Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world", and her vocals and singing style have been compared to English singer Kate Bush.
Catherine Elizabeth Pierson is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52s. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main keyboard player and performed on a keyboard bass during live shows and on many of the band's recordings, taking on a role usually filled by a bass guitar player, which differentiated the band from their contemporaries. This, along with Pierson's distinctive wide-ranging singing voice, remains a trademark of the B-52s' unique sound. Pierson has also collaborated with many other artists including the Ramones, Iggy Pop and R.E.M. Pierson possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range.
Christine Ellen Hynde is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band The Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the band's two remaining original members. Hynde is the only continuous member of the Pretenders, having appeared on every studio album released by the band.
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and achieved success beginning in the early 2000s. Her music is mainstream pop and dance with influences of disco, nu-disco, and 1980s electronic music.
Neneh Mariann Karlsson ; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk and post-punk bands in her youth, including the Slits and Rip Rig + Panic.
Robert Arthur Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.
Stephen Brian Street is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album Viva Hate following the split of the Smiths.
Anne Lilia Berge Strand, known professionally as Annie, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, record producer and DJ. She began her recording career in 1999 with the underground hit single "The Greatest Hit" and gained international acclaim, particularly from music bloggers, for her debut album Anniemal (2004).
Cynthia Leigh Wilson is an American musician and one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of new wave rock band the B-52's. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays percussion during live shows. She is the younger sister of the late guitarist Ricky Wilson (1953–1985), who was also a founding member of the band.
Siobhán Emma Donaghy is an English singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the girl group Sugababes. Donaghy left Sugababes in 2001 and released her debut solo album, Revolution in Me, in 2003. Her second studio album, Ghosts, was released in 2007 and met critical acclaim.
Hope Sandoval is an American singer-songwriter and the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Sandoval has toured and collaborated with other artists, including Massive Attack, for whom she sang "Paradise Circus" on the 2010 album Heligoland and the 2016 single "The Spoils".
NYPC are an English electronic music band from London. The band was formed by Andy Spence and Tahita Bulmer in 2004. Their influences are predominantly post-punk and new wave artists.
Fantastic Playroom is the debut studio album by English band New Young Pony Club. It was released on 6 July 2007 by Island Records. The album debuted at number 54 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 4,804 copies in its first week. As of March 2010, it had sold 32,986 copies in the United Kingdom. Fantastic Playroom was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2007, and the band performed "The Bomb" on the awards night.
Diana Gordon, formerly known as Wynter Gordon, is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career writing music for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she started to work on her own album. Her debut album With the Music I Die was released in 2011, with its lead single "Dirty Talk" receiving triple platinum and gold certifications in Australia and the United Kingdom. She began going by her birth name in 2016, and released the extended plays Pure (2018) and Wasted Youth (2020)
Chris While is an English songwriter, singer and musician, known particularly for her vocals and live performances. She has worked as a solo artist, a songwriter and as a member of a number of duos and groups. Her music is often classified as English folk, but contains strong American influences.
Morgan Grace Kibby is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former actress based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known as a member and collaborator of the French electronic group M83 between 2008 and 2015. Prior to joining M83, she was the frontwoman of the Romanovs, releasing one studio album in 2005. In 2014, Kibby began recording and releasing material under the moniker White Sea.
Phillipa Margaret "Pip" Brown, better known by her stage name Ladyhawke, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She took her stage name from Richard Donner's 1985 film Ladyhawke.
The Optimist is the second studio album by English band New Young Pony Club. It was released on 5 March 2010 on the band's label The Numbers, distributed by the PIAS Entertainment Group. The album showcases a darker, more emotive sound for the band. The songs "Oh Cherie" and "Lost a Girl" were used, respectively, in the third and fourth episodes of the fourth season of Gossip Girl.
Michelle Nicole Creber is a Canadian actress and singer.
Sarah Jones is an English musician based in London, best known for her work as a session and touring drummer. She is a founding member of NYPC, and has also served as a touring drummer for musicians such as Aynsley Lister, Harry Styles, Bat for Lashes, post-punk revival band Bloc Party, and synthpop band Hot Chip. Additionally, she has released several solo singles under the moniker Pillow Person. In 2020, she played drums on the Puscifer album Existential Reckoning.
