One of the most inventive and eclectic figures to emerge from the '90s alternative revolution, Beck was the epitome of postmodern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture. Drawing upon a kaleidoscope of influences -- pop, folk, psychedelia, hip-hop, country, blues, R&B, funk, indie rock, noise rock, experimental rock, jazz, lounge, Brazilian... [+] Read More

Yes No

0 out of 1 people agree

More apt to cite stately rock paragons Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson as their inspirations than Derrick May or Aphex Twin, the French duo Air gained inclusion into the late-'90s electronica surge due chiefly to the labels their recordings appeared on, not the actual music they produced. Their sound, a variant of the classic disco sound coaxed... [+] Read More

Yes No

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

Yes No

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

Yes No

Compared to his cohorts in the new wave of French dance music, Dimitri from Paris looks much farther afield for his influences. While both Air and Daft Punk make much of their affection for the music of the 1970s (prog and disco, respectively), Monsieur Dimitri's inspiration comes from the Continental jet-setting faux-jazz of the 1950s and early... [+] Read More

Yes No

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

Yes No

Singer/songwriter Takako Minekawa stands apart from many of the other female recording artists from Japan. Instead of creating faceless, saccharine pop, Minekawa crafts her unique brand of pop from her personal obsessions -- cats, keyboards, French pop -- and her sweet, girlish voice.

A child movie and TV star in Japan, Minekawa was... [+] Read More

Yes No

Tri-continental ambient lounge group the Gentle People are a bizarre amalgam of influences and affinities, combining the esoteric club culture of the 1990s with the cocktails-and-tiki-trinkets kitsch of the 1950s, hitting just about every opportunity for nostalgic, cheesball second-hand embarrassment in between. Signed in the U.K. to Richard... [+] Read More

Yes No

Japanese-born DJ Towa Tei first earned notice for his production work on the Jungle Brothers' 1989 LP Done by the Forces of Nature; the following year he shot to fame as a member of the downtown New York club trio Deee-Lite, scoring an international hit with the classic "Groove Is in the Heart." After two LP's, 1990's World Clique and 1992's... [+] Read More

Yes No