A Japanese-born duo relocated to New York and christened with an Italian band name, Cibo Matto's music mirrored the melting-pot aesthetics of their origins, resulting in a heady brew of funk samples, hip-hop rhythms, tape loops, and fractured pop melodies all topped off by surreal narratives sung in a combination of French and broken English.... [+] Read More

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Japanese pop-noise savant Cornelius was born Keigo Oyamada in 1971; a self-taught guitarist inspired early on by Kiss and Black Sabbath, his musical alias was later chosen as an homage to the Planet of the Apes film series. A product of the same Shibuya-kei bubblegum scene that also gave rise to Pizzicato Five, Cornelius debuted in 1993 with the... [+] Read More

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Conceived as the first "virtual hip-hop group," Gorillaz blended the musical talents of Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, Blur's Damon Albarn, Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori, and Tom Tom Club's Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz with the arresting visuals of Jamie Hewlett, best known as the creator of the cult comic Tank Girl. Nakamura's Deltron 3030 cohorts... [+] Read More

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With its dark hip-hop-influenced alternative rock, Luscious Jackson recreates the dense, multicultural bohemian world of New York in a collage of sound, where Spanish guitars, jazzy keyboards, funky beats, and breathy, singsong vocals combine into one. Like Beastie Boys, Luscious Jackson's eclecticism doesn't acknowledge boundaries; instead, it... [+] Read More

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Godfathers of the Shibuya-kei scene, Tokyo kitsch-pop deconstructionists Pizzicato Five originally began taking shape as far back as 1979, when university students Yasuharu Konishi and Keitaro Takanami first met at a local music society meeting. Agreeing to form a band, they soon recruited fellow society member Ryo Kamamiya; their search for a... [+] Read More

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Though the Japan pop duo Puffy may be relatively unheard of in the U.S., they have achieved superstar status in Japan. Puffy, who are Yumi Yoshimura and Ami Onuki, originally busted onto Japan's pop music scene back in 1996 with their hit single "Asia No Junshin." Regularly appearing in magazines and on TV (even hosting their own show), Puffy... [+] Read More

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As the son of John Lennon, perhaps the most beloved Beatle, and avant-garde musician Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon was a celebrity before he had even begun his recording career. That may be the reason why he didn't choose straight-ahead pop as his musical vocation, like his half-brother Julian did. Instead, he cleverly positioned himself between pop and... [+] Read More

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Named after a small, Hungarian-made motor scooter, Solex is the project of Amsterdam-based record-shop owner and songwriter Elisabeth Esselink. Formerly a member of Dutch indie pop group Sonetic Vet, Esselink wanted to express her musical ideas more completely; after purchasing an 8-track recorder and a vintage sampler, Esselink began recording... [+] Read More

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The Minneapolis-based indie-pop duo Sukpatch comprised small-town Southerners Chris Heidman and Stephen Cruze, who created a novel amalgamation of lo-fi pop, samples, and hip-hop beats. The pair began recording songs at home on cheap equipment in the early '90s, passing cassettes of their work around to a circle of friends. Soon they were... [+] Read More

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