D*Note

Primarily the brainchild of musician Matt Winn (nee Wienevski), the British experimental dance act D*Note originally emerged out of London's rare groove scene, with the 1993 debut LP Babel -- recorded with the assistance of DJ Charlie Lexton and keyboardist Matt Cooper -- reflecting a strong acid-jazz background. Hit singles like "Devotion" and "Garden of Earthly Delights," however, recalled house music, while the second D*Note LP, 1995's Criminal Justice, plunged into drum'n'bass. In addition to music, Winn also tackled film, rejecting short-form video clips in favor of more ambitious productions like the ten-minute short Round the Block; in 1997, he premiered the half-hour featurette Coming Down, an acclaimed portrait of the London drug culture. Its soundtrack appeared shortly after the release of the third D*Note album, an eponymous ambient effort issued earlier that same year. D*Note emerged once again in 2006 with Laguna, which featured Beth Hirsch on vocals. That same year, Winn directed the film January 2nd and wrote its soundtrack with Cooper. ~ Jason Ankeny