Koushik

In a 2003 interview, Koushik compared his music to breathing, which makes sense: while nominally hip-hop in its use of samples and drum breaks, Koushik's work seems to pulse like a bellows, drawing in energy from vintage soul and folk records, and issuing out a yellow-and-pink fog of blurry harmonies. (Imagine the Beach Boys, chopped and screwed, and then photographed through a Vaseline-smeared lens.) Growing up in Dundee, Ontario, Koushik began DJing and recording at 14 -- in fact, he says, he'd been sneaking down to the basement to play with his brother's turntables since he was eight -- but it wasn't until years later that he'd let anyone listen to his creations. His debut single appeared in 2001, followed by a string of singles (collected in 2005 as Be With) for Stones Throw; in 2008 he followed up with Out My Window, his album debut. While the record's beats recalled hip-hop mavericks like Madlib, J Dilla and DJ Shadow, his lush harmonies had more in common with folk-obsessives like Caribou and Four Tet. Unsurprisingly, he has collaborated with both.