Although dance duo Arling & Cameron are based in Amsterdam, perhaps their closest musical affiliation lies in the eclectic late-'90s Japanese lounge/dance/pop scene. Gerry Arling and Richard Cameron first got together in 1994, when they threw a so-called "Easy Tune" series of parties in Amsterdam; singles culled from the shows were released on... [+] Read More

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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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The most producer-driven act in the Japanese pop movement known as Shibuya-kei, Fantastic Plastic Machine was formed by Tomoyuki Tanaka. Though he has the basic stylistic tastes requisite of the Shibuya-kei artist (namely lounge music, bossa nova, French pop and soft rock), Tanaka has more of a club mentality, driven by his long experience as a... [+] Read More

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Though she now resides in Paris, Japanese singer/songwriter Kahimi Karie is still linked with the stylish, ultra-hip look and sound of Tokyo's Shibuya district, which also inspired like-minded artists such as Fantastic Plastic Machine, Pizzicato Five and Cornelius.

In particular, Cornelius (a.k.a. Keigo Oyamada) had a lot to do with... [+] 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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Taking their name from a Mexican lesbian vampire comic-book heroine, the avant-lounge quartet Sukia emerged from Los Angeles' famed Silverlake scene (the same musical community home to Beck, the Beastie Boys, and the Dust Brothers). Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Sasha Fuentes, Ross Harris, Grace Marks, and Craig Borrell, Sukia combined... [+] 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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Super Furry Animals were one of the first post-alternative bands, fusing together a number of disparate musical genres -- including power pop, punk rock, techno, and progressive rock -- creating a shimmering, melodic, irreverent, and willfully artsy rock & roll. As one of the leading bands of the mid-'90s Welsh movement, they were already tagged... [+] Read More

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