Ella Riot

Daft Punk has inspired a surprising number of young bands to pick up sequencers and make their own robot rock, including Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Ella Riot. Behind the skyscraper-huge voice of Michelle Chamuel, the quintet lays down brainy disco with art-rock pretensions, Ed Banger-esque bangers given to unpredictable time-signature shifts and inescapable hooks. Fully in love with the dance floor, the band has remixed the likes of Kanye West and Franz Ferdinand (as well as one-man funk-machine That 1 Guy) while also releasing its own albums, including 2009’s debut DanceThink and March 2011’s Love Child. Unfortunately, it seems that Love Child may be the group’s last release, as it announced an indefinite hiatus beginning after Halloween, citing differing “creative energy.” 

Updated 10/03/2011