XL Recordings/Beggars Group
XL emerged in 1989 from the City Beat dance label founded earlier by Beggars Banquet which was responsible for the success of Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock, among others. Today, XL's roster includes Badly Drawn Boy, Breakbeat Era, The Prodigy, and lots more.
Alfie
Alfie is yet another terrific band to emerge from the burgeoning British acoustic pop scene. Their cracked, meandering, slightly psychedelic folk-pop comes at you slowly and stealthily, but before you know it, you're hopelessly immersed in it.
If You Happy With You Need Do Nothing
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2001
Capitol K
Capitol K will flummox even the most seasoned listeners with manic, willfully eclectic compositions that merge the genius of pop, the futurism of electronic, and the exoticism of ethnic music.
Island Row
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2002
Electric Six
Rock, and indeed, near universal excess underscore the crotch-first disco-punk of Detroit's Electric Six.
Fire
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2003
Gotan Project
Mingling recontextualized tango sounds with electronic beats and production, The Gotan Project is unique and seductive but only rarely would it pull Argentine oldsters onto the dance floor. This ain't your abuela's tango.
La Revancha del Tango
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2003
Lemon Jelly
Turn on the lava lamp and relax on the inflatable sofa. Lemon Jelly's gonna tickle your ears with silly, sultry late night grooves that transport you to a sampledelic wonderland.
Lemon Jelly
Mull Historical Society
Not the dowdy archeology club suggested by their bookish name, but rather a quartet of quirky Scotsmen who create warm, enjoyably catchy, lushly orchestrated acoustic pop tunes.
Loss
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2002
Peaches
You might think you've heard everything, but you ain't heard anything quite like Peaches' raw, punk-flavored...hip hop? This Canadian dynamo raps slow hypersexual come-on lyrics over the primitive, slightly ominous beats of her Roland MC505 Groovebox, creating twisted little songs that are as in-your-face as they are difficult to categorize.
Lovertits EP
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2000
The Teaches of Peaches (Bonus Reissue)
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2002
Ronnie Richards
Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe of Basement Jaxx enlisted London's Ronnie Richards for his sweet vocals on early Atlantic Jaxx releases. Serious late '90s clubbers will have his soulful tones burnt into their long-term memories.
Atlantic Jaxx Recordings: A Compilation
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1997
The Strokes
This quintet of Manhattan hipsters produces extremely catchy, gritty garage rock reminiscent of the Velvets and the late '70s CBGB's crew.
The Modern Age
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2001
Andy Votel
Andy Votel is one busy man. He runs Manchester, England's popular Twisted Nerve record label, which he co-founded in 1998, and works as a DJ, remixer, and graphic designer, leading one to wonder how much he sleeps. A hodgepodge of musical influences, Styles of the Unexpected is Votel's first solo album and features some of his best production work to date.
Styles Of The Unexpected
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2001
