Fused

The funk-laden grooves and prominent deep bass lines crafted by Fused cofounders Max Reich and Samuel Onervas first surfaced on soundtracks for Swedish porn films. In the late '90s the Gothenburg duo shifted toward remixing dance tracks for artists including Mousse T, Faithless, and Rob D. Before the decade ended they had issued their own underground European singles "This Party Sucks" and "The Good & Bad," which began attracting attention. By then the project had expanded into a trio when soulful vocalist Petra Hellberg responded to a newspaper advertisement and joined the lineup. The group's debut album Audio arrived in 2001 to enthusiastic media coverage. Every track was captured inside a makeshift studio located in a cramped northwest London house that also housed a boisterous round-the-clock nightclub. The record blended sexy deep house, warped electro-funk, catchy pop, and trance, earning widespread critical acclaim as one of the year's most distinctive releases. Its opening single "Saving Mary," issued in additional versions reworked by hip producers Bob Sinclar and Bobby Riviera, registered strongly across dance charts worldwide.