XL Recordings is a British independent label set up in London in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes as a dance and rave imprint of Beggars Banquet’s Citybeat. Its early releases covered techno, breakbeat hardcore and drum and bass, including Jonny L’s “Ooh I Like It” in 1993, and Kicks Like a Mule’s “The Bouncer” reached number seven in the UK in 1992.
The Prodigy became its first major success with Music for the Jilted Generation (1994) and The Fat of the Land (1997), and Bad Company also released albums on XL. Richard Russell, who came in as an A&R scout, has run and co-owned the label since 1996. XL is part of the Beggars Group and opened its own recording and mixing room, XL Studio, at its Ladbroke Grove headquarters in 2008.
Drum and bass has stayed part of its story through releases by High Contrast, CLIPZ, Camo & Krooked and Mefjus, and in 2025 it put out “If We Ever” by High Contrast and Overmono.
