MGMT

Singer and keyboard player Ben Goldwasser met guitarist Andrew VanWyngarden, formerly drummer in a hip-hop outfit, when both were art students in Connecticut in 2002. Originally called The Management, MGMT embarked on a haphazard path to fame, writing songs on laptops and constructing a bizarre live show with synths and backing tapes - their first show involved an hour-long version of the Ghostbusters theme. Their random, experimental nature won a cult following and in 2005 they recorded an electronic EP, which reached an executive at Columbia Records, who invited them to make an album with Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann. "The songwriting sessions for the album were the first time we ever took it seriously,"said Goldwasser. The resultant left field record Oracular Spectacular was hailed by the critics, while one of the tracks, Time To Pretend, became single of the week on iTunes and their popularity grew, even while their radical glam rock live shows divided opinion.