Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. A form of slow instrumental music, it uses repetitive, but gentle, soothing sound patterns that can be described as sonic wallpaper to complement or alter one’s space and to generate a sense of calmness. The genre is said to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual", or "unobtrusive" quality.
Sigur Rós are an Icelandic avant-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. Known for their ethereal sound, frontman Jónsi's falsetto vocals, and the use of bowed guitar, the band's music incorporates classical and minimal aesthetic elements. The band has also incorporated grandiose orchestral arrangements, on records such as Takk... and Valtari. In recent years, the musical style of Sigur Ros has shifted closer to a more conventional post rock sound, with records such as Kveikur.
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago, Illinois and founded by Groovie Mann and Buzz McCoy. They became known in the 1980s as pioneers of the industrial music genre – although by the early 1990s they had changed to a more disco-oriented sound – and as a frequent target of censorship groups, including the PMRC, which objected to the band's humorous and satirical references to Satan, Jesus and sex in their song lyrics and stage shows.
Zeke is an American hardcore punk band from Seattle, Washington formed in 1992. They are known for their extremely fast, energetic guitar sound. Zeke mixes this with strong influences from hard rock, and occasionally blues rock, and are often compared to Motörhead.
Tom Holkenborg, also known by his stage name Junkie XL or occasionally JXL, is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer.
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of unclean vocalist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc "Porter" McKnight, and drummer/clean vocalist Brandon Saller.
Jim Guthrie is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded both as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Islands, Royal City and Human Highway. He has also composed music for TV ads and video games, and has scored multiple films including Indie Game: The Movie, A Short History of the Highrise, and The Bodybuilder and I.
The Academy Is... was an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003. Before disbanding, they were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as "The Academy", but added the "Is..." in 2004 to avoid legal complications with other established bands already under that name. The band released three studio albums, Almost Here, Santi, and Fast Times at Barrington High, and four EPs. The band announced its break-up on 8 October 2011. In May 2015, lead singer William Beckett announced that the band would reunite at Riot Fest 2015 in Chicago. In addition the core members of the band Beckett, Mike Carden and Adam Siska, as well as Andy Mrotek and Ian Crawford, reunited for a farewell tour that took place during December 2015.
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after guitarist Hoopes' automobile, a Plymouth Reliant K car, with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name.
Space music, also called spacemusic, is a subgenre of new-age music and is described as "tranquil, hypnotic and moving". It is derived from ambient music and is associated with lounge music, easy listening, and elevator music.
Wendy & Lisa are a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band The Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasing their debut album in 1987. In recent years they have turned their attention to writing music for film and television and have won an Emmy Award.
New Cassettes are a five piece indie rock band from Northampton, England, formed in 2005.
White Shoes & the Couples Company is an Indonesian pop band from Jakarta, Indonesia. The band are currently signed to both Indonesian label Aksara Records and American independent label Minty Fresh based in Chicago. Their music is influenced by Indonesian film soundtracks from the 1970s, 1930s jazz and 1960s pop music.
Sore is a Jakarta-based indie band formed in 2002. The band was originally formed by Ade Paloh, Mondo Gascaro and Awan Garnida. They have been close friends since childhood. Other two members, Bemby Gusti and Reza Dwiputranto, were brought in by Awan Garnida.
she is a musical project formed in 2003 by the Polish artist, producer and musician Lain Trzaska, and is sometimes credited as shemusic, Lain Volta. As its main producer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Lain is the only official member, but he brings in vocalists to perform.
Kartika Jahja is better known by her nickname, Tika. She is an independent singer-songwriter with the band Tika and The Dissidents as well as an activist on the issue of gender and sexuality. Outside of music and activism, she is also a published writer, actress, and entrepreneur. In November 2016, she made the list of "BBC 100 Women" which is a list of the 100 most inspiring and influential women from around the globe.
Woob is the stage name of Paul Frankland, a British ambient musician who started recording in the early 1990s. Woob’s albums combine elements of ambient, downtempo and space music, with samples from field recordings, movies and television. Frankland has also recorded under the names of Journeyman and Max & Harvey. After a period working in the advertising industry, he started releasing new material as Woob in 2010.
Phantogram is an American music duo from Greenwich, New York, formed in 2007 and consisting of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel.
Wildling is an indie rock band from Los Angeles, California signed to Warner Bros. Records. The band was formed in 2014 by members Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya, who were originally signed to RCA Records as the band Test Your Reflex from 2004-2009, and also recorded music under the name No Country as well as Low Shoulder (2009-2014).
