"Shelter" is a song by English

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

. It is the seventh track on their debut album, '' xx'', and the only track from it that was written and performed without former member Baria Qureshi. The song's lyrics were written by Romy Madley Croft, with the music written by her, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith, and the song being produced by the latter. In March 2022, a 2017 live remix of the song by Jamie xx was released.

Composition

The band recorded the song in February 2009, alongside the tracks "Fantasy" and "Infinity" before finishing the album by the end of the month. While recording "Shelter", a mechanical part of the guitar amplifier loosened, resulting in a clattering sound, which

Rodaidh McDonald Rodaidh McDonald is a Scottish record producer and record company executive. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and currently resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. His production and mixing credits include The xx, King Krule, Adele, ...

, who was the engineer and the mixer for the album, and The xx decided to keep. "It was just like this missing piece of percussion that the track needed!", remarked McDonald.

Birdy version

English musician Birdy released a cover version of the song, which was released on 3 June 2011 as a

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in the United Kingdom. The song was chosen as "Record of The Week" by UK radio DJ

Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', ...

Music video

The music video was first uploaded on

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on 16 June 2011 at a length of three minutes and fifty-seven seconds. It features Birdy walking outside in the dark, with various shots of her sitting in a dark room or playing the piano. It currently has over 30 million views.

Track listing

Charts

Other covers

The song has been covered multiple times by other artists, notably

Hercules and Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, dis ...

on their album '' Blue Songs''.

Sophie Habibis ''The X Factor'' is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series aired on ITV on 20 August 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011. Dermot O'Leary hosted the main show on ITV, while Caroline Flack and series 6 ...

performed a cover in the style of the Birdy version on series 8 of ''The X Factor'', but was eliminated the same day.

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles The xx songs Birdy (singer) songs Folk ballads Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Songs written by Jamie xx Songs written by Oliver Sim Songs written by Romy Madley Croft 2011 songs Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Jim Abbiss