Cursor Miner
One of the talents signed to the fine Lo Recordings, Cursor Miner's underground electronics have already worked their magic across a number of dancefloors with driving percussion adorned with Syd Barrett-like melodies and rave-edged riffery. Sometimes that culminates in a kaleidoscopic aural explosion while he's seemingly just as adept at no-nonsense, brash discoid numbers that the likes of Vitalic would be proud of.
www.cursorminer.com
Beats For Beginners
Locally-based yet Whitby-reared, the both loveable and tall Mike TV is the creative force and vocalist behind Beats For Beginners. Assessed by some as a ‘British Beck', his Don't Fly Into The Sun long-player was the work of someone with one eye on the future and the other examining the record sleeves of his earliest idols. Calling at the incendiary electropop of Kill All DJs and the loping, string-twanging infectiousness of Mechanical Man, his live dates have encompassed everything from stripped-down acoustic interpretations to more technology-savvy workouts. 'Like Lou Reed with synths,' reckoned The Clash's Mick Jones.
www.beatsforbeginners.co.uk
Shmoo
A five-piece boasting the kind of retro-futuristic sonics that can only come from ones use of both the moog and theramin, Shmoo blend soulful vocals with kooky sci-fi arrangements. Citing influences as being downtempo doyens like Massive Attack, Air and DJ Shadow, they still create a sound that's possibly peerless.
www.shmoo.co.uk
Lal
Specialising in the kind of broken beat-hinting ethereal soul that you might associate with artists like Zero 7 and Terry Callier, Lal have emerged from Toronto's underground as a multi-cultural collective boasting bloodlines from Uganda, Bangladesh, India, Barbados and beyond. In addition to that focus on their globally-conscious sounds, they are notably an act committed to social change.
www.lalforest.com