The Black Ghosts

• Genre: Electronica/Dance

About

Electronic dance music doesn't engender many supergroups, given the solitary nature of its producers. But the Black Ghosts certainly qualify as a superduo, claiming former members of U.K. breaks outfit the Wiseguys (Theo Keating, aka DJ Touche) and indie-dance outfit Simian (Simon Lord, whose former bandmates went on to form Simian Mobile Disco). If their resumes go some way in explaining the group's pop chops and considerable studio savvy, their individual biographies suggest even deeper roots. Keating's grandfather, a member of the London Symphony Orchestra, played on the Beatles' "A Day in the Life," while Lord's father designed and built early synthesizers and other electronic instruments. The duo released its first single, "Face," at the tail end of 2006, along with remixes from Switch and Kissy Sell Out. they continued to update their punky disco sound on a string of singles in 2007, reaching out to remixers like Sinden and Plastician & Skream to further mutate their expansive, malleable sound. The band's self-titled debut album, released in December 2008, fleshed out previous singles with still more hook-laden new material.

- Philip Sherburne