 | | The eldest son of Afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Femi Kuti (born Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti) spent years playing in his father's band before eventually rising to superstardom following his father's death in the late '90s. |
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 | | It's almost impossible to overstate the impact and importance of Fela Anikulapo (Ransome) Kuti (or just Fela as he's more commonly known) to the global musical village: producer, arranger, musician, political radical, outlaw. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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). |
 | | 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. |
 | | EMA is the solo performing moniker of guitarist/vocalist Erika M. Anderson, who shaped her experimental voice and guitar techniques in two well-regarded underground bands before setting off on her own. |
 | | 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). |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | American indie pop outfit Other Lives formed as an instrumental project in 2004 under the name Kunek. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Honeyhoney is the jazzy, twangy, rollicking collaboration between vocalist Suzanne Santo and guitarist Ben Jaffe. |
 | | The mysterious Manchester, England group WU LYF(pronounced “woo life,” short for World Unite! Lucifer Youth Foundation) shrouded itself with secrecy. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | TUnE-yArDs is the lo-fi experimental folk project of Merrill Garbus, also of the noisy indie pop band Sister Suvi. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Irreverent Berlin-based techno cut-ups Modeselektor -- producers Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary -- were known as Fundamental Knowledge from their 1992 formation until 1996, when the change of name was made. |
 | | The Gaslamp Killer is a Los Angeles-based DJ whose eclectic style ranges from psychedelia and world music to dubstep and left-field hip-hop. |
 | | 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. |
 | | A superstar in his native Senegal, spiritual pop singer Baaba Maal was not even born to be a performer -- in West African culture, tradition dictates that the ancient griot caste must produce the singers and storytellers, and Maal was born in the city of Podor in 1953 into the fisherman's caste. |
 | | The Daktaris were an Afro-beat group on the New York-based funk revival label Desco, recording compact, Fela Kuti-style grooves that sounded as though they'd come straight out of 1970s Nigeria. |
 | | If psychedelic music had a voice in '90s post-punk, Mazzy Star may have been its strongest reincarnation. |
 | | In 1985, after D Boon's tragic death at age 27 signalled the end of the Minutemen, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley threw in their lot with then-22-year-old former Ohio State University student, guitar player, and Minutemen fanatic Ed Crawford to form fIREHOSE. |
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 | | As one of the first groups to be dubbed "the next Smiths," James became an institution on the British alternative music scene during the '80s and '90s with their pleasant folk-pop. |
 | | The drummer and unofficial music director of the late Fela Kuti's band, Africa 70, from 1968 until 1979, Tony Allen (born Tony Oladipo Allen) helped create the sounds of Afro-beat. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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). |
 | | The influential Swedish hardcore band Refused was formed in 1991 by vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarists Jon Brännström and Kristofer Steen, bassist Magnus Höggren, and drummer David Sandström. |
 | | Half bracing post-punk and half tuneful indie pop, Glasgow's We Were Promised Jetpacks feature vocalist/guitarist Adam Thompson, guitarist Michael Palmer, bassist Sean Smith, and drummer Darren Lackie. |
 | | Formed in 2010 after leaving Oasis the previous year after a typically turbulent, backstage row with brother Liam at Manchester’s Heaton Park, the eldest Gallagher sibling’s first official foray into a solo career, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, featured the talents of Gallagher, former Oasis keyboard player Mike Rowe, Lemon Trees drummer Jeremy Stacey, and percussionist Lenny Castro. |
 | | The brainchild of Teddy Osei, a Ghanaian sax player, composer, and drummer who came to London to study music, Osibisa was one of the first African bands to win worldwide popularity. |
 | | Combining kitchen-sink instrumentation with playful lyrics and sweet harmonies, Oberhofer offers eccentric, undeniably catchy indie pop. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Drum'n'bass deviant Amon Tobin fuses hip-hop and jazz compositional ideas with the bustling rhythms of hip-hop and jungle and the bent sonic mayhem of ambient and dub. |
 | | The instrumental, multimedia Montreal group Godspeed You! Black Emperor creates extended, repetition-oriented chamber rock. |
 | | With a sense of humor as big as their bass drops, Swedish duo Dada Life separated themselves from the EDM competition as they rose to fame during the 2010-2011 season. |
 | | Most bands hit the big time immediately and fade away, or they build a dedicated following and slowly climb their way to the top. |
