Dan Mangan

Vancouver-based indie artist Dan Mangan is a testament to the combined virtues of honest-to-goodness songwriting talent and unstinting hard work. Armed with little more than a bank loan and the generous support of several like-minded muso friends, he cut his first album, Postcards and Daydreaming, which boasted such small, perfectly formed, thought-provoking beauties as "Journal of a Narcoleptic" and "Come Down," then set about putting the word out with the kind of low-budget global tour that would have impressed Phileas Fogg in its scope. Follow-up Nice, Nice, Very Nice (2009) not only proved to be the work of a mature, eclectically receptive and seasoned traveller — taking in the feel-good bluegrass of "Sold" and the breezy folk-pop of "Robots" (which, by the way, has a terrific video) — but also pulled in a well-deserved Polaris Prize 2010 nod. Make no mistake: Dan's your man.