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Sugar was a four-member Korean girl pop group that employed the standard array of uptempo dancey tunes and slow ballads as well as the occasional rock song later on. Sugar were a part of the "Korean wave" of performers that broke through to Asian markets in the 2000s; the band had modest success in their native country, and a couple of hits in Japan, but ultimately faced the fate of all girl groups, splitting in a couple of years to leave its members to pursue (mostly unimpressive) solo careers. The band initially included Ahyoomee (or Ayumi), Soo Jin, Hye Seung (first known as Sae Byul), and Hwang Jung Eum, and debuted in 2001 with the song "Sweet Love," but only managed to get itself noticed in 2003, when it released the song "Tell Me Why" and the album of the same name. The girls had to fend off competition from similar Korean female pop acts M.I.L.K. and Shinvi, but those two never got past the debut album, despite being promoted by SM Entertainment, a major talent agency, while Sugar released their second Korean full-length, Shine, a couple of months after their first LP. Their good live skills, non-typical for a girl band, contributed to their rise, which also brought them to the Japanese market: in 2003, their songs "Take It Shake It" and "Real Identity" were featured in the anime series Kaleido Star. Ayumi's Japanese ancestry helped there, but the band failed to capitalize on the initial success, although not for the lack of trying: in 2004, they released three Japanese singles and the Japanese album Double Rainbow. All of those fared miserably in the charts, and Jung Eum opted to quit and focus on solo work (she was replaced by Haleen). Their Korean career fared no better: despite being signed to SM Entertainment, they failed to make a stir with either the 2004 EP Secret, or two 2005 singles and the album Sweet Lips, which proved to be their last Korean full-length. After the second Japanese album, Colors, Vol. 4: Wishes (2005), didn't even make it to Top 100, Soo Jin quit, and the rest of the band followed in 2006. Ahyoomee began a solo career, and Soo Jin moved into acting. ~ Alexey Eremenko

On the techno side of tech-house, Lars Sandberg's streamlined recordings as Funk D'Void enlivened the fertile Glasgow techno scene during the mid-'90s courtesy of Soma Recordings, the label owned by local scene-heads Slam. He began DJing hip-hop and house around Glasgow in the mid-'80s and later began recording as well, sparked by a drive to hear his own tracks on the dancefloor. Sandberg named his production alias in tribute to George Clinton, whose P-Funk concert machine often featured a mythical Scrooge character named Sir Nose d'Void of Funk who was inevitably forced to give it up by the end of the show. After hooking up with Soma for the 1995 single "Jack Me Off," tracks like "Soul Man" and "Bad Coffee" began hitting the clubs as well. Sandberg released the debut Funk D'Void album Technoir on Soma in 1997. Also, his Chaser project (with Nigel Hayes) made waves of its own with the album Game On, also on Soma. Another Sandberg alias, United States of Sound recorded two singles for the Bomber label. The second Funk D'Void full-length, Imitate, appeared in late 2000. ~ John Bush

A talented guitarist influenced a bit by Pat Metheny, Wayne Johnson has spent much of his career in the background, doing studio work and touring with the Manhattan Transfer. He started playing guitar when he was eight and won several contests while still in school. Johnson attended Berklee during 1972-1974, joined the Manhattan Transfer's backup group in 1976, and in 1977 put together a popular trio that recorded for Inner City (1979), ITI (1983), Zebra (1988), and MoJazz (1993). In 1990, Johnson worked with Rickie Lee Jones for a year and has since toured Europe with John Scofield and produced records, in addition to working occasionally with his trio. ~ Scott Yanow