Originally from Okinawa, Japan, Caroline Lufkin moved around a lot by the time she had graduated from Berklee School of Music in Boston in 2003, ultimately settling nowhere (though currently calling Los Angeles her home). With an incredible gift for writing gripping songs from the most minimal elements - not to mention a voice that could make angels weep - Caroline's music seizes the rare opportunity to hypnotize everything and everyone around it. And really, who in this world doesn't want to succumb to a music-induced weightlessness every once in a while?

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is the musical alias of 28 year old American film school drop-out Owen Ashworth. Ashworth began making music in 1997 after he realized that song-making was a far more cost-effective means of storytelling than film-making. The first three Casiotone for the Painfully Alone albums were made using only battery operated keyboards and electronics recorded to 4-track cassette. With 1999's Answering Machine Music, 2001's Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars (now collected onto one CD), and 2003's Twinkle Echo, Ashworth defined a hybrid strain of raw, emotional, and very homemade synth pop that was instantly recognizable as his own. Claustrophobic two-minute character studies shuddered with reverbed beats, blown-out chords, and simple but infectous melodies, all layered beneath Ashworth's sometimes funny but always heartbreaking lyrics. Believing he had taken his self-imposed set of limitations to their logical conclusion, Ashworth expanded his sound with 2006's Etiquette. Etiquette removes the focus from a decidedly utilitarlian aesthetic to a broader production spectrum that finally gives Ashworth's personal, affecting song writing the space it deserves. In collaboration with producers and musicians like Jherek Bischoff (of The Dead Science and Degenerate Art Ensemble) and Jason Quever (The Papercuts and Pan American Recording Studio), the sound of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone has grown to include pianos, organs, strings, flutes, drums, and pedal steel guitars in addition to Ashworth's signature electronics and drum machines.

Band Members Jeremy Bolen, Nathan Snydacker, Greg Sharp, Chris Dye, Jesse Woghin The band's history reaches back to 2001, when Jeremy Bolen and Nathan Snydacker formed Chin Up Chin Up (think optimism and perseverance, not exercise). The two guitarists were joined shortly thereafter by percussionist Chris Dye and bassist Chris Saathoff. In January 2002, the band released a self-titled EP, which inspired MOJO's call for readers to "meet your new favourite Chicago art-pop band." Later joined by keyboard player Greg Sharp, Chin Up Chin Up toured extensively, playing shows with the likes of the Appleseed Cast, the Mercury Program, Pedro the Lion, the American Analog Set, Broken Social Scene, Smog, and Pinback.

Dirty Alice were formed in August 2003 by Chris Bristow, Adam Jones and David Sandford. They are formed in Kent, just outside London. Since their conception, they have always played in different styles and genres, but are often described as Electronic Indie-Pop Space Rock. Their latest release, "Songs For Children Who Think Too Much..." is brilliant and you should download it for free from their web site. - (Read more)

Band Members Dirty on Purpose are a dreamy four-piece living in Brooklyn, NY, but born and raised in small towns across the Northeast. Dirty on Purpose are Doug Marvin, George Wilson, Joe Jurewicz and DJ Boudreau.