 | | TUnE-yArDs is the lo-fi experimental folk project of Merrill Garbus, also of the noisy indie pop band Sister Suvi. |
 | | A self-taught producer, London’s SBTRKT -- aka Aaron Jerome -- mixes elements of dubstep, 2-step, garage, house, soul, and techno into a bass-heavy blend of flowing melodies and intricate percussion. |
 | | A producer capable of using the Akai Music Production Center (aka the MPC, a drum machine and sampler) on the fly, AraabMuzik was inspired by the likes of Dr. |
 | | Emotionally charged, stadium-ready indie rock outfit We Are Augustines was formed in 2009 by Billy McCarthy, Eric Sanderson, and Rob Allen after the dissolution of the similarly themed Pela. |
 | | Playing garage-flavored punk rock with a Southern accent, a messed-up and bluesy undertow, and the gleefully destructive impact of a 15-year-old with a bag of firecrackers, the Black Lips are an Atlanta-based combo who after their debut in 2000 soon developed a reputation as one of the Peach State's wildest bands. |
 | | Wild Flag is the bicoastal project of Portland, OR indie rock luminaries Carrie Brownstein, Janet Weiss, and Rebecca Cole, and Washington, DC’s Mary Timony. |
 | | St. Vincent became one of the unexpected success stories of indie rock with the release of her second album, Actor, in 2009; the literate, emotionally intricate songs and rich, beautifully crafted pop melodies made her an immediate hit with critics, but few expected her music to cross over to mainstream acceptance. |
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 | | Having seemingly been blessed with the Midas touch in terms of being at the center of mass music press hype, by the end of 2010 -- and before the age of 20 -- Daniel Blumberg (guitar/vocals) and Max Bloom (guitar/vocals) found themselves in their second project that had achieved just that. |
 | | Combining kitchen-sink instrumentation with playful lyrics and sweet harmonies, Oberhofer offers eccentric, undeniably catchy indie pop. |
 | | Allegedly “shrouded in mystery” despite social media presence (with accompanying photos) on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Soundcloud, and YouTube, as well as major support from fellow Torontonian Drake, alternative R&B act the Weeknd -- a solo outlet for vocalist Abel Tesfaye -- surfaced in March 2011 with House of Balloons. |
 | | Singer/songwriter Laura Marling was only 16 years old when she emerged on the British indie scene in 2007 thanks to a handful of infectious singles made available on her MySpace profile. |
 | | Texas guitarist Gary Clark Jr. has been compared to guitar icons like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and his playing is a powerful and inspired mix of blues roots with contemporary soul and hip-hop, and when he’s rolling at his best, he sounds like nothing so much as a natural hybrid of both the past and the future of the blues. |
 | | California-based roots rock band Dawes were formed in the Los Angeles suburb of North Hills by brothers Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith (lead vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), Wylie Gelber (bass), and Alex Casnoff (guitar). |
 | | San Francisco duo Girls make druggy, ethereal pop in the spirit of Spiritualized and Ariel Pink. Christopher Owens was born in Florida to a mother and father who were actively involved in the Children of God cult, and spent most of his childhood drifting. |
 | | Experimental electronic music producer Flying Lotus, born Steven Ellison, is a grandson of songwriter Marilyn McLeod (the co-writer of Diana Ross' "Love Hangover"), as well as a great-nephew of pianist Alice Coltrane, and therefore a cousin of saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. |
 | | New Jersey's hazy indie rockers Real Estate feature Titus Andronicus' Martin Courtney, Etienne Duguay (who also records as Predator Vision), Alex Bleeker, and Matthew Mondanile, also of Ducktails. |
 | | When he’s not busy writing for television, performing with his sketch group Derrick Comedy, or acting on the NBC comedy Community, Donald Glover somehow finds the time to make beats and rap as his alter ego, Childish Gambino. |
 | | Breakbot is a French electro producer affiliated with Ed Banger Records. Born Thibaut Berland and based in Paris, he initially made a name for himself in 2006 with a remix of Justice's "Let There Be Light" that was included on the Waters of Nazareth EP released in Japan. |
 | | Dan Bejar started Destroyer as a solo project in Vancouver in 1995. His first album, We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, was an electric folk record, setting the stage for the early Bowie comparisons that were certain to follow his particular vocal style. |
 | | Le Butcherettes were founded in Mexico in 2008 by vocalist/guitarist Teri Gender Bender (Denver-born and Mexican-bred Teri Suarez) and former drummer Auryn Jolene. |
 | | Built on the solid, classic rock foundation of three-part harmonies and dual guitar leads, Canada’s the Sheepdogs blend Southern boogie rock, groove-based psychedelia, and bluesy barroom swagger into a modern rock & roll revival. |
 | | First Aid Kit are a Swedish duo comprised of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, whose vocal harmonies and woodsy, folk-influenced songwriting take influence from the likes of Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom. |
 | | Justin Vernon began recording under the nom de band Bon Iver following the breakup of DeYarmond Edison, an indie folk group similar in tone and manner to Iron & Wine, Little Wings, and -- to a certain extent -- Bonnie "Prince" Billy. |
 | | Lafayette, Louisiana-based indie rockers the Givers formed in the late 2000s around the talents of Kirby Campbell (drums/samples/vocals), Taylor Guarisco (guitar/vocals), Tif Lamson (vocals/percussion/ukulele), Josh Leblanc (bass), and William Henderson (synths/samples/vocals). |
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 | | Philadelphia songwriter Kurt Vile was already recording himself at home by age 14, shortly after his bluegrass-loving father purchased him a banjo to encourage his youthful creativity. |
 | | Beginning as a big-haired, black-clad garage-punk outfit and soon morphing into something more experimental, the Horrors featured singer Faris Badwan, bassist Tomethy Furse, guitarist Joshua Von Grimm, drummer Coffin Joe, and keyboardist Spider Webb. |
 | | Infectious London-based indie rock outfit the Vaccines formed in the late 2000s around the talents of Justin Young (vocals, guitar), Árni Hjörvar (bass), Freddie Cowan (guitar), and Pete Robertson (drums). |
 | | The sultry neo-psychedelic sound of the Black Angels came together in spring 2004. Hailing from Austin, TX, Stephanie Bailey (drums), Christian Bland (guitar), Alex Maas (vocals), Jennifer Raines (organ), and Nathan Ryan (bass) took their name from a Velvet Underground classic, "The Black Angel's Death Song. |
 | | With an air of mystique, Athens, Greece-based Keep Shelly in Athens combine ambient bedroom electro-pop, chillwave, and Ibiza house music influences to create a uniquely somber take on disco. |
 | | With an origin going back to their time spent living in a “Students of Color for Social Justice”-themed dorm, Das Racist’s meeting seems like destiny. |
 | | London residents Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell formed the Big Pink in their home studio, where the two musicians began mixing the droning soundscapes of Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine with the lush electronics of M83. |
 | | Named after the musical term for the measurement of time by an instrument, Metronomy is the dance-meets-rock project of London-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Joseph Mount. |
 | | Justice, a Parisian dance production duo comprised of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, generated an international buzz with "D. |
 | | In 2008, synth-driven indie pop group Gardens & Villa formed in Santa Barbara, California. With an album's worth of sugary, celebratory tunes under their belt, guitarist Chris Lynch, keyboardist Adam Rasmussen, bassist Shane McKillop, and drummer Levi Hayden traveled to Oregon to record their self-titled debut. |
 | | In 2003, Frenchmen Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau enjoyed international acclaim for the album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, a luscious blend of shoegaze aesthetics, ambient pop, and progressive textures. |
 | | With their combination of driving guitars, manic energy, and big singalong choruses, Sleeper Agent merge pop-punk's sugary effervescence with garage rock swagger. |
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 | | The blurry electronic pop project of an initially anonymous composer from Brooklyn and video artist from Austin, Texas, Neon Indian was conceived as a multimedia experience combining their music and video into short films, teasers, and straight-up pop songs. |
 | | Influenced by the Southern-style swagger of UGK and the rhymes of his hometown heroes the Diplomats, ASAP Rocky gave up slinging drugs in Harlem and moved to Elmwood Park, New Jersey, where he started rapping. |
 | | Born Anton Zaslavski, German producer Zedd broke onto the European electronic scene in 2010 with a remix of Skrillex's "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites. |
 | | An enticing blend of indie pop hooks and crisp electronic beats in the style first perfected by Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha, Little Dragon are a showcase for Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano, a mainstay of the European downtempo and lounge scenes. |
 | | American indie pop outfit Other Lives formed as an instrumental project in 2004 under the name Kunek. |
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 | | Electro duo L.A. Riots emerged in 2007 with a succession of remixes and within a year's time became an MP3 blogosphere sensation, reworking tracks by such fashionable artists as Justice, Chromeo, and Hot Chip. |
 | | Berlin hardcore dissenters Atari Teenage Riot were among a new generation of German techno artists (also including ATR's Alec Empire, EC80R, Speed Freak, DJ Bleed, etc. |
 | | An R&B vocalist affiliated with the outlandish hip-hop crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Frank Ocean (Christopher "Lonny" Breaux) was born and raised in New Orleans. |
 | | Evolving from Peter Silberman's bedroom recordings to a fully realized band, for Brooklyn-based the Antlers, what started out as a solo lo-fi folk project progressed quickly into a colossal-sounding chamber pop group. |
 | | Honeyhoney is the jazzy, twangy, rollicking collaboration between vocalist Suzanne Santo and guitarist Ben Jaffe. |
