When Coachella announced their highly anticipated lineup for 2011 last week, the internet virtually imploded on itself out of sheer delight and excitement. The list reads like a veritable who’s who of pop music right now, and while everyone’s fawning all over mega-superstar headlining acts like Kanye, Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, The Chemical Brothers, Interpol, The National, and Duran Duran, we’ve got our eyes on a slightly different set of acts you’d be foolish to miss. Check out our list of unmissable Coachella acts below, and stay tuned here for more updates on the festival, including the interactive art installations we’ll be bringing as part of our creative partnership with Coachella.Cut Copy
Bringing us synthpop sounds from down under, Cut Copy are masters at melding electropop, 80s new wave, and post-punk. Their catchy and distinct sound has led them to tour with top international acts like Junior Senior, Bloc Party, and even alongside Daft Punk on the Australian leg of their tour in 2007. The 4-piece is set to release their third album Zonoscope in February 2011, as a follow up to 2008’s critically-acclaimed In Ghost Colours. Here’s the video of one of our favorite songs off the last album.Glasser
Revolutionary electronic composer Cameron Mesirow of Glasser first entered our radar when her band played under MOS’s fuzzy pavilion at P.S. 1 last summer. Since then, she’s revealed the process on how she rigged guitars and drum machines to recreate sounds that she originally composed on a computer. Look and listen below.Kele
Taking a hiatus from Bloc Party, Kele has truly come into his own as a solo artist with his debut album The Boxer. As a headliner for our London Event last year, his new work demonstrates his departure from indie rock and his move towards a more energetic dance floor sound. See for yourself in the video for “Tenderoni.”Sleigh Bells
After attracting the ears of M.I.A.‘s N.E.E.T. Recordings after their debut performance at the 2009 CMJ Festival, it’s needless to say that Brooklyn-based noise pop duo Sleigh Bells has been given the golden seal of approval. Their much-buzzed about music has landed them guest appearances on the popular British television show Skins as well as at our New York Event last July. See a clip of their performance below.Francis and the Lights
With a name like Francis and the Lights (where the term “and the Lights” apparently refers to lights on a stage and pixels on a computer screen), is it any wonder we’ve fallen for this soulful, jazzy seven-piece? Frontman Francis Farewell Starlite repeatedly channels music legends like Prince and Michael Jackson both in terms of sound and performance style, making this band one you’ll want to say you saw “back before they blew up.”Lightning Bolt
This Providence, RI two-some, composed of Brian Gibson on bass and Brian Chippendale on drums and vocals, have been making some beautiful noise together for over 15 years. Their brand of loud, aggressive, spazz-worthy experimental rock has garnered them a rabid cult following, and if you catch their live show, you’ll begin to understand why.Ratatat
We love Ratatat for their deliciously dancey, infectious brand of electropop, but we love their creative process even more. The duo’s 2004 debut Ratatat was recorded and produced entirely on guitarist Mike Stroud’s PowerBook in his Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment. Stroud and his partner, Evan Mast, manage to make electronic music that’s got gumption by only using guitar, bass and synthesizers to achieve their unique sound.Death From Above 1979
We couldn’t be more excited to see the freshly reunited Death From Above gracing the stage of Coachella in their first performance since the band called it quits back in 2006. The much-loved dance-punk duo, featuring Jesse F. Keeler of MSTRKRFT and Sebastien Grainger is back to once again get the kids dancing to a new, heavily distorted beat.
These LA-based experimental art rock darlings have taken the music world by storm this past year. You can’t flip through the pages of a music magazine or blog without seeing this lovely foursome of ladies staring back at you. It’s no surprise—their 2010 full-length debut The Fools was quite possibly one of the best records of the year—and we hear their live performance is nothing to scoff at either.Boys Noize
The Berlin-based electronic music producer and DJ has remixed everyone from David Lynch to N.E.R.D to Depeche Mode to Snoop Dogg and is regarded by many as as one of the worlds’ best DJs. With an ear for breaking new sonic ground by incorporating a wide range of musical styles, Boys Noize also stands out for his technical prowess and live mixing abilities, making for a uniquely gripping set every time.
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Bringing us synthpop sounds from down under, Cut Copy are masters at melding electropop, 80s new wave, and post-punk. Their catchy and distinct sound has led them to tour with top international acts like Junior Senior, Bloc Party, and even alongside Daft Punk on the Australian leg of their tour in 2007. The 4-piece is set to release their third album Zonoscope in February 2011, as a follow up to 2008’s critically-acclaimed In Ghost Colours. Here’s the video of one of our favorite songs off the last album.Glasser
Revolutionary electronic composer Cameron Mesirow of Glasser first entered our radar when her band played under MOS’s fuzzy pavilion at P.S. 1 last summer. Since then, she’s revealed the process on how she rigged guitars and drum machines to recreate sounds that she originally composed on a computer. Look and listen below.Kele
Taking a hiatus from Bloc Party, Kele has truly come into his own as a solo artist with his debut album The Boxer. As a headliner for our London Event last year, his new work demonstrates his departure from indie rock and his move towards a more energetic dance floor sound. See for yourself in the video for “Tenderoni.”Sleigh Bells
After attracting the ears of M.I.A.‘s N.E.E.T. Recordings after their debut performance at the 2009 CMJ Festival, it’s needless to say that Brooklyn-based noise pop duo Sleigh Bells has been given the golden seal of approval. Their much-buzzed about music has landed them guest appearances on the popular British television show Skins as well as at our New York Event last July. See a clip of their performance below.
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With a name like Francis and the Lights (where the term “and the Lights” apparently refers to lights on a stage and pixels on a computer screen), is it any wonder we’ve fallen for this soulful, jazzy seven-piece? Frontman Francis Farewell Starlite repeatedly channels music legends like Prince and Michael Jackson both in terms of sound and performance style, making this band one you’ll want to say you saw “back before they blew up.”Lightning Bolt
This Providence, RI two-some, composed of Brian Gibson on bass and Brian Chippendale on drums and vocals, have been making some beautiful noise together for over 15 years. Their brand of loud, aggressive, spazz-worthy experimental rock has garnered them a rabid cult following, and if you catch their live show, you’ll begin to understand why.Ratatat
We love Ratatat for their deliciously dancey, infectious brand of electropop, but we love their creative process even more. The duo’s 2004 debut Ratatat was recorded and produced entirely on guitarist Mike Stroud’s PowerBook in his Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment. Stroud and his partner, Evan Mast, manage to make electronic music that’s got gumption by only using guitar, bass and synthesizers to achieve their unique sound.Death From Above 1979
We couldn’t be more excited to see the freshly reunited Death From Above gracing the stage of Coachella in their first performance since the band called it quits back in 2006. The much-loved dance-punk duo, featuring Jesse F. Keeler of MSTRKRFT and Sebastien Grainger is back to once again get the kids dancing to a new, heavily distorted beat.
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Warpaint
These LA-based experimental art rock darlings have taken the music world by storm this past year. You can’t flip through the pages of a music magazine or blog without seeing this lovely foursome of ladies staring back at you. It’s no surprise—their 2010 full-length debut The Fools was quite possibly one of the best records of the year—and we hear their live performance is nothing to scoff at either.Boys Noize
The Berlin-based electronic music producer and DJ has remixed everyone from David Lynch to N.E.R.D to Depeche Mode to Snoop Dogg and is regarded by many as as one of the worlds’ best DJs. With an ear for breaking new sonic ground by incorporating a wide range of musical styles, Boys Noize also stands out for his technical prowess and live mixing abilities, making for a uniquely gripping set every time.