A dance-rock act from Manchester, England, the Whip spent a few years working the indie electronic underground before making their full-length album debut in 2008 with X Mark Destination, notably produced by Jim Abbiss. At their core, the group is based around Danny Saville and Bruce Carter; other bandmembers include Lil Fee and Nathan Sudders. The Whip debuted in 2006 with the singles Frustration, released on 7" by the British label Kids, and Trash, released on 12" by Lavolta Records. The latter song was in turn compiled by the trendsetting French label Kitsun Music on Kitsun Maison Compilation 3, which garnered some initial international interest in the group. In 2007 the Whip released Divebomb as a 12" single on Kitsun with a Crystal Castles remix on the flip side; the single was also compiled on Kitsun Maison Compilation 4. Also in 2007, the Whip did a few remixes ("An End Has a Start" by Editors, "Please" by Paul Hartnoll featuring Robert Smith, and "Strawberries" by Asobi Seksu) and signed to Southern Fried Records, the label of Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim), which resulted in a pair of single releases, "Muzzle No. 1" and "Sister Siam." Not long thereafter, the Whip went about recording their 2008 full-length debut, X Mark Destination, with producer Jim Abbiss, renowned for his work with Editors (The Back Room, 2005) and Arctic Monkeys (Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, 2006). A short tour of England in January/February 2008 as the opening act for Simian Mobile Disco garnered additional buzz for the Whip, as did a video for "Trash" and a long list of live dates, including a stop at South by Southwest in Austin, TX. - all music guide