Though his parents are Indian and he was born in England, Talvin Singh isn't claimed by either cultural heritage. In England he's considered Indian, while in India he's viewed as a Brit. But Singh feels this cultural fence-straddling lends itself to flexibility, not exclusion. He likens himself -- a

Clever, Composed, Eclectic, Hypnotic, Jungle/drum 'n' bass, Layered

In the new wave of Japanese contemporary music, Akira Nishimura is the front-runner for the "heterophonic concept." Using droning melodic variations, Nishimura creates a spacious kind of zen spikiness that can either calm the soul or mystify the mind. Nishimura exhibits a particular concern with t

20th-century music, Contemplative, Eclectic, Ethereal, Hypnotic, Layered, Silence, Spiritual

To call Terre Thaemlitz experimental is a generalization of the worst kind. Thaemlitz is a musical experimenter, to be sure. But he's also a social experimenter, a technological experimenter, and a gender experimenter. Thaemlitz is a philosopher who uses his sonic thinkscapes as social treatises and

Anxiety, Dense, Layered, Political, Self-reflection, Sophisticated, Tense

Intertwining instrumental sounds, texts, and environmental samples, Charles Amirkhanian creates dreamy and disjointed durations of immersive experience. A synthesis of electronic and acoustic effects, voices and background noise, his compositions strive to capture listeners' bodies and minds in tonal

Collage, Dreamy, Eclectic, Intense, Layered, Musique concrete