Mylo

Hailed by outlets ranging from the NME to Elton John as the figure who rescued dance music, Scottish electronic artist Mylo rose to prominence in the middle of the 2000s through an imaginative blend of West Coast electronica, high-energy house, and samples drawn from 1980s MOR pop. Myles MacInnes was born in 1978 in Broadford on the isolated Isle of Skye to parents who were hippie academics from Cambridge. From childhood he mastered keyboards, drums, and guitar without formal instruction. At the elite Edinburgh institution George Watson's College he started a Madchester covers band alongside his brother, then pursued degrees in philosophy, psychology, and physiology at Oxford. After postponing doctoral work in philosophy at UCLA, he moved back to Scotland to focus on music. In 2001 he launched Breastfed Recordings with a pair of associates; the imprint issued his debut album, Destroy Rock & Roll, in 2003—an entirely Apple G4–recorded, sample-driven set that yielded four Top 20 singles. Among them were the mash-up “Doctor Pressure,” combining his track “Drop the Pressure” with Miami Sound Machine’s “Dr. Beat”; the title song, built around an American preacher’s condemnation of 1980s pop; and “In My Arms,” a fusion of Kim Carnes and Boy Meets Girl material. Sony BMG subsequently released the album globally, prompting remix commissions for Scissor Sisters, Amy Winehouse, and Kylie Minogue; his production of the latter’s “I Believe in You” topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Mylo supplied “Mars Needs Women” to the 2005 War Child benefit album Help! A Day in the Life, issued two MixMag mix CDs, and continues work on a long-delayed follow-up.