Junkie XL Booms Back With 'More' on New Album

Operating under the nom de club music Junkie XL, Tom Holkenborg has become one of the icons of electronic dance music. With the advent of his 2003 worldwide smash reworking of Elvis Presley's 'A Little Less Conversation,' Junkie established himself as an acclaimed re-mixer, producer and musician. And while he's since rebuilt Coldplay's 'Talk,' plus tracks by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake for the dance floor, Holkenborg is first and foremost a revered musician.

On his fifth studio album, 'Booming Back At You' (due March 11), Junkie forgoes the conceptual approaches of previous releases in an effort to capture the energy of his live shows. "I'm a very upbeat performer," the Dutch born Junkie tells Spinner. "And I wanted it to keep the fun and the energy going. The biggest difference between it and some of the more rock-based material in my past is that the arrangements of the songs are very basic and very simple. I really felt a fresh energy making this album that I hadn't felt for years."

The effort features the amazingly funky 'Stump' and the breakout anthem 'More,' (also known to club-goers as 'F--- More'), which finds singer Lauren Rocket -- a 22-year-old, L.A.-based chanteuse -- pulling chorus duty. Of the latter's edited title, Junkie says, "We shortened it because certain people get upset about language. At first we called it the 'Pacman Song' but the owners took exception. But whatever it's titled, people seem to dig it."

Elsewhere, 'Clash' sounds like a 'Rock & Roll Part II,' built for today's sporting events, while the pulsing cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1986 darkwave classic 'Cities In Dust' actually takes on new life. "I am a big Siouxsie fan," Holkenborg says. "And with all of the mash ups and covers, I was surprised that it had never been touched. I started trying it live and the audiences really responded. So I thought, 'Man, I should throw this on a record.'"