WAnimal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2003. Its members and founders are Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin, and Geologist. The band's music is characterized by studio experimentation, vocal harmonies, and an exploration of various genres which include freak folk, noise rock, ambient drone, and psychedelia. Records released under the name "Animal Collective" may include contributions from any or all of its members. In the case of Dibb, who often takes breaks from recording and performing with the band, his time off does not constitute full leave.
WBjörk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, and DJ. Over her four-decade career, she has developed an eclectic musical style that draws on a range of influences and genres spanning electronic, pop, experimental, trip hop, classical, and avant-garde music.
WCatherine Bush is an English singer, songwriter, musician, dancer and record producer. In 1978, aged 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song. She has since released 25 UK Top 40 singles, including the Top 10 hits "The Man with the Child in His Eyes", "Babooshka", "Running Up That Hill", "Don't Give Up", and "King of the Mountain". All 10 of her studio albums reached the UK Top 10, including the UK number-one albums Never for Ever (1980), Hounds of Love (1985), and the compilation The Whole Story (1986). She was the first British solo female artist to top the UK album charts and the first female artist to enter the album chart at number one.
WCharlotte Emma Aitchison, known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer, songwriter, music video director, and record producer. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery by a promoter who invited her to perform at warehouse raves and parties. In 2010, she signed a recording contract with Asylum Records, releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout 2011 and 2012.
WBradford James Cox is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound.
WThe High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish avant-pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group since its formation. Their music is often compared to the Beach Boys, a band he acknowledges as an influence, although more prominent influences were drawn from bossa nova and European film soundtracks.
WDaniel Dale Johnston was an American singer-songwriter and visual artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded alone in his home, and his music was frequently cited for its "pure" and "childlike" qualities.
WJohn Maus is an American musician, composer, singer, and songwriter known for his baritone singing style and his use of vintage synthesizer sounds and Medieval church modes, a combination that often draws comparisons to 1980s goth-pop. His early lo-fi recordings anticipated and inspired the late 2000s hypnagogic pop movement. On stage, he is characterized for his intense displays of emotion while performing. He is also a former teacher of philosophy at the University of Hawaii, where he later earned his PhD in political science.
WMercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker (vocals), Jonathan Donahue, Sean Mackowiak, known as "Grasshopper", Suzanne Thorpe (flute), Dave Fridmann (bass) and Jimy Chambers (drums).
WNicholas "Nick" Currie, more popularly known under the artist name Momus, is a Scottish songwriter, author, blogger, and former journalist for Wired.
WRóisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer. She first became known in the 1990s as one-half of the UK-Irish trip hop duo Moloko with her partner Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, Murphy embarked on a solo career, releasing her debut solo album, Ruby Blue, written and produced with experimental musician Matthew Herbert, to critical praise in 2005. Her second solo album, Overpowered, was released in 2007.
WMy Bloody Valentine are an experimental rock band formed in Dublin in 1983. Since 1987, its lineup has consisted of founding members Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig, with Bilinda Butcher and Debbie Googe (bass). Their music is best known for its merging of dissonant guitar textures, androgynous vocals, and unorthodox production techniques. They helped to pioneer the alternative rock subgenre known as shoegazing during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
WBobuck, Charles. "Synth City". Hardy Fox.
WRoxy Music were an English rock band that was formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead singer and main songwriter—and bass guitarist Graham Simpson. Alongside Ferry, the other longtime members were Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay, and Paul Thompson. Other members included Brian Eno, Eddie Jobson, and John Gustafson (bass). Although the band took a break from group activities in 1976 and again in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and toured together intermittently over the next few years. Ferry frequently enlisted band members as session musicians for his solo releases.
WScritti Politti is a British band, originally formed in 1977 in Leeds, England, by Welsh singer-songwriter Green Gartside. He is the only member of the band to have remained throughout the group's history.
WSlapp Happy was a German/English avant-pop group, formed in Germany in 1972. Their lineup consisted of Anthony Moore (keyboards), Peter Blegvad (guitar) and Dagmar Krause (vocals). The band members moved to England in 1974 where they merged with Henry Cow, but the merger ended soon afterwards and Slapp Happy split up. Slapp Happy's sound was characterised by Dagmar Krause's unique vocal style. From 1982 there have been brief reunions to create an opera called Camera, record the album Ça Va in 1998, and perform shows around the world.
WRichard Mclean Giese, known professionally as Social Repose, is an American singer, songwriter and YouTube personality.
WSpookey Ruben is a Canadian musician, producer, songwriter, composer, and filmmaker. Best known for his song and music video "These Days Are old", Spookey's songwriting and eccentric production techniques often contrast high and low vocals, analogue keyboards, found sounds, sampled beats and stringed instruments such as electric and Spanish guitar. Spookey has released seven full-length solo albums.
WStereolab are an English-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. On stage, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. The band also draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first artists to be dubbed "post-rock". They are regarded among the most innovative and influential groups of the 1990s.
WThe Sugarcubes were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk, Einar Örn Benediktsson, Þór Eldon (guitar), Bragi Ólafsson (bass), Margrét "Magga" Örnólfsdóttir (keyboards) and Sigtryggur Baldursson (drums).
WBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits for the group. In addition to his unorthodox approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, Wilson is known for his lifelong struggles with mental illness. He is often referred to as a genius and is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the late 20th century.
WFrank Vincent Zappa was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity, and satire of American culture. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works, and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse rock musicians of his era.