Klaxons

Formed in London, Klaxons unite the talents of Jamie Reynolds, James Righton, and Simon Taylor. Although grounded in rock, the group draws heavily from dance music, above all the U.K. rave movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Reynolds even branded the band “nu-rave” to underscore that debt. After their second understated single, the trio earned praise from NME and signed to Polydor Records. While the musicians worked on their debut album, the Modular label released the brief singles compilation Xan Valleys in late 2006. Myths of the Near Future, their first full-length effort, appeared on both sides of the Atlantic in early 2007 and captured the Mercury Prize later that year. In 2008 Klaxons began recording fresh material, yet Polydor rejected the tracks as too experimental. The band subsequently re-recorded the album with Ross Robinson and issued the results in 2010 as Surfing the Void.