Le Castle Vania

Speaking of fast-rising stars, this NYC native has put his golden touch on records from Duck Sauce, Breakbot, Wiz Khalifa, and was most recently handpicked by French pop star Yelle as the winner of her latest worldwide remix competition.

Ghost Beach are the latest pop pioneers to set the internet ablaze with only a couple singles floating around and without any major label backing. The New York-based duo of Josh Ocean and Eric "Doc" Mendelsohn take their '80s influences one step further with Ghost Beach. Only a few months old, they've already perfected a retro-future aesthetic that sounds like the holy trifecta of The Police, Depeche Mode, and Daft Punk, with a little Passion Pit sprinkled on top for good measure. Josh plays the jilted lover with vocal panache as Eric's soaring synths, guitars and forever young harmonies are plucked right out of Neverland. Ghost Beach is more about a time than a place, and that time is now.
- Andrew Hwang (Neon Gold)