doesn’t place such strong emphasis on drug abuse and overt sexuality?)
This isn’t meant to be a film review. I’ll leave that to the big-dogs that actually know what they’re talking about when it comes to critiquing film antics. I’m here to say that the real star of the film was one that never even made a visual appearance. I’m talking about the glorious, glorious soundtrack that made the movie go from watchable to ‘oh my god, why are tears streaming down my face right now’ good. It’s exemplary of how a soundtrack can double as an additional layer of quality control and complement a film so perfectly that it makes for an entirely new viewing experience.
The soundtrack, which is comprised of 16 tracks, was curated by none other than British DJ icon and BBC1 Essential Mix pioneer, Pete Tong. So it really shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to electronic music lovers when the soundtrack turned out to be nearly better than the film itself. Tong handpicked an eclectic mix of tracks that represent different branches on the EDM spectrum. Are you a progressive house lover? He’s got you with Galantis, Zaxx. More of a trapaholic? He sprinkles Grandtheft, Keys n Krates, Diplo, and Skrillex, and Hitchhiker throughout the film. Maybe you’re more of a traditionalist – fear not, Dada Life make a a strong appearance. I haven’t forgotten about you, future garage enthusiasts – Disclosure and Flume are in there somewhere. What about chillwave, you may ask? No EDM movie would be complete without the climactic musical stylings that ODESZA and Hayden James have to offer. And yes, he even threw in some tech house – who can resist The Mambo Brother‘s infectious snares and drum kicks.
Another great thing about the soundtrack is that Tong shines light on actual promising up-and-coming producers in attempt to give them some new-found traction. The lead single and recurring track in the film is Michael Brun and Louie‘s ‘All I Ever Wanted’, an uplifting progressive track that completely encapsulates the feeling you get when you hear your favorite song come on when you attend your first festival. That’s the beautiful thing about the soundtrack, it is more than just a bunch of tracks strewn together to enhance a movie. It represents the thread of emotions that you experience when you attend your first major electronic music festival. It represents happiness, euphoria, friendship, carelessness, and love.
Check it out below:
XOXO soundtrack tracklist:
1. Galantis and East & Young, “Make Me Feel”
2. Michael Brun, “All I Ever Wanted” [feat. Louie]
3. Yotto, “Song From The Sun”
4. Mambo Brothers, “Momento”
5. Zaxx, “Signal”
6. Alok, “Me & You” [feat. Iro]
7. graves & Dreamer, “im friends w 25 letters of the alphabet, i dont know y”
8. Skrillex & Diplo, “Beats Knockin” [feat. Fly Boi Keno]
9. Grandtheft & Keys N Krates, “Keep It 100 (Keys N Krates Live Version)”
10. Hitchhiker, “Ding Dong”
11. Jai Wolf, “Indian Summer”
12. Disclosure, “You & Me (Flume Remix)” [feat. Eliza Doolittle]
13. Galantis, “Gold Dust”
14. Hayden James, “Something About You (ODESZA Remix)”
15. Dada Life, “One Last Night On Earth”
16. Icarus, “Home (Lane 8 Remix)” [feat. Aurora]