Cool Hunting

Appaloosa
She may well have the backing of Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) but Paris-native Anne-Laure can well and truly hold her own when it comes to delivering quality electronic-pop. Her debut EP, produced by Germany's Max Krefeld, is an eclectic mix of '80s beats, synth electronics and haunting, distinctive vocals. A woman of many talents this pint-sized Frenchie had put music on the back...

Cut Copy
Melbourne's Cut Copy is the hottest electro act out of Australia right now. We spoke to Mitchell Brown from the group to get the lowdown. Does Melbourne still have a dynamic creative scene? I think it really does—there's no shortage of people in Melbourne doing amazingly cool things creatively, whether it's music, art, fashion, or design. There's a lot going on. Also, for music,...

TheSwimmingPools
If anybody needs proof of how useless the recording industry has become, look no further than TheSwimmingPools. In the past few years, the NYC-based duo has recorded three albums and produced a slew of videos using only a computer in their East Village apartment. Comprised of Christophe Doloire and Daniel Smith, the group plays a brooding electronica that feels as if it would've been...

Nine Inch Nails: Ghosts I-IV
Following in the footsteps of Radiohead and their game-changing release of In Rainbows, Nine Inch Nails have done something similar with their latest, Ghosts I-IV, by offering DRM-free download of the album at NIN. Ghosts I-IV is an all-instrumental album that Trent Reznor describes as "the result of working from a very visual perspective—dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack...

February 2008 Playlist
This time of year brings a surplus of album releases and, for us, along with the fresh tunes comes a desire to do little more than stay home and listen to music while watching surf videos. The result is a collection of new faves and old jams, both up-tempo and down, to get you through the leap year. Magnetic Fields: Distortion The first album from...

The E.L.F.
The E.L.F. is the new side project of Gerling frontman, Darren Cross. A genre agnostic, Cross throws a tantrum on "Stevie Nicks Hearts," the first EP created el solo in the dark underbelly of his Sydney home studio. The indie-infused aesthetic smashes itself against the wall, whilst '80s synth-beats get thrown across the room like a bad break up. It's like Beck made babies...