The musical careers of former studio engineers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker were given a boost by old college chum and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich when he let them remix OK COMPUTER's "Climbing Up the Walls." The resulting product led to greater…

A collaboration between musicianvocalist Imogen Heap and producerarrangersongwritermusician Guy Sigsworth Frou Frou manufactured an impressive brand of vocal-driven electronic pop formerly the exclusive territory of Bjrk The British duo had been coll…

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…

In the late 1990s, the Albuquerque indie-rock band Flake Music morphed into the Shins, led by vocalist-guitarist James Mercer. Upon the release of 2001's OH, INVERTED WORLD, the Shins garnered a landslide of critical acclaim with their amiable, 1960…

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…

This alternative rock outfit was formed in the late 80s in Birmingham, Alabama, USA by Cinjun Tate (vocals/guitar), his brother Shelby (guitar/vocals), Cedric LeMoyne (bass/guitar), Jeffrey Cain (guitar) and Gregory Slay (drums). The Tate's parents h…

Cary Brothers best known as of 2005 for Blue Eyes the gorgeously articulate ballad he contributed to the previous years Grammy-winning hip-artist-showcasing Garden State soundtrack is by most accounts every bit as astute a businessman as he is a wry …

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…

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 …

As the singer guitarist and main songwriter of Australias Men at Work Colin Hay was responsible for penning several of the quirkiest pop hits of the early 80s Although he and his former band will forever be associated with the land down under Hay ori…

Nick Drake was the quintessential fragile genius. His late-1960s and early-'70s albums combine pastoral, very British romanticism with a jazzy folk lilt that owes a debt to Tim Buckley and Tim Hardin. His hypnotic whisper of a voice and his virtuosic…

Morcheeba, popularly known as the "trigger hippie" UK trip-hop combo, comprises Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey and Skye Edwards. The Godfrey brothers began working from their home-town of Hythe, Kent, around the early 90s, drawing on a number of influenc…

Iron & Wine is the artistic alias of Florida singer/songwriter Sam Beam, who crafts delicate songs full of poetic lyrics and simple, haunting melodies. Beam delivers his tunes in a hushed, Nick Drake-like voice and frames them with spare, mostly acou…

In the mid-1990s, the dreamy-but-grooving sound of trip-hop was confined to the U.K. underground until Portishead brought it to the worldwide mainstream. Combining electronics, lush production, Ennio Morricone-like guitar breaks, and angelic singing …

Tosca is essentially a side-project for Richard Dorfmeister, one half of Austrian dub-breaks artists Kruder And Dorfmeister and is a collaboration with his old school friend, Richard Huber. Tosca's 1997 debut, Opera, established the duo's unusual and…

New Yorkers Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel began as a late-1950s doo-wop group called Tom & Jerry. In the '60s, they turned to folk, with an extended stay in London bringing a heavy British folk influence into Simon's work. When a rock band was overdubbe…

Separately, synth player Jimmy Tamborello and singer Ben Gibbard were known for their work in electronica and emo, respectively, with Dntel and Death Cab For Cutie. Together, they became a powerful pop duo, combinining Tamborello's melodic knowhow an…

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…

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…