Cut Copy

Australian indie electronic group Cut Copy take many of their cues from contemporaries like Air, Daft Punk, and LCD Soundsystem, but with a distinctly pop sensibility that draws on classic AM radio pop singles from the 1970s and '80s, with elements of vintage disco and synth pop that appeal to song-based listeners as well as the club kidz. Cut Copy started in 2001 as a solo project by songwriter, producer, and DJ Dan Whitford, who released the single 1981 and the EP I Thought of Numbers before drafting in other members to fill out his synth and sample-based sound. Bassist and guitarist Tim Hoey and drummer Mitchell Scott debuted on Cut Copy's first full-length album, Bright Like Neon Love, released in the summer of 2004. After several successful singles were spun off the album (including Saturdays, Future, and Going Nowhere), Universal's Island Records imprint picked up the trio's international distribution in 2006. Following an inventive Whitford live DJ mix that was released in 2006 as Fabriclive.29 (including such unexpected delights as Ciccone Youth's noisy deconstruction "Into the Groove(y)" and Roxy Music's suave "Angel Eyes" alongside the usual Goldfrapp and Soulwax), the band proper returned in early 2007 with a new single, Hearts on Fire. Cut Copy's third album, In Ghost Colors, debuted at the top of Australia's ARIA charts in 2008 and was placed on a number of publications' year-end lists. After adding a fourth member, bassist Ben Browning, the group released its third studio album, Zonoscope, in 2011. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi