Bond

• Genre: Dance Pop
• Bond Website

About

Both reviled and revered for their unorthodox take on classical music, the string quartet Bond is composed of classically trained former session musicians Tania Davis, Gay-Yee Westeroff, Haylie Ecker and Eos. While Gay-Yee and Eos had played for artists as diverse as the Cocteau Twins, the Spice Girls and Talvin Singh, they were jaded about the backseat role classical musicians play in pop music. Teaming up with Ecker and Davis, the quartet decided to put the strings front and center -- and to liven things up by involving electronica and world influences. The resulting fusion has infuriated classical music purists but has raged across Europe, where people don't mind a little booty-shaking with their Brahms. It doesn't hurt that the players are eye-catchingly cute. "Explosive," off the 2004 release Classified, was selected as the theme song for Australia's 2004 Olympic games coverage.

- Sarah Bardeen