The Raveonettes

One of a number of European garage rock acts to emerge as rivals to the White Stripes and the Strokes, this Danish duo enjoyed immediate acclaim for their 2002 debut mini-album, Whip It On. The band is the creation of songwriter Sune Wagner (guitar/vocals), who teamed up with fellow Copenhagen resident Sharin Foo (bass/vocals) in 1998 to form a band inspired by their musical influences, which range from Buddy Holly through the Velvet Underground to Sonic Youth. The duo began recording Whip It On in Christmas 2001, setting up shop at a Copenhagen studio and using ProTools to sample drums, guitars, and bass. The duo set themselves a number of rules while recording in the studio: no song to last longer than three minutes, no more than three chords per song, and everything to be recorded in B minor. Manoj Ramdas (guitar) and Jakob Hoyer (drums) were added to the line-up for their live gigs, one of which caught the attention of visiting Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke. Following rave reviews in the magazine, Wagner and Foo signed a major label recording contract with Columbia Records and relocated to New York to work with producer Richard Gottehrer on Chain Gang Of Love. On their follow-up, Pretty In Black, the duo pursued a more melodic pop direction, with notable assistance provided by former Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker, Suicide keyboard player Martin Rev, and Ronnie Spector.