Morcheeba

Morcheeba is as stone-cold funky and down-tempo-driven as their drug-nod of a name suggests. Thankfully they won't leave you feeling as lethargic as an overstuffed peace pipe, though. Instead, trip-hop templates like "The Sea" and "Undress Me Now" tickle the senses and ooze sensuality — as in late nights spent in front of choreographed candles or a crackling fire, weeping into a bottle of red wine or sharing one with a new, hipper-than-thou lover.

Trip-hop's not the only subgenre Morcheeba's mastered during the past decade, either. Dig their range and depth in our Next Steps.

While rightfully respected artists like Portishead, Tricky, and Massive Attack consistently fit the trip-hop mold of dire, black-and-white-tinged film scores, moody beats, and sad-bastard lyrics, Morcheeba began with a trip-hop-you-don't-stop debut (Who Can You Trust?) and eventually moved into such unforeseen territory as steamy tropicalia tunes ("São Paulo"), string-guided soul ("Slow Down"), and beat-backed indie rock ("What New York Couples Fight About," featuring Kurt Wagner of Lamb).

Former Talking Head David Byrne first employed the Godfrey brothers (Paul and Ross) to help him unwind in the smoky realm of trip-hop on his solo album Feelings. A decent break, for sure, but the duo found its most fitting collaborators in the waiting-to-be-discovered diva Skye Edwards and, more recently, former Noonday Underground vocalist Daisy Martey, who took over Morcheeba's mic on the psych-damaged, Bacharach-pop U-turn The Antidote. Vocals aside, the Godfreys have maintained one of the strongest laidback sounds in electronic music, traversing beyond trip-hop to such esoteric locales as the blues, funk, and throwback soul.