Mary Louise Platt and Nicole Lombardi, aka ML and Nikki, comprise the stylish electronic funk of Spalding Rockwell. Lombardi grew up in Washington, D.C., and religiously followed Fugazi. When she wasn't immersed in the city's local punk scene, Lombardi and her older sister were seeing national acts play shows at the 9:30 Club and Tracks. Platt, a New Yorker by birth, was into hip-hop throughout her teens, listening to Black Sheep, Cypress Hill, and Wu-Tang Clan during the early '90s. By 1994, Lombardi and Platt were best friends, and within five years' time, Spalding Rockwell was born. They perfected a red-hot formula of new wave, hip-hop, and electro while distinguishing themselves from the trendy electroclash crowd taking over the boroughs of the Big Apple. They lent their song "White Cotton Panties" to Larry Tee's Badd Inc. compilation in 2003. "Vicious" appeared on Tee's Electroclash, Vol. 2 collection a year later. Their popularity was on the up and up by mid-2004 with Armand Van Helden's club hit "Hear My Name?" Platt and Lombardi contributed lead vocals to this U.K. Top 30 smash, which is featured on Van Helden's New York: A Mix Odyssey album. Spalding Rockwell's proper full-length debut, Kate, followed in September. ~ MacKenzie Wilson