Artist: Major Lazer

Hails from: Philadelphia/London

Musical Style: Dancehall, Reggae, Electronica, Club/Dance

For Fans of: M.I.A., Santigold, Simian Mobile Disco

Why You Should Check Them Out:

The dancehall side project of DJ/producers Diplo (Wes Pentz, of Philadelphia) and Switch (Dave Taylor of London), Major Lazer is infecting dance floors all over the globe. The endlessly creative duo—responsible for M.I.A.’s Grammy-nominated “Paper Planes”—combine forces to create some of the best jams of 2009.

Background Check:

Who doesn’t like a little wacky mythology to spice up their record collection? In order to best disseminate their latest reggae-inflected grooves, Diplo and Switch created the character Major Lazer—a Jamaican commando who lost his arms in the secret Zombie War of 1984 (never heard of it?). According to legend, US military forces rescued the “major” and fashioned him with prosthetic limbs formed from experimental lazers. Major Lazer, under cover as a dancehall club owner, enlists the help of—you guessed it—Diplo and Switch to produce his first LP.

In their own words, the group produces, “futuristic dancehall and digital reggae sounds crafted as a soundtrack to a not-so-distant dystopian future.” Major Lazer endeavors to defeat evil forces through partying and killer tunes—along with his rocket-powered skateboard.

Whatever the intention, the ensuing album, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, is a dancehall tour de force. Filled with big beats and electronic pulses, the album revolves around nasty basslines and crafty samples. The Major throws in plenty of found sounds, sex-laden lyrics and a little Auto-Tune zaniness for good measure. The record features an array of guests including Santigold, Nina Sky and Amanda Blank, as well as dancehall stars Mr. Lex, Ms. Thing, Mr. Vegas and Vybz Kartel.

To ensure proper defense against the supposedly encroaching monsters, vampires and zombies lurking just beneath the surface of our “civilized society,” you might just want to arm yourself with a copy.

Where you can find them in Cyberspace:

Majorlazer.com

Myspace

On Tour:

JamBase 

Artist: Santogold

Hails from: Philadelphia

Musical Style: Indie electronica, Club/dance, Dancehall

For Fans of: M.I.A., Gwen Stefani, Basement Jaxx

Listen

Why you should check her out:

Santogold’s super-charged eponymous debut album is an eclectic mix of sounds and styles that defy categorization. Catchy single “L.E.S. Artistes” is completely energizing.

Background check:

When we first heard – and saw, and fell in love with – Santogold a few months back we knew she would be our numero uno Spooonful post. The music is just hands down bad-ass and epitomizes the kind of exciting new, genre-bending/ expanding music that we want to bring you. So here goes -

Santogold is vivacious frontwoman Santi White. Her voice is reminiscent of everyone from Nina Simone to Siouxsie Sioux to Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and her high-energy, exciting, bass-oriented songs that fuse punk, reggae, synth pop, and indie rock with electro beats are must-haves for your ipod. Songs like the dub influenced, “Shove It” to the nostalgic for the ‘80’s sounding “L.E.S. Artistes” to the M.I.A. inspired “Creator” mesh many influences seamlessly together. Turn it up to 11 indeed.

Named as “top artist to watch” by Rolling Stone and others, this girl is definitely going places, so don’t get left behind.

And P.S. – You may have seen, or will see, a lot more of her as she is currently featured in a big Converse ad campaign.

Where you can find her in cyberspace:

www.Myspace.com/santogold
www.downtownrecordings.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santogold

Where you can find her on tour:

www.jambase.com