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The German house music duo Plastik Funk was formed in 2002 in Düsseldorf by Rafael Ximenez-Carrillo and Mikio Gruschinske. Spaniard Ximenez-Carrillo was born in Madrid but grew up in Grevenbroich, Nordrhein-Westfalen, while German-Japanese Gruschinske spent the first part of his life in Tokyo before moving to Berlin. The pair started DJing in high school, growing up on hip-hop but switching to house music after hearing Frankie Knuckles and David Morales, and met after becoming the resident DJs at two different Düsseldorf nightclubs. Their debut single, the "Do It Right" EP, was released in 2003 and their subsequent string of popular club hits made them well-enough known on the dance music circuit to begin playing throughout Germany and beyond. They remixed the likes of David Guetta, Robyn, Shaggy, and Deadmau5, and they also recorded separately under the monikers Guernica and Turbopascal.

Their most prolific year was 2011, when they released no fewer than 13 singles, including their hit cover of C+C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now," which gave them their first mainstream German chart entry. They were also commissioned to mix several compilation albums, including Ministry of Sound's 2009 Sessions Germany outing. In 2012 they broke out internationally with the track "Who," produced in conjunction with fellow German Tujamo and played out by big names like Avicii and became a huge hit at Miami house music mecca the Winter Music Conference. Following its success, they played high-profile sets all over the world and took up a summer residency at Space in Ibiza. In 2014 their biggest hit yet came when the reworked "Who," retitled "Dr. Who" and featuring British rapper Sneakbo, hit number 21 on the U.K. singles chart. ~ John D. Buchanan

Bicontinental math rock quartet Bellini have created a distinct sound that marries a jarring, fractured guitar attack with a forceful and precise rhythm section, with literate, abstract lyrics and powerful vocals as seasoning. Born out of the breakup of two bands, Don Caballero and Uzeda, the band was formed in 2001, with half of the members hailing from Sicily and the others from the United States. While the original lineup would split while touring in support of their debut album, 2002's Snowing Sun, a new edition of Bellini soon followed, and though not prolific, their output earned enthusiastic plaudits from critics and discriminating alternative rock fans alike.

Formed after the breakup of instrumental math rockers Don Caballero, Bellini united Don Cab drum virtuoso Damon Che with the husband-and-wife team of Agostino Tilotta (guitar) and Giovanna Cacciola (vocals), both formerly of Sicilian noise rockers Uzeda. Their respective former bands had been labelmates on Touch & Go, and Che and Tilotta had some jam sessions under their belts before convening on Che's Pennsylvania farm with Cacciola and officially creating Bellini in the summer of 2001. Adopting their name from a classical composer born in Uzeda's hometown of Catania, Bellini added bassist Matthew Taylor and soon started playing live shows.

Entering the studio with Steve Albini, the band recorded its first album, Snowing Sun, for the indie label Monitor; it was released to positive reviews in 2002. A lengthy tour followed, during which time friction between the notoriously difficult Che and the other bandmembers came to a head. Che left the band after a drunken on-stage tirade in Athens, Georgia. He returned home to Pennsylvania, where he formed a new version of Don Caballero with members of Creta Bourzia. The remaining members of Bellini, meanwhile, replaced Che with Girls Against Boys drummer Alexis Fleisig and finished the tour. This lineup of Bellini reconvened for 2005's Small Stones; Cacciola and Tilotta returned their attention to Uzeda for 2006's Stella.

Uzeda became inactive after doing live work in support of Stella, and the members of Bellini once again joined forces to record 2009's The Precious Prize of Gravity, with Steve Albini again serving as engineer. In 2012, the group began work on its fourth album, recording basic tracks in Chicago, but Cacciola had difficulty completing her lyrics and vocals. She finally finished her contributions at an Italian studio in 2017, and Albini mixed and sequenced the final product, with Temporary Residence issuing Before the Day Is Gone in July 2018. ~ Steve Huey & Mark Deming