Portishead are a band from Bristol, United Kingdom, named after a small coastal town twelve miles west of said musical hotbed, in North Somerset. They were initially known for their use of jazz samples and some hip-hop beats along with various synth sounds and the hauntingly beautiful vocals of singer Beth Gibbons. Their current sound drops the samples in favour of a harder, more abrasive edge, but retains Gibbons' vocals.
Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris, consisting of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal (French), Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss, former member of Touch el Arab). They formed in 1999. Their first release was Vuelvo Al Sur/El Capitalismo Foráneo in 2000, followed by the album La Revancha Del Tango in 2001. Their music is clearly tango, but also uses electronic elements such as samples, beats and breaks.
Neil Barnes and Paul Daley, inspired by house music's many facets formed the production team of Leftfield, working with several artists who were at the cutting edge of dance music. Leftfield were famous in the studio for their remixes of such artists as Adamski and Detroit house legend Kevin Saunderson's Inner City project. In 1991 their first single, "Not Forgotten" was an instant club hit heard around the world, trademarking their production work on a simple, but cutting edge dance track.
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, to use the name her musician parents gave her, already has a staggering track record. If her name itself - pronounced 'See-ah' - isn't familiar to millions, her voice undoubtedly is. In 2000, the Adelaide born singer scored a bolt from the blue Top 10 hit with her debut single, Taken for Granted. Pairing her unique Australian drawl with the strident strings from Sergei Prokofiev's 'Romeo & Juliet', the track was championed by Trevor Nelson and had Sia performing live on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show.
Groove Armada is an electronic music group from Cambridge, United Kingdom, composed of two members, Andy Cato (real name Andrew Cocup) and Tom Findlay. They first came to fame with a 1997 limited single release, At The River (made famous after being used in various Marks & Spencer advertisements), which sampled "Old Cape Cod" by Patti Page. The song has since made its way onto numerous chill-out compilations.
Light Music meets Dark Electronica.
Described as music that has elements of warm jazz and light music mixed with close up electronic beats, basses, melodies and momentary glitches. HealeyIsland is the one man electronic music project of a South West, UK based musicalist and composernaut. An exploration of where genres meet and collide, a place where dark Electronica meets Light Music, the music is deliberately diverse and eclectic in its reference points. HealeyIsland’s next album, Not Afternoon, But Evening, is out on White Label Music.
The imaginative recordings produced by Mad Professor (born Neil Fraser 1955, Georgetown in Guyana) demonstrate a mastery of electronic gadgetry. Working from his own studios, Mad Professor has overseen more than two hundred albums including ground-breaking remixes for Massive Attack, Sade, and Pato Banton. Born in Guyana, Fraser earned the Mad Professor tag from his childhood fascination with electronics. At the age of nine or ten he built a radio from scratch. Moving to London at the age of thirteen, Mad Professor continued to experiment with electronics.
There is more than one artist with this name:
1) Dust is an angst-fueled hard rock power trio from New York. They had some early punk spirit while standing firm in what was to become metal. Self titled 1st lp released 1971. 2nd album "Hard Attack" released 1972. Bassist Kenny Aaronson went on to play with Rick Derringer and Blue Oyster Cult. Drummer Marc Bell eventually became Marky Ramone, the second drummer for The Ramones. Guitarist/producer Richie Wise went on to co-produce the first two KISS albums.
1. Dov is the person behind many of the past decades most dynamic underground labels incuding his own imprint: Muti Music, which has itself help define a whole new sound of the west coast.
Dov's music / DJ sets, ranges from urban bass driven breakbeats, mid-tempo, chill or crunky dancefloor bits to chunky four to the floor tracks that often still manage to sound a little broken with a somewhat 'garage' feel to them.
Midfield General, real name Damian Harris, is the original founder of the Skint Records label, which became the forerunner of the big success of Norman Cook's Fatboy Slim. Midfield General is the recording alias of Skint label boss Damian Harris. A prime architect of the sound of big beat, Harris grew up listening first to punk rock, then hip-hop, and finally acid house. He then moved to Brighton to study art, eventually taking work as a DJ while promoting clubs around the city.