 | | MSTRKRFT (pronounced "master kraft") are the Daft Punk-loving alter ego of Death from Above 1979's Jesse F. |
 | | São Paulo, Brazil's provocative, freewheeling dance-rock sextet CSS take their name from an abbreviation of "cansei de ser sexy," which is Portuguese for "tired of being sexy" (though, considering that the lead singer goes by the name Lovefoxxx, it's arguable how much that phrase actually applies to the band). |
 | | Electro-funk duo Chromeo formed in Montreal in the early 21st century, a project of former hip hop producers Dave One and Pee Thug (news flash: not their given names). |
 | | Producers/remixers James Ford and James Shaw formed Simian Mobile Disco in 2005, following their departure from the experimental electronic rock band Simian. |
 | | As a solo project with a revolving door of members, the heart and face of Santigold is vivacious frontwoman Santi White. |
 | | Hailing from London, Hot Chip entered the picture with the release of their 2000 debut, Mexico. The EP was issued by Victory Garden Records, a label owned and operated by members of London's resident lo-fi psychedelic rock institution Southall Riot. |
 | | The French dance-pop group Yelle was founded in 2005 when longtime friends Julie Budet (who took the stage name Yelle) and Jean-François Perrier (known as GrandMariner) decided it was time to start a band. |
 | | If you read a lot about new music on the Web, odds are pretty good that, at some point between the September 2004 release of "Galang" and the March 2005 release of Arular, you were struck with the urge to turn your computer off or maybe even heave it out of a nearby window. |
 | | Reflecting the party rap atmosphere of Baltimore's club scene, Spank Rock arrived as one of the best things to happen to both underground hip-hop and dirty rap, a pair of styles that rarely intermingle. |
 | | Fusing low-res electronic noise and pop hooks so effortlessly that it can seem accidental, Crystal Castles began as producer/multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath's solo project in late 2003. |
 | | The London dance-rock group New Young Pony Club initially featured Tahita Bulmer (vocals), Andy Spence (guitar), Igor Volk (bass), Lou Hayter (keyboards), and Sarah Jones (drums). |
 | | Peaches (Merrill Nisker) burst into transcontinental favor with her very particular brand of cocksure rapping and groovebox beats. |
 | | In similar company with new-school French progressive dance artists such as Motorbass, Air, Cassius, and Dimitri from Paris, Parisian duo Daft Punk quickly rose to acclaim by adapting a love for first-wave acid house and techno to their younger roots in pop, indie rock, and hip-hop. |
 | | Named after a Chinese friend whose name sounds like the Mandarin pronunciation of "bandstand," the Ting Tings -- a scrappy, dance-oriented duo consisting of singer/guitarist Katie White and drummer Jules De Martino -- formed in the Salford district of Manchester, England in 2006. |
 | | An electronic-based rock band from Reading and London, Does It Offend You, Yeah? made a mark with their raucous live shows and high-energy music that drew comparisons to !!!, LCD Soundsystem, and Digitalism. |
 | | Girl Talk is the pseudonym of DJ and remixer Greg Gillis. A Pittsburgh native who works as a biomedical research engineer during the day, Gillis channels his other creative energies into Girl Talk, whose sample-based dance tracks have made him the John Oswald or Christian Marclay of the mash-up generation: each of his songs are built on recognizable samples of recent hit singles, recontextualized into an entirely new piece. |
 | | LCD Soundsystem debuted with "Losing My Edge," a single that became one of the most talked-about indie releases of 2002. |
 | | Australian indie electronic group Cut Copy take many of their cues from contemporaries like Air, Daft Punk, and LCD Soundsystem, but with a distinctly pop sensibility that draws on classic AM radio pop singles from the 1970s and '80s, with elements of vintage disco and synth pop that appeal to song-based listeners as well as the club kidz. |
 | | As acts like Erol Alkan and the Klaxons were blurring the lines between indie rock and dance music in 2007, Germany's Digitalism were mashing garage band attitude with pumping electro music while in cahoots with the stylish French house label Kitsuné Music. |
 | | Finding an unlikely middle point between Suicide's hostile, proto-electro punk art noise and the sardonic, pop-friendly sound of the Flaming Lips, MGMT started as electroclash musical terrorists but quickly grew into an eclectic, brainy pop group with psychedelic overtones. |
 | | Mixing synth pop, shoegaze, and indie pop into a sound all their own, Ladytron formed in mid-1999. Keyboardists/programmers Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu settled in Liverpool after a spate of traveling and DJ work in Japan. |
 | | The London-based Klaxons feature the combined talents of Jamie Reynolds, James Righton, and Simon Taylor. |
 | | Pumping out bass-heavy dance beats laced with unlikely samples and paired with goofy but salacious raps, Bonde do Rolê are one of the first acts on Brazil's funk carioca (or baile funk) scene to gain an international audience. |
 | | Originally conceived as the live backing band for her Julie Ruin solo project, Bikini Kill founder and quintessential riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna formed Le Tigre, another bold, feminist-oriented trio, with filmmaker Sadie Benning and zine creator Johanna Fateman in 1998. |
 | | A brother-and-sister duo hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, the Knife take inspiration from vintage synth pop and forward-thinking electronic music, crafting a sound that is equally unsettling, playful, and beautiful. |
 | | Formerly known as Cherry, New York's rock-meets-electronica duo Ratatat feature multi-instrumentalist/programmer Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud. |
 | | Berlin-based Boys Noize producer Alexander Ridha releases music similar in style to the French electro of Kitsuné Music and Ed Banger Records. |
 | | One thing of which Diplo (aka Diplodocus, Wes Diplo, and Wes Gully) cannot be accused is being afraid to experiment with new music. |
 | | Dressed in matching red track suits, Norwegian tongue-in-cheek electronic-dance band Datarock were one of several groups labeled by the U. |
 | | The production duo of Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton released several of Britain's most respected and enjoyable progressive house anthems of the '90s and early 2000s from their base in South London. |
 | | Favoring a naughty schoolboy look that makes him seem even younger than his already tender years (22 when his first major-label album was released), Scottish artist, producer, and remixer Calvin Harris has a similarly youthful and forward-looking approach to his music. |
 | | Once again demonstrating the power of the Internet in breaking new bands, in a matter of months the Black Kids came from obscurity to become one of the most talked-about bands at the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon, all on the basis of four songs posted on the band's MySpace page and a lot of buzz among music bloggers. |
 | | The Presets are a pair of avant-garde Aussies who, while forging a musical path that wouldn't be unfamiliar to acts like Daft Punk, Nine Inch Nails, and the Faint, don't mind dragging disco along for the ride. |
 | | One of the truisms of pop music is that in a style's early years, novelty songs are commonplace: the freshness and novelty of the musical form lends itself to giggly comic songs, and in turn new audiences attracted by the humor get exposed to the new kind of music. |
 | | Signed to celebrity DJ Steve Aoki's Dim Mak label and often compared stylistically to French electro superstars Justice, the Bloody Beetroots -- technically a solo project of one Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo, who is assisted on-stage and behind the decks by Tommy Tea -- generated significant buzz in the music blogosphere with remixes and production work. |
 | | The Swedish indie pop artist Lykke Li Zachrisson (better known as Lykke Li) grabbed the attention of international bloggers in the early 2000s with a handful of catchy, retro-chic singles made available on her MySpace profile. |
 | | French electro DJ/producer Pedro Winter (aka Busy P) is the owner of Ed Banger Records as well as the manager of Daft Punk and a few other electronic dance acts from France. |
 | | Equally inspired by Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the Cure, East London art punkers Bloc Party mix angular sonics with pop structures. |
 | | The sound of the Go! Team, a six-piece group from Brighton, England, is a stunning blend of indie rock guitars, police show themes, hip-hop beats, and schoolyard chants built on samples and then augmented by live instrumentation. |
 | | Amanda Blank is a flamboyant dirty rapper from Philadelphia who is closely associated with Spank Rock and who has ties to the Baltimore club scene. |
 | | Playing dance-oriented music with the feel of indie pop but the insistent pulse of disco, Friendly Fires hail from St. |
 | | Bath, England's singer/composer/keyboardist Allison Goldfrapp began exploring music as part of her studies as a fine art painting major at Middlesex University, mixing sound, visuals, and performances in her installation pieces. |
 | | Mark Ronson is a sought-after turntablist who's worked with such diverse artists as Macy Gray, Jay-Z, and comedian Jimmy Fallon. |
 | | Second-wave Chicago house impresario Felix da Housecat entered the elite via his recordings (as himself, Thee Maddkatt Courtship, Aphrohead, Sharkimaxx) as well as his ownership of Radikal Fear Records, one of the premiere Chicago labels of the 1990s. |
 | | Omaha, NE's the Faint have gone through countless changes in their relatively short career, but with each shift, both in terms of personnel and style, they have made a distinct new impression and turned more and more heads. |
 | | Discovered in the wake of the Strokes' popularity and the subsequent garage rock revival, New York's art punk trio the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are comprised of singer Karen O, guitarist Nicolas Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. |
 | | A Hamilton, Ontario-based electronic pop group, Junior Boys began as a duo with its duties split between Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark. |
 | | Mashing together electro, rock, and funk and taking cues from such artists as Daft Punk and Prince, Ghostland Observatory formed in Austin, TX, and consists of vocalist/guitarist Aaron Behrens and producer/beat-maker Thomas Turner. |
 | | Known for his affiliation with fashionable French electro label Ed Banger Records, DJ Mehdi was a producer/remixer of hip-hop and electronic dance music yet is first and foremost remembered as a DJ. |
 | | Death from Above 1979 made an immediate splash upon their debut in 2004 with You're a Woman, I'm a Machine. |
