# XXXChange
**XXXChange** is the former performance name of Alex Epton, an American producer, engineer, and film composer from Baltimore, Maryland, who is also credited as **Armani XXXchange**. He rose to prominence as the producer of the party rap duo Spank Rock, whose 2006 debut *YoYoYoYoYo* was made for the British label Big Dada, and he has since worked as a producer and remixer for hip-hop, indie, and dance artists and as [XL Recordings](https://www.edgepedia.org/xl-recordings)' in-house producer and engineer in New York.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) • [2](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/30211e6e-9d77-4f0b-a576-333570e63b16)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name / stage names | Alex Epton; performed as XXXChange and Armani XXXchange[2](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/30211e6e-9d77-4f0b-a576-333570e63b16) |
| Origin | Baltimore, Maryland[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) |
| Breakthrough | Produced Spank Rock's debut *YoYoYoYoYo* (Big Dada, released April 18, 2006; running time 41:46)[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/yoyoyoyo-mw0000408836) |
| Solo and group work | Video game score *Skate* (2007) with Tommy Guerrero and Z-Trip; produced Kele's *The Boxer* (2010); member of Win Win (albums 2011, 2012, 2015)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) |
| Studio role | In-house producer and engineer for XL Recordings' New York studios since 2014[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) |
| Recent releases | *3OHA* soundtrack with Lucinda Chua (2019); experimental techno EP *Episodic Buffer, Vol. 2* (2021)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) • [4](https://www.factmag.com/2021/04/15/patch-notes-alex-epton/) |
## Early life and DFA Records
Epton is originally from Baltimore. His conservatory training is reported differently by sources: AllMusic states that he studied composition at the [New England Conservatory of Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-england-conservatory-of-music) in Boston,[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) while a Vice profile says he studied jazz drumming at Baltimore's Peabody Institute.[5](https://www.vice.com/en/article/mbtv-electric-independence-xxxchange/) In the early 2000s he played drums in the Duggs Trio, a jazz group that also included the future Mountain Goats member Matt Douglas.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) An entertainment.ie profile adds that he left school and moved to New York, where he played in the electronic punk outfit Zero Zero.[6](https://entertainment.ie/event-news/dj-xxxchange-169517/)
**DFA internship.** Epton interned at the DFA Records studio in New York, where he learned studio production. He received a credit for EMS ring modulation on [LCD Soundsystem](https://www.edgepedia.org/lcd-soundsystem)'s "Losing My Edge," one of the singles that established the label, and, according to a 2006 FADER feature, watched sessions for early LCD Soundsystem singles and played synth drums on a [Le Tigre](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-tigre) remix during that period.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) • [7](https://www.thefader.com/2006/04/18/ay-yo)
## Spank Rock and YoYoYoYoYo
After being introduced to the MC Naeem Juwan, Epton began performing with him as Spank Rock, a duo fusing rap with club music. A mutual friend, Alex Rockswell, introduced the two at a Baltimore art gallery, and Rockswell later joined the entourage as DJ.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/spank-rock-mn0000279593) Once the first Spank Rock demos were recorded, Juwan passed a copy to the DJ Low Budget, who passed it to Diplo, who brought it to the label Big Dada, a subsidiary of [Ninja Tune](https://www.edgepedia.org/ninja-tune).[7](https://www.thefader.com/2006/04/18/ay-yo) • [9](https://insomniacmagazine.com/?p=180) The duo toured with M.I.A., Diplo, and Beck, and released the album *YoYoYoYoYo* in April 2006.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/yoyoyoyo-mw0000408836)
The album was recorded in Epton's Brooklyn apartment, which doubled as a full-time studio.[7](https://www.thefader.com/2006/04/18/ay-yo) In a 2006 interview he described the setup: "I did the whole record on a $500 Pro-Tools system. I think I had one synthesizer that I used on one track. Pretty much every sound on the record comes from sample CDs and recordings that I did at home."[9](https://insomniacmagazine.com/?p=180) Critics responded to the record's hybrid sound. Pitchfork called it "one of the most precise and brilliantly produced albums of the year," noting that Epton, "working from a homemade studio in an apartment in Brooklyn, displays a keen ear for smart ways to mash regional and time-lost delicacies" including Baltimore club, Miami bass, Houston screw music, and 1980s dance pop.[10](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7856-yoyoyoyoyo/) The Guardian described the duo as atypical products of Baltimore, spanning Latin party music, 1980s electro, and samples from primitive computer games.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/apr/07/popandrock.shopping6)
Epton left Spank Rock in 2007 to pursue his own production career.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits)
## Solo work as XXXChange, 2007 to 2013
**Remixes and game score.** As XXXChange, Epton remixed artists including Panda Bear, Wiley, and Bonde do Rolê, and, earlier in his career, Björk, Kylie Minogue, Thom Yorke, and [Santigold](https://www.edgepedia.org/santigold).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) With Tommy Guerrero and Z-Trip he wrote the score for the EA video game *Skate*, released in 2007.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) • [12](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/xxxchange/270236179)
**Production for others.** He produced album tracks by the Kills, Amanda Blank, and Kid Sister, and produced the entirety of *The Boxer*, the 2010 solo debut of Kele Okereke of Bloc Party.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits)
**Win Win.** Epton formed the group [Win Win](https://www.edgepedia.org/win-win) with Chris Devlin of the DJ duo Devlin & Darko and the video collage artist and producer Ghostdad. The trio's self-titled 2011 album included guests such as Blaqstarr, Andrew W.K., Lizzi Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance, and Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip; a second album, *Double Vision*, followed in 2012 and *Primaries* in 2015, and AllMusic characterizes the group's output as three albums of trippy electronic psych-pop.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) In the band, Epton generally handled mixing, with all three members writing and producing songs.[13](https://delicious-audio.com/win-wins-gear-and-creative-process/)
**Solo releases.** Under the XXXChange name he released the electro-house single "Backbeat" on Kitsuné Music in 2012, the single *Bounce* in 2012, and the *PWNY* single in 2013.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) • [12](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/xxxchange/270236179)
## XL Recordings and later work
In 2014 Epton began working as the in-house producer and engineer for XL Recordings' New York studios. He worked on recordings by [Vampire Weekend](https://www.edgepedia.org/vampire-weekend), Arca, FKA twigs, and Wiki, as well as artists outside the XL roster such as [David Byrne](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-byrne), Neon Indian, Holy Ghost!, MIKE, and [Kali Uchis](https://www.edgepedia.org/kali-uchis), in addition to writing music for short films and television commercials.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) Fact magazine's profile of his in-house role also names FKA twigs, Arca, and Jamie xx among the artists he has worked with there.[4](https://www.factmag.com/2021/04/15/patch-notes-alex-epton/)
Epton and the cellist Lucinda Chua composed the soundtrack to the 2019 film *3OHA*, and he designed a synth sample library for Spitfire Audio called Entropy.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) In 2021 he released the experimental techno EP *Episodic Buffer, Vol. 2*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits) His personal studio practice centers on hardware, including modular synthesis and tape loops; the Patch Notes session recorded ahead of that EP used Verbos Electronics modules, a touchplate controller, and manipulated vocals.[4](https://www.factmag.com/2021/04/15/patch-notes-alex-epton/)
## Production style
Epton's Spank Rock production stitched together Miami bass, Baltimore club, 1980s freestyle electro, funk, and Houston screw music, an approach KCRW described as a "kitchen sink" method that carried over into Win Win.[14](https://www.kcrw.com/music/articles/win-win-artist-you-should-know) He has pushed back on a purely local reading of that sound: "We don't make Baltimore Club music man, sure some of us grew up in Baltimore and were influenced by it, but that's not the Spank Rock sound," he said in a 2007 interview, and in a 2006 feature he located the influence in dance music generally.[15](https://stillgrinding.blogspot.com/2007/03/spank-rock-we-dont-make-bmore-club.html) • [16](https://xlr8r.com/features/spankrock-what-it-look-like/) His working method on *YoYoYoYoYo* was beat-first: the duo usually started with a beat, recorded Juwan's lyrics, and then reworked the beat to fit the lyrics, with Epton remixing much of the record as he learned production.[9](https://insomniacmagazine.com/?p=180)
## Name
Most current databases list the artist as Alex Epton: [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) records XXXCHANGE as a performance name of Alex Epton, with Armani XXXchange as an additional alias,[2](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/30211e6e-9d77-4f0b-a576-333570e63b16) and [Resident Advisor](https://www.edgepedia.org/resident-advisor) lists the real name as Alex Epton with the alias Alexxxchange.[17](https://ra.co/dj/xxxchange) Two older profiles, in Vice and on the blog Read:[Mezzanine](https://www.edgepedia.org/mezzanine), spell the surname Upton.[5](https://www.vice.com/en/article/mbtv-electric-independence-xxxchange/) • [18](https://readmezzanine.blogspot.com/2007/01/) AllMusic now credits him under his own name, describing him as "previously known as XXXChange."[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits)
## References
1. [Alex Epton — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alex-epton-mn0001898984/credits)
2. [XXXCHANGE — MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/30211e6e-9d77-4f0b-a576-333570e63b16)
3. [Spank Rock: YoYoYoYo, AllMusic album review by John Bush](https://www.allmusic.com/album/yoyoyoyo-mw0000408836)
4. [Patch Notes: Alex Epton, Fact (April 15, 2021)](https://www.factmag.com/2021/04/15/patch-notes-alex-epton/)
5. [MBTV: Electric Independence: XXXChange, Vice](https://www.vice.com/en/article/mbtv-electric-independence-xxxchange/)
6. [DJ XXXChange, entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/event-news/dj-xxxchange-169517/)
7. [Ay Yo, The FADER (April 18, 2006)](https://www.thefader.com/2006/04/18/ay-yo)
8. [Spank Rock — Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/spank-rock-mn0000279593)
9. [Interview with XXXCHANGE (of Spank Rock) by Todd E. Jones, Insomniac Magazine (July 26, 2006)](https://insomniacmagazine.com/?p=180)
10. [Spank Rock: Yoyoyoyoyo Album Review, Pitchfork (May 2, 2006)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7856-yoyoyoyoyo/)
11. [Spank Rock, YoYoYoYoYo, The Guardian (April 6, 2006)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/apr/07/popandrock.shopping6)
12. [XXXChange, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/xxxchange/270236179)
13. [WIN WIN's Gear And Creative Process, Delicious Audio](https://delicious-audio.com/win-wins-gear-and-creative-process/)
14. [Win Win: Artist You Should Know, KCRW](https://www.kcrw.com/music/articles/win-win-artist-you-should-know)
15. [Still Grinding: SPANK ROCK — "We don't make Bmore Club" (March 27, 2007)](https://stillgrinding.blogspot.com/2007/03/spank-rock-we-dont-make-bmore-club.html)
16. [Spankrock: What it Look Like, XLR8R (January 24, 2006)](https://xlr8r.com/features/spankrock-what-it-look-like/)
17. [XXXChange · Artist Profile, Resident Advisor](https://ra.co/dj/xxxchange)
18. [Read:Mezzanine, January 2007](https://readmezzanine.blogspot.com/2007/01/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Electronic dance music (EDM) and rave culture*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license