Amanda Lear first surfaced in the early '70s as a fetishistically clothed album-cover model for Roxy Music. She was said to be a transsexual but, as she told Interview magazine, that was just a ruse dreamed up by her sponsor, David Bowie, to draw attention. Her importance to disco fans, however, began in 1977, when she recorded I Am a Photograph... [+] Read More

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Until he began branching out in 1996 with a barrage of album productions and remix classics (several of which were heard by more people than the originals), Armand Van Helden was one of the best-kept secrets in house music, recording for such labels as Strictly Rhythm, Henry St., and Logic. Afterwards, he became one of the top names in dance... [+] Read More

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A member of Fat Joe's DITC crew, rapper Big L was born Lamont Coleman on May 30, 1974. He made his solo debut with 1995's Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, scoring a series of underground hits including "No Endz, No Skinz," "Street Struck" and "Da Graveyard"; Big L's best-known effort, the single "Ebonics," followed on his own Flamboyant label... [+] Read More

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DJ Irene released mix albums at a dizzying pace beginning in the late '90s. Just as dizzying was the pace of her mixing, which found her working through anywhere from 30 to 40 tracks during a given mix album. Much like Bad Boy Bill, Irene favored house music, but tended to make her records sound "hard" by pitching them up and mixing them... [+] Read More

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An agreeable dance outfit with ties to industrial music, techno, and funk plus an equally appreciable pop sense, Information Society hit the dance clubs and later the charts with their infectious breakout single, 1988's "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)." The group, a quartet formed in Minneapolis by James Cassidy, Paul Robb, Kurt Harland (aka... [+] Read More

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Belgian studio wizard Praga Khan produced several of the rave world's biggest hits, under his own name as well as in conjunction with band projects (Lords of Acid, Digital Orgasm, Channel X) masterminded by the MNO production team composed of Khan, producer Oliver Adams and vocalist Jade 4U. Born Maurice Engelen, Khan worked as a DJ in Belgium's... [+] Read More

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In addition to other playful monikers like Winx, Winc, J. Wink, Size 9, and others, Philly producer Josh Wink released some early singles in the mid-'90s as Wink. Later in the decade, once his full name developed brand equity, he dropped the many monikers and released most of his music as Josh Wink. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

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