Perhaps a crude simplification, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland - the Crystal Method ' have been described as the USA's answer to the Chemical Brothers. They relocated from Las Vegas to Los Angeles in 1989 after working on vocal house tracks but having…

Norman Cook's first foray into the music biz came as the bass player for 1980s UK pop/rock band the Housemartins, but once he got into the DJ world, he hung up his bass for good. As Fatboy Slim, he was at the forefront of the mid-'90s "big beat" move…

Diminutive, bald-headed Richard Melville Hall, better known as Moby, achieved greater mainstream success than any other electronica artist by virtue of his willingness to adapt electronic dance music to a well formed pop sensibility. From the '90s on…

French 1990s neo-disco duo Daft Punk found stardom as a discovery of the Chemical Brothers. With an egalitarian approach to making people move, Daft Punk utilized everything from strict club beats to Beach Boys and Roxy Music samples when making its …

Felix Burton and Simon Ratcliffe started out as two British DJ's enamored of the sounds of '70s funk and '80s house. By the mid-'90s, the pair were turning heads with singles and remixes that used house as a starting point for innovative explorations…

Since Ministry and Nine Inch Nails hit it big in the early-'90s, no other electronic dance-rock band pushed the boundaries and rocked as viciously as The Prodigy did. Their 1997 worldwide breakthrough, FAT OF THE LAND, hatched a swarm of copy-cat act…

The Bristol collective known as Massive Attack arose out of the acid house scene of late-1980s England to become one of the 1990s' greatest innovators. The group has literally changed the face of music every time out. They invented "trip-hop" on thei…

DJ, promoter, and recording artist, Paul Oakenfold is one of the most popular and successful DJ's in the history of dance music. As one of the chief purveyors of the late 1980s UK rave culture sound--a mix of techno, trance, and house--Oakenfold was …

Beck Hansen, the quintessential California slacker, came up among the lo-fi ranks, pushing a blend of country blues, Dylan-inspired wordplay, punk, and hip-hop. His straight-out-of-the-gate 1994 smash, "Loser," made him a star seemingly overnight. Su…

Underworld rose from the semi-successful '80s synth-pop outfit known as Freur to become one of the great innovators in electronica. While the group's sound can easily be whittled down to its core elements--trance, dub, ambient, and a certain punkish …

The Gorillaz is Blur frontman Damon Albarn's hip-hop/electronica cartoon concept band. While real-life participants have included such luminaries as Dan the Automator, Danger Mouse, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, De La Soul, and Shuan Ryder, the Gorillaz…

In the mid-1980s, the idea of white middle-class Jewish rappers may have provoked laughter or outright disdain, but the Beastie Boys' albums and singles have shown that they are anything but a joke. After hip-hop and rock fused into the music of choi…

U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to alt-rock, with Bono's expressive …

This UK electronica duo comprises Tom Findlay (b. Cambridge, England; bass, trumpet, keyboards, sampler) and Andy Cato (b. Yorkshire, England; trombone, keyboards, bass guitar). Cato, a 6 feet 8 inches tall Yorkshireman, grew up playing in a colliery…

There was no shortage of new post-punk inspired outfits emerging in the early 2000's. However, Scottish band Franz Ferdinand had a slightly different take on things, bearing the marked influence of countrymen Josef K and Orange Juice as well as usual…

French postmodernists Air raid every aspect of retro pop music, from the sublime to the ridiculous, in fashioning their sonic bricolage. Everything from Krautrock-inspired electronics to 1960s lounge music is incorporated into the work of Nicolas God…

Beginning as just another Brit-pop band with promise, Blur has exceeded all expectations. Their debut release showed a flair for catchy guitar-based tunes, their next three effectively channeled various British music traditions to create an eclectic …

As much an art project as an actual band, Fischerspooner is the brainchild of Casey Spooner and Warren Fischer, two New York City-based multi-media artists. Drawing heavily on 1980s U.K. synth and dance pop, Fischerspooner plays infectious club music…

In 2000, Coldplay emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a worldwide smash with their debut album PARACHUTES and hit single "Yellow." They're generally lumped in with the Britpop crowd, but, like Travis, they favor a more thoughtful, melodic pop …

Formed in Leicester, England, in the late 1990s, dance-rock quartet Kasabian hit big with their self-titled debut in 2004. Bearing the marked influence of "baggy" superstars the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays, Kasabian set themselves apart from ma…