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 …

Leftfield consists of Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, two London percussionists-turned-DJs who tore up London's underground "progressive house" scene in the late '80s and early '90s with their early singles. In 1995 they released LEFTISM, which has been …

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…

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…

The Herbaliser is led by Jake Wherry and DJ Ollie Teeba, who work from the former's TrainTrax studio in Twickenham. Wherry grew up in south London interested in jazz, funk, rare groove and hip-hop, and played the bass and guitar in several jazz, funk…

The music of the Chemical Brothers, a pair of DJs who helped popularize the "Big Beat" electronic subgenre in the '90s, has the heft of rock, the groove of club music, and the spirit of experimentation that lifts all boats. Through their collaboratio…

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 …

b. 1 February 1966, Boulogne sur Seine, near Paris, France. Influential European DJ figurehead Garnier enjoyed a previous life as a restaurant manager, then footman at the French Embassy (where he claims to have served UK dignitaries like the Queen, …

The Australian power-pop band Ice Cream Hands comprised singerguitarist Charles Jenkins guitarist Dominic Larizza bassist Douglas Lee Robertson and drummer Derek Smiley Debuting in late 1992 with a self-titled EP the group issued their first full-len…

As a young boy growing up in Cornwall, England, Richard James made his first music by banging found objects together. Whether he's working under the moniker Aphex Twin, Polygon Window, or AFX, James has continued to experiment with sound in increasin…

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…

Before the grime scene of the early 2000s gave the U.K. its own unique, homegrown hip-hop nation, there was really only Roots Manuva holding it down for the Brits during the preceding decade. Influenced as much by reggae and electronica as by America…

Jebediah was formed in May 1995 in Perth Australias most isolated major city as far from Australias other major population centres as it is from the countrys Asian neighbours That isolation has tended to produce curious musical hybrids Kevin Mitchell…

A fearless sonic adventurer, Icelandic songstress Bjork first appeared prominently on the musical map in 1988 with LIFE'S TOO GOOD, the debut album of her band, the Sugarcubes. Four years later, the group split, and Bjork wasted no time in working on…

Active from the early 1990s into the 21st century, DJ Shadow (Californian Josh Davis) has been called the Jimi Hendrix of sampling. His songs shift tempos in a blink, incorporating multiple time signatures, and it's to Shadow's credit that he's as co…

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…

The electronic outfit Tlpopmusik followed in the footsteps of Air Les Rythmes Digitales and Dimitri From Paris and established their own musical stylings in the arena of French dance music The core trio of Fabrice Dumont Stephan Haeri and Christophe …

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…

Formerly the guitarist for new-school punks Compulsion Garret Lee made the jump to big-beat electronica after Compulsion disbanded after 1996s The Future Is Medium Signed to Pussyfoot Records owned by electronic impresario Howie B his pseudonym Jackn…

Australian punkgrungefunk band Grinspoon hail from the North Coast of the State of New South Wales an area noted for attracting an alternate lifestyle community to its rural seaside setting Guitarist Pat Davern and bassist Joe Hansen met vocalist Phi…