As they effortlessly fold ideas from the rock, hip-hop, global traditional musics and electronic dance music into their sound, Gang Gang Dance forge a new type of "world music" where all of the world's music is potentially collapsible into a new hallucinatory Western pop.

Does a whole equal the sum of its parts? For Thao Nguyen and Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn, two accomplished solo artists plus producer Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, equals a complementary push-pull of an album.

Unusual for most artists, each member of the band Sloan, which has maintained the same lineup for decades, contributes equally to songwriting. And at their live shows, each member switches instruments accordingly. They got their name from a friend, who was nicknamed "the Slow One" by his boss, but in the man's French accent, it sounded more like "Sloan."

When Ryan Schreiber founded a small internet music zine in 1995 while living in Minneapolis, he had no idea it would turn into what Pitchfork Media is today.

The famously Scottish four-piece Glasvegas (you don't have to listen hard to hear those Glasgow accents) has been called the next step in UK rock evolution after the Libertines and the Arctic Monkeys. Short-listed for the 2009 Mercury Prize, Glasvegas frontmen and cousins James and Rab Allan hope their lush, emphatic arena rock and emotionally dramatic songwriting inspire fans at their live shows to "lose their inhibitions, get a little bit inebriated, have some romance with a stranger."

The Okee Dokee Brothers talk about their trip down the Mississippi.

How much do you know about the Purple One? Take our quiz to find out!

"Circuital" takes elements of the "classic" My Morning Jacket sound that was honed on 2003's "It Still Moves" and morphs it into something new, as James sounds wiser for his musical and life travels.

Minneapolis band Night Moves' catchy combination of MGMT-like vocals, country strains, and electronic production have made them an up-and-coming local favorite. Featuring members of Mouthful of Bees, Food Pyramid, and Battle Royal, Night Moves have been named a "newish" band to keep an eye on by a few local publications.