London-born singer/songwriter and guitarist Toby Slater (born August 14, 1979) got an early start in his musical career after growing up in London's suburbs. He formed the short-lived modern rock band Catch in 1994; two years later, the group was signed to a deal and scored two U.K. chart hits: "Bingo" (number 23) and "Dive In" (number 44), the former becoming a surprise number one hit in Thailand. Slater departed Catch at the end of 1998 to pursue a darker, more rock-oriented musical direction, moving to Los Angeles and quickly developing an interest in distributing his work via the Internet. He completed an emo meets Brit-pop EP, titled Consumption, but became far more notable for being one of the more Internet-savvy musicians, appearing on panels at such conferences as South by Southwest to discuss online distribution and promotion. ~ Joseph McCombs