Rainbow are a British rock supergroup, formed in London and Los Angeles in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Established in the aftermath of Blackmore's first departure from Deep Purple, they originally featured four members of the band Elf, including their singer Ronnie James Dio, but after their self-titled debut album, Blackmore fired these members, except Dio, recruiting drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboardist Tony Carey. This line-up recorded the band's second album Rising (1976), while Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) saw Bob Daisley and David Stone replace Bain and Carey, respectively. This was the last album with Dio before he left the band to join Black Sabbath in 1979.
Kayo Dot is an American avant-garde metal band. Formed in 2003 by Toby Driver after the break-up of maudlin of the Well, they released their debut album Choirs of the Eye on John Zorn's Tzadik Records that same year. Since then, Kayo Dot's lineup has drastically changed over the years. Toby Driver is the only founding member of the band still remaining, save for frequent lyrical contributions from former motW member Jason Byron. Up until 2011, the lineup was constantly shifting, and Kayo Dot's sound consistently changed over the years, featuring a wide variety of instrumentation including guitar, drums, bass, violin, saxophone, vibraphone, synthesizers, clarinets and flutes. Underground metal audiences warmly received the group upon its early existence, with the 2003 album Choirs of the Eye and the 2006 album Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue both becoming underground hits in the progressive metal scene.
Douglas "Doogie" White is a Scottish rock vocalist who currently sings for La Paz and Alcatrazz. He has also notably sung for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Tank.
Hawnay Troof is an American electronic indie band formed in late 2001.
Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label have included Burial, Cooly G, Dean Blunt, DJ Rashad, DVA, Fatima Al Qadiri, Ikonika, Jessy Lanza, Klein, Laurel Halo and Zomby.
James Blunt is a British singer, songwriter, and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After he left the military, he rose to fame in 2004 with the release of his debut album Back to Bedlam, achieving worldwide fame with the singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover".
Lars Christian Karlsson, also known by his stage name Bloodshy, is a Swedish record producer, DJ, and remixer known for his work with the musical groups Bloodshy and Avant, Miike Snow, Ingrid, and Galantis. He started his international music career as one half of the electro pop duo Bloodshy & Avant with Pontus Winnberg, producing and co-writing tracks for pop stars such as Madonna, BoA, Kylie Minogue, and Katy Perry. Bloodshy & Avant notably co-wrote and produced Britney Spears' single "Toxic", which earned them a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2005. While continuing to work with Bloodshy and Avant, Karlsson also became a member of the indie pop band Miike Snow around 2007. Miike Snow, the group's debut album, was released in 2009, and peaked at number 11 on the Top Electronic Albums chart in the United States. Miike Snow won the 2011 European Border Breakers Award, and their second album Happy to You reached No. 1 on the Belgian Heatseekers Albums Chart and 43 on the Billboard 200.
Ford & Lopatin is an American electronic duo composed of musicians Daniel Lopatin and Joel Ford. The group's sound draws on disparate genres such as 1980s synthpop and MIDI-funk, chopped and screwed production, 1970s fusion, and techno. They have released a number of original recordings and remix mixtapes, including the 2011 album Channel Pressure.
Brooks Young Band is a New England-based rock and blues band from Concord, New Hampshire fronted by lead vocalist/lead guitarist Brooks Young. Current band members include, guitar/backing vocals Mike Liane and bass guitar/backing vocals Charles (Chaz) Mitchell.
Hippos in Tanks was a record label founded in 2010 by Barron Machat and Travis Woolsey. The label specialized in electronic music. It was named the best label of 2011 by FACT. Following the death of Machat in 2015, The Fader praised the label for "laying the groundwork to an alternative template for the avant-garde." The label is no longer active.
James Ferraro is an American experimental musician, producer, composer and contemporary artist. He has been credited as a pioneer of the 21st century genres hypnagogic pop and vaporwave, with his work exploring themes related to hyperreality and consumer culture. His music has drawn on diverse styles such as 1980s electronic music, easy listening, drone, lo-fi, sound collage, and R&B.
Exo is the first studio album of Chicago-based electronic duo Gatekeeper, consisting of musicians Aaron David Ross and Matthew Arkell. It was released on July 17, 2012, on the label Hippos in Tanks. The EBM, IDM and acid techno album departs from the synth-heavy style of Gatekeeper's past releases, in that most of the melodies are performed by a sampler with a sound palette of high-definition Hollywood film sound effects. Gatekeeper was inspired to follow this HD aesthetic from an experience at World Heritage Sites which made them feel "really spiritual and charged up" to create the first track on the album, "IMAX." Exo was promoted with a visual exploration video game with environments designed by Internet artist Tabor Robak using the game engine Unity. Reviews for Exo from music journalists were favorable in general, holding an aggregate 70 out of 100 on Metacritic as of February 2017.
Far Side Virtual is a studio album by American electronic musician James Ferraro, released on October 25, 2011 by Hippos in Tanks. Conceived as a series of ringtones, the album marked Ferraro's transition from his previous lo-fi recording approach to a sharply produced, electronic aesthetic that deliberately evokes sources such as elevator music, corporate mood music, easy listening, and early computer sound design. The album has been interpreted as engaging with themes such as hyperreality, disposable consumer culture, 1990s retrofuturism, advertising, and musical kitsch.
Rain in England is the second studio album by American rapper Lil B, released through Weird Forest on September 21, 2010. Produced by Lil B under his persona "The Based God", Rain in England is unusual for the hip hop genre because it has no percussive beats. Instead, Lil B raps over new-age-style synthesizer music. The lyrical style, which finds Lil B speaking on topics like family, love and death, has been noted for its sincerity and reflectiveness.
Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental techniques such as musique concrète, aleatoric music, or eclecticism into pop contexts. Often, the compositional process involves the use of electronic production effects to manipulate sounds and arrangements, and the composer may draw the listener's attention specifically with both timbre and tonality, though not always simultaneously.
Roy Chukwuemeka Nnawuchi, better known by his pseudonym Dean Blunt, is a British singer-songwriter, musician and contemporary artist. He is best known for his current solo work as well as his previous work as part of avant-garde duo Hype Williams, and more recently, the hip hop group Babyfather. Blunt was also the founder of London rock band Graffiti Island. He has been described as "a prolific, category-rejecting artist" and "an art-pop provocateur."
One Nation is an album by British musical duo Hype Williams. It was released on 14 March 2011 through Hippos in Tanks record label.
The Redeemer is a studio album by British musician Dean Blunt, released in 2013 on Hippos in Tanks.
Black Is Beautiful is a studio album by Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland of the electronic duo Hype Williams, released in 2012 on Hyperdub.
Alina Astrova, better known by the recording aliases Lolina and Inga Copeland, is an Estonian experimental musician and singer living in London. In addition to her solo work, she collaborated with British musician Dean Blunt on various releases, including several albums as the duo Hype Williams from 2009 to 2012.
