An indie electronic outfit that's experimented with new wave revivalism, tribal beats, and Middle Eastern instrumentation, Rainbow Arabia was formed in 2008 by husband/wife duo Tiffany and Danny Preston. The two were married for three years before they started recording together in their Echo Park basement in early 2008. Just prior, Danny had played in the dub-based outfit Future Pigeon, and Tiffany was a member of Licorice Piglet. Influenced by Arabic albums released on Sublime Frequencies and a music class that Tiffany attended (which focused on Middle Eastern guitar), Rainbow Arabia became actively involved in the experimental L.A. dance-punk scene that year. The band gained recognition quickly, and U.K. label Merok (Crystal Castles, Klaxons) signed on to release their first two EPs, 2008's The Basta and 2009's Kabukimono. Their first full-length, Boys and Diamonds, took a more tropical, dubby direction. It was released by Kompakt in 2011. Second album F.M. Sushi arrived on their own Kompakt imprint Time No Place in 2013, and stripped away the duo's sunny samples, opting instead for a darker dance direction. L.A. Heartbreak followed on the same label in 2016 and tended toward a more new wave-inspired electropop. ~ Jason Lymangrover