X and Ivy Are Building Something and the Underground Has Already Noticed
Australian DJ duo X and Ivy have gone from lockdown fame to underground house credibility, and their 2026 EP "Broken Jam" might be their best argument yet for why that switch was worth it.
If your weekends have been feeling suspiciously productive lately, too much sleep, too much water, too many responsible decisions, X and Ivy are here to fix that. The Australian DJ and producer duo have been quietly cooking up something that the underground house scene did not know it needed, and in 2026, they finally served it.
The Origin Story Nobody Expected
Before X and Ivy existed, the pair operated under the name Party Shirt, a project that somehow pulled in over ten million followers during the lockdown years. Most people would have stayed comfortable. These two looked at that audience, said thank you very much, and then walked directly into the fog machine of underground house music anyway. The rebirth as X and Ivy in 2023 was not a rebrand so much as a declaration.
They wanted to make music for rooms that smell like sweat and dry ice, not for algorithm playlists. You heard?
Their Sound and What It Does to You
The duo have built their identity around fusing the raw pulse of early Chicago house and Detroit techno with the breakbeat textures, acid energy, and forward momentum of 1990s UK rave culture.
Which sounds like a music theory essay until you actually hear it, and then it just sounds like your body moving without your permission. They are not doing retro for the sake of nostalgia. They are doing it because those sounds hit, they always hit, and X and Ivy know exactly which buttons to press.
The Todd Edwards Collab That Made Everyone Pay Attention
X and Ivy linked up with UKG legend Todd Edwards for their collaborative track "Keep Me," which emerged from recording sessions in Los Angeles and brought together the duo's deep, groovy house rhythms with Edwards' signature approach to vocal manipulation and garage sound design.
The two have spoken about Edwards being a genuine, longstanding influence on them, which is a thing people say and usually do not mean, except in this case the track sounds like they actually meant it. Pete Tong, Danny Howard, and Sarah Story all gave it their support which is essentially the house music equivalent of getting three Michelin stars, except louder and at 3am.
Broken Jam is and What It's all about
In March 2026 the duo released "Broken Jam" through Bradley Zero's Rhythm Section International, and it is four tracks of them being completely themselves. Opener "Back in 10" comes in hot with a warped synth-driven energy that is clearly built for clubs and festival seasons approaching fast.
Title track "Broken Jam" grooves steadily and shows off their ability to move between sounds without breaking a sweat. "Could This Be Love" pulls out euphoric chords and soulful backing vocals that will have you raising your hands involuntarily. "Zen Hotline" closes things out with a more tech-focused energy, bouncing rhythms, and spiralling electronic sirens doing their best impression of your conscience on a Tuesday morning.
X and Ivy described the EP as something that grew out of a year of genuine friendship with Bradley Zero, leaning deeper into their love of house music and built specifically for warm rooms and long nights. They said warm rooms and long nights like that is not the exact sentence that ruins your sleep schedule.
Where They Have Been Performing
The studio output is one thing but X and Ivy have been putting in the live hours too. They have played the Home Again Festival in Berlin, opened for Peggy Gou, delivered a guest mix for Gudu, and posted a Book Club Radio set that crossed two hundred thousand view. Artists including Peggy Gou, Jamie Jones, and Marco Carola have shown support for their music, which is a guest list that most people spend entire careers trying to get onto. They have also performed across the US, UK, and Australia, which means there are now three continents where people have had their weeknights ruined in the best way possible.
Why This Duo Is Worth Following
Their releases span labels including Life and Death, Nervous Records, Big Trouble Records, and now Rhythm Section International, with coverage coming from Mixmag, Clash, Ransom note, and Beatport. In short, the people who know things about house music have already taken notice.
The question is whether the rest of the internet catches up before X and Ivy are headlining every festival stage that matters.
The "Broken Jam" EP is available now on Bandcamp. Your body already knows what to do with it. Your morning alarm, unfortunately, will still go off.
