XL Recordings is a collaborative endeavour, and many people have contributed to its evolution. In the song “Out Of Space”, Liam Howlett of The Prodigy provided a blueprint when he sampled Kool Keith of Ultramagnetic MC’s rapping these words: “Pay Close Attention”. And whilst XL has never had any outside ownership, Gil Scott-Heron advised me not to even consider XL “independent”; because everything is connected. This compilation is an attempt to illustrate some of these connections.