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<title>Top Techno Artists on Rhapsody Online</title>
<dateCreated>Mon Nov 30 18:06:43 PST 2009</dateCreated>
<dateModified>Mon Nov 30 18:06:43 PST 2009</dateModified>
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<outline type="include" text="Moby" description="A revered, recognizable figure on the dance music scene since the early '90s, the enigmatic producer/DJ Moby was catapulted into mainstream stardom with the 1999 release of &lt;I&gt;Play&lt;/I&gt;. A surprise hit, &lt;I&gt;Play&lt;/I&gt; delved into highly personal areas in a downtempo vein never before explored in any of his previous releases. A master of such styles as techno, house, trance, ambient and breakbeat to name just a few, Moby is blessed with the ability to strike a sincere, emotive chord with a wide range of dance music devotees.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Electronica/Dance" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/moby/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Aphex Twin" description="Aphex Twin follows Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Describing his music becomes a web of contradictions. For every violent and vitriolic &quot;Come to Daddy,&quot; there is an absurd children's song such as &quot;Milkman.&quot; For every acid anthem (&quot;Digeridoo&quot;), there is a frazzled complex of rhythms (&quot;INKEY$&quot;). For every surging, grinning dance track such as &quot;Donkey Rhubarb,&quot; there is the near stillness of &quot;Weathered Stone&quot; or &quot;Parallel Stripes.&quot; A track-by-track breakdown may not equate a balance of yin and yang, but throughout his career as Aphex Twin, AFX, Caustic Window, Polygon Window, the Dice Man and countless other pseudonyms, Richard D. James has created what is perhaps the widest spectrum of electronic sound by a single artist.
- Marc Kate" category="Leftfield/IDM" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/aphex-twin/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Crystal Castles" description="Crystal Castles are an electropop duo from Toronto. Members include multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass, who mix 8-bit electro with punk and new wave. Their first single, &quot;Alice Practice,&quot; was the result of an accidental recording made during a microphone test and then released on the band's MySpace page. The single was then picked up by Parisian tastemaker label Kitsune for its &lt;i&gt;Kitsune Maison Compilation 4&lt;/i&gt;. The Canadians have since become hot commodities on the international club circuit and toured with Australian electronic group the Presets. They have also done popular remixes for Bloc Party, Klaxons and Uffie. In 2008, they released a self-titled debut, a messy collision of electronic noise and dance-rock, which some have labeled as &quot;new rave&quot;.
- Dan Shumate" category="Electropop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/crystal-castles/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="MSTRKRFT" description="Sprung from the loins of Death from Above 1979, MSTRKRFT are rockers on a disco mission. Beginning in 2004, the duo -- comprised of DFA1979's Jesse Keeler and the group's producer Al-P (Al Puoudziukas) -- started earning notoriety for its remixes of bands like Panthers, the Kills and the Gossip; in 2006 MSTRKRFT moved into original productions with the album &lt;I&gt;The Looks&lt;/I&gt; and related singles. Their frequent DJ gigs -- including a tour with John Digweed -- have confirmed their commitment to the dance floor, while their many remix credits (for Bloc Party, Justice, Chromeo D.I.M., even Usher and Kylie Minogue) have confirmed their stature in the &quot;blog-house&quot; scene. In 2008, they continued to expand their sound with &quot;Bounce,&quot; featuring the rapper N.O.R.E.. The single, a thuggish crunk-up of grinding electro-house, came with remixes from Bloody Beetroots and Felix Cartal.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Alt Dance" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mstrkrft/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Knife" description="Since 1999, Swedish siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer have made fractured dance-pop as the Knife. Notoriously mysterious, the duo is never photographed without masks on, and until recently refused to perform live. Greater stateside interest in the pair's music, which followed on the heels of critical praise throughout Europe, lead to increased exposure, as well as the domestic release of its 2006 stunner, &lt;i&gt;Silent Shout&lt;/i&gt;.
- Garrett Kamps" category="Laptronica" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-knife/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Peaches" description="Canadian electro-punk star Peaches boomed onto the dance scene with her raucous rap style and vulgar brand of overtly-sexual pop tunes. With cutting-edge electronic drum beats and indulgent guitar riffs, Peaches' 2006 album, &lt;i&gt;Impeach My Bush&lt;/i&gt;, brought a hard-hitting, raw vibe to electronic rock. The former music teacher turned fowl-mouthed rocker sings about dirty sex, politics and the art of partying. Known for her over-the-top &quot;KISS-style&quot; live shows and extravagant stage fashion, Peaches' hard-hitting music is all about fun. She has even collaborated with artists like Joan Jett, Beth Ditto and Leslie Feist. Peaches' upfront, in-your-face songs aim to raise hell and take no prisoners.
- Jamie Sanchez" category="Electroclash" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/peaches/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Underworld" description="With a groundbreaking sound that obliterates the dividing lines between Techno, Trance and Breakbeat stylings, Underworld bury a subtle Indie Rock attitude slightly beneath the textural surface of their blissful synthetic insanity. With the drop of each new release, this U.K. sensation proves their worthiness as one of the most innovative and important dance fusion acts of the 1990s. Accredited as heavy hitters in the struggle to bring dance music to the attention of the mainstream, electronica darlings Underworld continue to draw an impressive fanbase on both the international club scene and the airwaves with their widely influential style that blends electronic intricacy with king-size, floor-friendly grooves.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Electronica/Dance" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/underworld/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Deadmau5" description="Sure, Deadmau5 wears a big red mouse head during his live shows, but that's not the only reason that the Toronto native is one of dance music's most popular producers, especially among DJs. It's his musical style that's truly attention-grabbing: Drawing tricks from electro-house, progressive and minimal, he composes big, burly tunes that absolutely own dancefloors. With his music, what you hear is what you get -- chugging rhythms, emotive synths and gnarly bass lines are his stock in trade, and any element that doesn't raise the heart rate gets left on the cutting room floor. But there is another level to Deadmau5 music. As talented an engineer as he is a composer, every sound in his music jumps out of the speakers and lodges itself deep inside you, with precision and ferocity. His bass lines are designed to rock stadiums, but you can feel their power right at home.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Tech-House" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/deadmau5/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Fischerspooner" description="Fischerspooner are one of those bands that cause critics to froth at the mouth. When the duo's debut, &lt;I&gt;#1&lt;/I&gt;, came out in the U.K. in 2002, &lt;I&gt;NME&lt;/I&gt; proclaimed the group, &quot;the best thing to happen to music since electricity.&quot; A grand statement, but Fischerspooner did indeed shake up electro pop, using their now-notorious live show to create a buzz as loud and deviant as the synthesizers that slither through their first single &quot;Emerge.&quot; Their performances are over-the-top, elaborately costumed and choreographed glam extravaganzas that mix the best and worst of pop culture, Vegas glitz and art house attitude. At the center of the spectacle stand Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner (hence &quot;Fischerspooner&quot;), who met in Chicago at art school. They reconnected later in New York City, and performed their first show at a Starbucks in the East Village. Fischerspooner have since left those latte days behind, and now associate with a crowd more likely to be sipping, say, grapefruit martinis. They've collaborated with Kylie Minogue, David Bowie, Karl Lagerfeld, Terry Richardson and Stefane Sednaoui, and the 2003 opening of FS Studios, a performance and production space in Brooklyn, should inject some more blood (faux, of course) into Fischerspooner's short -- but so far very glittery -- legacy.
- Mia Quagliarello" category="Electroclash" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/fischerspooner/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Orbital" description="With an ear for delicate electronic textures and earth-shattering breaks, Orbital became an unrivaled force in dance music in the 1990s. As likely to drop a crass sample as a gently caressing synthline, their elaborate tracks are orchestrated with incredible attention to minute detail but often fit into the greater whole of an album's worth of material. They move from chill room atmospheres of tickling rhythms and feather-light melodies to ripping beats that rebound against frazzled synthlines. Orbital never descend into New Age fluff or hardcore macho aggression. While their tracks are exacting demonstrations of studio mastery and performance wit, they achieve equilibrium between mindful headphone music and kinetic body inspiration. Phil and Paul Hartnoll's final release as Orbital is 2004's &lt;I&gt;Blue Album&lt;/I&gt;.
- Marc Kate" category="Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/orbital/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Chromeo" description="Analog synth wizards Chromeo create '80s-inspired electro-funk that combines sleek, melodic rhythms with a dash of rock. Best friends since their childhood years, Montreal natives P-Thugg and Dave 1 write music that oozes with sex appeal. Their love for vintage synthesizers, mad guitar solos and skilled songwriting has gained them worldwide attention
- Jamie Sanchez" category="Electro-Funk" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/chromeo/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="William Orbit" description="Each blissed-out release from Grammy award-winning producer William Orbit is like an invitation on a journey where the ultimate destination is an intimate meeting between the listener and the universe. Although he is widely regarded as one of the most well-known purveyors of ambient-related dance styles, the elusive Orbit accepts the limelight with modest reluctance. Responsible for introducing Madonna to the future of mainstream music with her critically-acclaimed 1998 release &lt;I&gt;Ray of Light&lt;/I&gt; and introducing another facet of Brit-Pop favorite Blur's sound on &lt;I&gt;13&lt;/I&gt;, Orbit's list of production credits are as distinguished as they are long. As a solo artist, this chill-out master constructs boundless soundscapes sewn together with lavish strings and sweet moves to create a trance-inducing experience that is cosmically epic, awe-inspiring and spiritually enlightening.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Downtempo" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/william-orbit/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Juno Reactor" description="Gentle, solid bass pulsation lifts you higher and higher out of your body, lightening the load for your limbs to swim through thick waves of foamy analog streams. Acoustic percussion is intertwined with beats that are essentially electric, resulting in a mixture of organic and synthetic hallucinogens that share synergy and unpredictability. No journey, whether it be to the kitchen, the warehouse, to Goa, deeper into the self, or otherwise should be predictable, but rather a constant, lifting rush of input. Juno Reactor is that sensation: a welcome bombardment of rhythmic intensity and psychedelic enlightenment." category="Psytrance" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/juno-reactor/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Orb" description="The Orb is perhaps the best-known name in mainstream Ambient music, and for all the right reasons. Since the end of the 1980s, Alex Paterson and a changing list of collaborators have produced chilled-out, ecstatic grooves and fluffy, flowing remixes for dancers greeting the dawn. Their output is every bit as brilliant and stunning as the rising sun after a long night of physical flow and endless four/four pounding. Multicolored synth lines run like a watercolor palette in the rain. They layer blissful selections from Pink Floyd, Minnie Riperton, Ennio Morricone and Rickie Lee Jones to create a harmonious pastiche of original music, seamless samples and astute dialog. As the Orb's pulsating harmonies weave self-contained ecosystems of sound, delirious beats climb up the mix like vines, heavy with sweet fruit, ready for plucking.
- Marc Kate" category="Ambient House" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-orb/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Thom Yorke" description="Radiohead head Thom Yorke releases his first solo effort -- a haunting, digitized lament that zeroes in on the nearly mystical tension his other project broke ground with.
- Jonathan Zwickel" category="Laptronica" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/thom-yorke/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Calvin Harris" description="Displaying the kind of hubris that only a 23-year-old can muster, Scotland's Calvin Harris launched his career with the cheekily titled 2007 album &lt;I&gt;I Created Disco&lt;/I&gt;. The title may have been slightly off-base (newsflash: Diddy didn't invent the remix, either), but Harris' LCD Soundsystem-inspired electro-funk was still punchy enough to catch the attention of Kylie Minogue, who enlisted him to co-write and produce two songs on her 2007 album, &lt;I&gt;X&lt;/I&gt;. In 2008, Harris officially broke out of the electro-pop underground with &quot;Dance Wiv Me,&quot; a collaboration with Dizzee Rascal that debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. pop charts. Harris' sophomore album, &lt;I&gt;Ready for the Weekend&lt;/I&gt;, appeared in 2009. Like his debut, it's carefree and eager to please, but it boasts polished-up production skills and a range that takes in '80s funk, French house, trance-infused Euro-pop and even a smidgen of rock 'n' roll.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Electropop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/calvin-harris/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Jega" description="Along with associate Manchester electronic musicians like Autechre and SKAM labelmates Gescom and VVM, Dylan Nathan's Jega is an incredibly complicated structure of sharp, angular rhythms that precariously support teetering Synth Pop keyboard lines. He creates the jittery seizures of Drum 'n' Bass with cool Electro beats, and the staccato attack of his rhythms are the 303 equivalent of a machine gun emptying its clip into the air after being dropped on its buttstock. While these blips and bleeps fire off with alarming irregularity, Nathan coats them in both charming coolness and humorous awkwardness. The mathematics engineering of his music betrays his training as an musical architect -- he builds a near-prison for Techno. But Jega is no Panopticon, for there is no discernable center or perspective. All sight lines are obfuscated.
- Marc Kate" category="Bleep" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/jega/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="iio" description="" category="Dance Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/iio-4/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Guru Josh Project" description="" category="Electronica/Dance" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/guru-josh-project/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Squarepusher" description="Tom Jenkinson's alter ego, Squarepusher, aims straight for the techno jugular. Experiments in electronic glitch and manic sound collage dominate, with nods to noise, neo-jazz and drum 'n' bass. Jenkinson grew up with the sounds of jazz greats Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Art Blakey playing around the house. The son of a jazz drummer, Jenkinson is a skilled bassist and multi-instrumentalist whose experimental listening music was first discounted by some who felt his music was a perversion of jungle and drum 'n' bass. However, after releasing a debut album through Richard D. James' Rephlex label, Squarepusher found an audience among post-acid house fans. In 1995, Squarepusher joined Warp Records, where he's remained ever since, continuing to confound and delight with every record. A trickster he may be, but he's serious about his restless quest for re-invention.
- Jamie Sanchez" category="Leftfield/IDM" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/squarepusher/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Simian Mobile Disco" description="London's Simian Mobile Disco grew out of the indie rock band Simian, whose song &quot;We Are Your Friends&quot; catapulted them into the indie dance spotlight on the strength of Justice's well-loved remix. As S.M.D., James Ford and James Shaw abandoned most of their rock trappings in favor of an indie dance sound with roots in '80s synth-pop and acid house. They grew their rep with frequent appearances on Paris' Kitsune label before breaking out with their debut longplayer in 2007. Titled in homage to synthesizer waveforms, &lt;I&gt;Attack Sustain Decay Release&lt;/I&gt; swirls together bits of Phuture, New Order, Zapp and other retro touchstones without ever losing its freshness. At a time when peers like Justice were redefining electro as a genre to be measured in headbanging intensity, &lt;I&gt;A.D.S.R.&lt;/I&gt; stood out for its relative restraint. Simian Mobile Disco returned in 2009 with &lt;I&gt;Temporary Pleasure&lt;/I&gt;, on which cameos from Jamie Lidell, Beth Ditto, Gruff Rhys and Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor -- plus forays into freestyle, techno and EBM -- helped expand the group's already ambitious range.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Electropop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/simian-mobile-disco/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Miss Kittin" description="Caroline Herve grew up in Grenoble, France, listening to her parents' record collection -- a splendid mix of Genesis, Supertramp, Miles Davis, Maria Callas, Pink Floyd and the Beatles. Her introduction to the world of electronica took place during the early 1990s European rave scene, when she danced to the KLF, LFO, Aphex Twin and Autechre. It was in pursuit of her own interpretation of this sound that she met the Hacker (Michel Amato) in a Grenoble club. Her career as a DJ began as the result of an argument with a boyfriend over correct technique. He challenged her to prove her point, which she did on the first try, which is not surprising given that one of her hallmarks as a performer is a Digweed-esque precision behind the decks. The first records she bought to play out were Richie Hawtin's &lt;I&gt;Fuse&lt;/I&gt; and Robert Hood's &lt;I&gt;The Protein Valve.&lt;/I&gt; It took her three months to earn enough money at her job as a supermarket cashier to buy a secondhand pair of Technics decks, both of which she still uses. As the gigs started to pile up all over Europe, she recorded &quot;Frank Sinatra&quot; in 2000 with the Hacker, and sent a copy to DJ Hell. Their timing was perfect -- the brittle electro beats and her flat deadpan Flying Lizards-style vocals combined to create a club anthem. The naughty lyrics didn't hurt either, and soon Felix da Housecat was calling for vocal help on &quot;Silver Screen Shower Scene,&quot; positioning the now-dubbed Miss Kittin as a leader in the electroclash genre. Never one to be pigeonholed, her style moved closer to techno, and she took a residency at Sven Vath's Cocoon club in Frankfurt, where she showcased her infatuation with leftfield IDM, classic house and old disco. Her key releases, &lt;I&gt;First Album&lt;/I&gt; (2002) and &lt;I&gt;I Com&lt;/I&gt; (2004), express more of the electro side of her musical canon, but experiencing her live performance is quite different. Her gigs are evenings of wild abandon with funky beats, tunes from across the decades and flawless mixing, while she sings live over the top of it all, driving the crowd crazy with her look-but-don't-touch DJ diva style.
- Nicholas Baker" category="Electropop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/miss-kittin/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Future Sound of London" description="Having originally made their mark producing club-oriented dance hits like &quot;Stakker&quot; and the classic &quot;Papua New Guinea,&quot; the duo of Brian Dougans and Gary Cobain has since incorporated nearly every innovation in electronic music into their creations. Progressing from the pulsing, trance-inducing Techno of &lt;I&gt;Accelerator&lt;/I&gt; through the ambient constructions of &lt;I&gt;Lifeforms&lt;/I&gt; to the twisted breakbeats of their more recent albums, FSOL have shown an omnivorous interest in sound and the different ways it can be combined. They bring a truly experimental attitude to what is often a convention-bound form, and their records are always an adventure, breaking fresh sonic ground and then moving on to the next challenge. The music is never difficult for its own sake; in fact, what makes FSOL so successful is the way they integrate their sonic investigations into a funky, listener-friendly format. Their releases are always accessible and danceable, allowing them to present new ideas more easily -- and pushing the whole scene forward as they do so.
- Mike Schulman" category="Beats &amp; Breaks" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/future-sound-of-london/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Sounds from the Ground" description="The U.K.'s Elliot Morgan-Jones and Nick Woolfson unite their sonic trance-inducing techniques under the moniker Sounds from the Ground. &quot;Drawn to the Woman,&quot; a track from the 1996 Waveform Records release &lt;I&gt;Kin&lt;/I&gt; features dreamy melodies swirling around downbeat rhythms like fog gathering over a cityscape on fast forward. Silky female spoken word vocal samples slink in and out of the celestial mix like expensive lingerie. Inspiring lyrics and delicate bouts of giggles waft up from a pool of earthy ambient bliss. Though best utilized as a soundtrack for the steamy scenes of yet another &quot;9 1/2 Weeks,&quot; the digital, electric edge on these soft grooves maintain a chill-out appeal for intimate rooms.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Ambient Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/sounds-from-the-ground/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Zombie Nation" description="Zombie Nation enjoys the rare position of being famous even to millions of people who have no idea of his existence. That's thanks to his song &quot;Kernkraft 400,&quot; a minimalist electro track from 1999 that inexplicably went on to become a sports-event anthem. But there's a lot more to Zombie Nation's Florian Senfter than &lt;I&gt;Jock Jams&lt;/I&gt;. Drawing from both classic electro's clean, machine-set cadences and the murkier sonics of experimental techno, Senfter has carved out an idiosyncratic body of work. Having established his electro credentials with 1999's &lt;I&gt;Leichenschmaus&lt;/I&gt; and its runaway hit, he returned in 2002 with &quot;Unload,&quot; an Italo-disco vamp featuring Berlin minimal-house diva Cassy Britton. In 2006, sophomore album &lt;I&gt;Black Toys&lt;/I&gt; offered a richer vision, with fluid arrangements and somber tones offsetting brittle rhythms and overdriven synths. The album sounds like a missing link between Kompakt's brand of electro-pop and Britain's cheekier breakbeat enthusiasts. In 2009, Zombie Nation returned with &lt;I&gt;Zombielicious&lt;/I&gt;, a brash collection of galloping jams with its zombie eye clearly focused on fans of LCD Soundsystem and Justice.
- Philip Sherburne" category="U.K./Euro Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/zombie-nation/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="The Black Dog" description="Animating Detroit techno and electro-funk with the streamlined machinery of their native Sheffield, the Black Dog helped develop the style that would come to be known as intelligent dance music (IDM), along with Autechre and Aphex Twin. In its first incarnation, as Black Dog Productions, the group was comprised of Ken Downie, Ed Handley and Andy Turner. In the early '90s, they released several singles and LPs that challenged the coarsening U.K. rave scene with a more refined, even delicate approach. &lt;I&gt;Temple of Transparent Balls&lt;/I&gt; and &lt;I&gt;Parallel&lt;/I&gt; were heralded as instant classics (and for many years the out-of-print records fetched obscene prices at auction). In 1995, they joined the Warp label, recorded two albums and promptly split up, with Downie retaining control of the Black Dog name and Handley and Turner going on to found Plaid (also signed to Warp). Downie experimented with several lineups and took an extended hiatus before returning in 2005, now allied with Dust Science's Martin and Richard Dust; 2008 saw them reissuing a number of classic BDP albums via Glasgow's Soma label, as well as the &lt;I&gt;Detroit Vs. Sheffield&lt;/I&gt; EP, featuring remixes from Robert Hood.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Leftfield/IDM" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/the-black-dog/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Gui Boratto" description="Brazilian electronic composer Gui Boratto began his career as a producer, remixer and engineer for artists including country hero Garth Brooks and British reggae stars Steel Pulse and Pato Banton. Inspired by Vince Clark and Yazz, the self-avowed Depeche Mode geek first took up piano at his mother's request in his birthplace of Sao Paulo. The cutting edge producer has since lent his remixing skills to artists including Goldfrapp (&quot;A&amp;E&quot;) and the Pet Shop Boys. In 2008, he won second place on Beatport's Awards' &quot;Best Techno&quot; and &quot;Best Electronica Producer&quot; categories.
- Jamie Sanchez" category="Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/gui-boratto/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Rednex" description="Memorable Dance Pop collective out of Sweden gained mainstream attention in the mid-'90s with their chart-climbing hit &quot;Cotton-Eyed Joe.&quot; A playful outfit who refrained from taking themselves too seriously, Rednex attempt to make youthful crowds smile.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Dance Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/rednex/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Covenant (Techno)" description="" category="Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/covenant/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="DJ Godfather" description="Electro enthusiast and Detroit Techno contributor DJ Godfather oversees the union between b-boys and Techno heads with his retro-futuristic vision. Tinny Electro stabs fly low over bulky beats and deep, intergalactic basslines against a wobbly veil of melodic synths. Often grouped with Motor City contemporaries AUX 88, Drexciya and Mad Mike Banks, DJ Godfather's lukewarm dance floor vibes drop out the human element to make room for machines.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Detroit/U.S. Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/dj-godfather/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Freezepop" description="Deeply emersed in the sounds of the 1980s, freezepop fuse the mechanical Techo-Pop of late-Kraftwerk and sticky-sweet Synth Pop. Female vocals speak and sing with the cold charm of an android in an angular mix of Vocoder effects and dance beats.
- Marc Kate" category="Electroclash" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/freezepop/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Inner City" description="Led by Kevin Saunderson, Inner City were true pioneers in the world of House and Techno. Combining roots in Gospel and Soul with clubwise beats and the sultry vocals of Paris Grey, their accessible sound helped clear a path for all the Garage and Deep House to follow.
- Mike Schulman" category="House" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/inner-city/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Tiga" description="" category="Electroclash" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/tiga/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Global Communication" description="Gracing their 1994 album &lt;I&gt;76:14&lt;/I&gt; with a photograph of an ear that rendered the organ as something approximating a lunar landscape, Global Communication found the perfect image to encapsulate their sound. Taking inspiration from the cosmic synthesizer journeys of Vangelis and Klaus Schulze, they ventured ever inward, following the trajectory of ambient electronica's most contemplative strains. The duo of Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard reserved other aliasesÃ¢ÂÂJedi Knights, Link, ReloadÃ¢ÂÂfor dance music proper, variously influenced by electro-funk and acid. But Global Communication all but did away with the beats, sticking to ethereal synthesizers and washes of field recordings. They weren't afraid to let the world in -- &quot;Obselon Minos&quot; follows the pulse of a ticking clock -- but as their time-coded track titles suggest, they were most interested in exploring a field of pure sonics where known reference points melt away.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Ambient Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/global-communication/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Mouse on Mars" description="In the solemnity of the current school of German electronic music, Mouse on Mars attend class as irreverently as an android loudly chewing gum with its mouth open. Electronics squirm and giggle as they spit broken samples and sputter melodic glitches, combining to compose disjointed sounds of pure jubilance. Cute enough to pull a smile from the face of any IDM-ster, Mouse on Mars' tracks piece together trite melodies like ticklish fragments of Musique Concrete (perhaps the discards of dry sound deemed too pop and Twee for Cologne's academic scene) set to scampering rhythms. Too wonky for the disco and too awkward for a hum-along, Mouse on Mars produce party music for French philosophy seminars.
- Marc Kate" category="Laptronica" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mouse-on-mars/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Apparat" description="" category="Electronica/Dance" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/apparat/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Autechre" description="Throughout the '90s, Autechre have been instrumental in disrupting the flow of the mix. The Sheffield duo of Sean Booth and Rob Brown produces electronic sounds that shoot off in seemingly random trajectories, but like a fractal, there is an apparent order that stems from the chaos. Autechre are nothing if not rhythmic, but their rhythms are disjointed and angular. Yet each fibrous beat and twisting pulse weaves together to form a textile of texture. The components of their sound are unmistakably Electro, but each beat is so fractured, each note is so out of context, the lyrical flow of an artist like Mantronix is left as a shard of broken glass on the pavement. But the beauty of Autechre's deconstruction is that there is little as enchanting as a glimmering pile of broken glass, however much an abstraction of its former self.
- Marc Kate" category="Bleep" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/autechre/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Kate Ryan" description="" category="Dance Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/kate-ryan/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="FC Kahuna" description="FC Kahuna began as a club, became a label and ended up as a band. Taking their name from Samuel L. Jackson's tasty fast-food treat in Pulp Fiction, childhood friends Dan Ormondroyd and Jon Nowell founded the Big Kahuna Burger in May 1995. Initially just a Heavenly Social-style night, it rapidly became the place to be, and legend has it that Norman Cook decided to launch his Fatboy Slim persona after a visit. After three years, the constantly shifting venues and general madness began to wear, so the boys decided to close down the Big Kahuna Burger, and launched &quot;Headstart&quot; at London's Turnmills. Seeking a new sound, they used Headstart as a launching pad for their love of classic acid house, quirky electronic cuts and retro-electro stylings. This experimental environment was pivotal to the next stage of their development - &quot;It just totally focused us,&quot; said Dan. They were soon being called on to capture this sound in a series of remixes for Morel, Luck Slater and Felix Da Housecat. From there, the Kahuna Cuts label followed, and it was here that FC Kahuna began as recording entity, before releasing their debut album &lt;I&gt;Machine Says Yes&lt;/I&gt; on City Rockers in 2003. The sound is resolutely updated acid house, but there is soul in amongst the silicon chips, and even blissed-out downtempo with HaylingÃÂ¢.
- Nicholas Baker" category="Tech-House" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/fc-kahuna/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Apollo Four Forty" description="These lads from Liverpool set up the first Apollo Control Studio in 1990 in a church in Camden, London. From this &quot;command center&quot; they spent much of the decade mixing tracks for the likes of U2, EMF, Shabba Ranks and many more, while creating original music for their own Stealth Sonic Recordings label. In 1994, &quot;Astral America&quot; became the group's first track to hit the U.K. Top 40; in '97 they hit the U.K. Top 10 with &quot;Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Dub,&quot; a high-energy jungle track that samples the riff from Van Halen's &quot;Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love.&quot; The outfit's had a steady chart history since (in the U.K., at least), as well as much success licensing songs to films, television, sports, video games and ads. In fact, every track on the group's third LP, &lt;I&gt;Getting High On Your Own Supply&lt;/I&gt;, was requested for some kind of commercial purpose. The group's widest U.S. exposure has come from soundtracks: aside from contributing to films as disparate as &lt;I&gt;101 Dalmatians&lt;/I&gt; and &lt;I&gt;S.W.A.T.&lt;I&gt;, they've done theme songs for &lt;I&gt;Lost in Space&lt;/I&gt; and &lt;I&gt;Charlie's Angels 2000&lt;/I&gt;.
- Mia Quagliarello" category="Beats &amp; Breaks" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/apollo-four-forty/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Layo &amp; Bushwacka!" description="These forward-thinking stars of London's renowned club The End are fusionists in the truest sense of the term. Brought together by friend, colleague and fellow scene-creator Mr. C, Layo Paskin and Matthew B joined their talents in the mid-1990s to service crowds with an unequalled, inventive, boundary-dissolving sound, initially under the moniker the Usual Suspects. Deftly combining spine-tingling Techno effects, slick Electro stabs and lethal Drum 'n' Bass-inspired breaks with a somber yet danceable House feel depicted on their debut full-length &lt;I&gt;Low Life&lt;/I&gt;, Layo &amp; Bushwacka!'s cinematic grooves prove to be suited to both club and home speakers. Simultaneously dark and funky, these seamless tracks send your mind reeling through steamy summer nights as the moon moves out of view.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Tech-House" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/layo-bushwacka/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Jackson and His Computer Band" description="" category="Leftfield/IDM" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/jackson-and-his-computer-band/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Matthew Herbert" description="London's Matthew Herbert is an anomaly in electronic music: while he got his start crafting Chicago-inspired house tracks for the more discerning ravers of the '90s, the bulk of his career has been defined by his conceptual bent and political activism. Herbert's music was always unconventional, but his move away from the dance-floor status quo came with his Personal Contract for the Composition of Music, a manifesto dictating the hows and whys behind his use of samplers and synthesizers. At heart an ethical approach in defiance of the increasing ease of electronic-music production, the P.C.C.O.M. led Herbert in a more activist direction as he began to move from the sounds of the personal (a beating heart or clattering toothbrush) to the political (an oil tank being filled, or a Big Mac thrown against a wall). Still, deep house and downtempo fans won't be thrown off by the intimacy of albums like &lt;I&gt;Around the House&lt;/I&gt; or &lt;I&gt;Bodily Functions&lt;/I&gt;. In addition to the side projects Doctor Rockit and Radioboy, Herbert also conducts the Herbert Big Band Orchestra, a modern-day take on the classic big bands of the '30s and '40s.
- Philip Sherburne" category="Electronica/Dance" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/matthew-herbert-3/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Matthew Dear" description="Since 1999, Texas-born techno producer Matthew Dear has been producing cutting edge Detroit-style minimal techno and electro-pop under various monikers, including Audion, False and Jabberjaw. As a key artist on Ghostly International, Dear has had a successful avenue for putting out multiple releases, including 2003's &quot;Dog Days&quot; (a Richie Hawtin favorite) and, as Audion, 2006's &quot;Mouth to Mouth&quot;. In 2007, he released the critically acclaimed &lt;i&gt;Asa Breed&lt;/i&gt; under his own name, marking a move into expanded songwriting and softer, more contemplative sonics.
- Fil Rodriguez" category="Detroit/U.S. Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/matthew-dear/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Boys Noize" description="Boys Noize (Alex Ridha) shares bookings with filter-disco punks like Justice, and his music hits the same high-intensity frequencies, like a disco dentist with a glitter-encrusted drill. He loves overdriven synthesizers and has the same talent for making his tracks heave like a bellows, sucking all the air out of the room with every chord. But Ridha and his Berlin label Boysnoize have more purist instincts than many of his peers: Chicago house and grinding techno play significant roles in his music, which is as minimalist in its structure as it is maximalist in its attitude. As Boys Noize, Ridha has recorded for Gigolo, Turbo, Kitsune and, most extensively, his own label, which has also put out monster tracks from Housemeister, D.I.M., Siriusmo and even the Faint. Forget the nu-rave cliches; this is the real deal.
- Philip Sherburne" category="U.K./Euro Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/boys-noize/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="X Treme" description="X Treme piles up influences from Techno, Big Beat and Drum 'n' Bass. Uneven rhythms give these beat-driven hybrid grooves experimental-dance-floor credentials.
- Melissa Piazza" category="Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/x-treme/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Electric Universe" description="In the vein of early Ambient Techno artists, EU creates lush landscapes of electronic drones, beats that slowly emerge from swelling synth patterns and digital synth effects.
- Marc Kate" category="Ambient Techno" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/electric-universe/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Mice Parade" description="" category="Laptronica" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/mice-parade/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Maps" description="When he began making beautiful music in his bedroom, James Chapman was a
teenager in Northamptonshire, England, crafting dreamy, atmospheric electro-pop under the name Short Break Operator and recording it straight to his four-track -- without the help of a computer. After some increasingly popular gigs around town, an upgrade to a 16-track and a few critically acclaimed EPs (including &lt;i&gt;Start Something&lt;/i&gt;, which he sold out of), Chapman had changed his one-man band's name to Maps and had become the subject of some serious buzz among fans and industry types alike, most of whom were calling Maps the next My Bloody Valentine and hotly anticipating Maps' debut. &lt;i&gt;We Can Create&lt;/i&gt;, the resulting full-length, took Chapman about four years of locking himself in said bedroom, but playing the hermit ultimately paid off: Mute Records released the album in 2007 to the tune of critical cheers in the U.K. and U.S., and Chapman, now with a proper band in tow (but still sans laptop), headed out on tour.
- Rachel Devitt" category="Noise Pop" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/maps/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
<outline type="include" text="Metro Area" description="" category="House" url="http://feeds.rhapsody.com/metro-area/data.opml?rws=%2Felectronica-dance%2Ftechno%2Fartist-chart.opml" />
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