There's a Finnish artist by the name of Aki Latvamäki that I'm quite fond of. I interviewed him for a (piece on LittleWhiteEarbuds)[http://www.littlewhiteearbuds.com/podcast/lwe-podcast-23-aki...]. Linked from that interview is a (video of his work with a group called Transistori)[http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6DDF9AAB1DC665F2]. Great stuff.

Chicago's brought forth many greats. Chief among these has to be Curtis Mayfield. He represents the bridge between 60's soul (with the Impressions) and 70's funk and disco (as a solo artist). He was a rare talent and I don't think he gets his due because to most people he's a footnote to the blaxploitation film movement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mayfield http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z66wVo7uNw - "Move On Up" (likely one of the most memorable / recognizable samples ever?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peChXys7FcY - "So In Love" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grO5H0qC16k - Superfly LP in full - hard for me to respect anyone's opinion on anything if they haven't heard this.

And it would be dumb not to mention Phil Upchurch. A brilliant guitarist, he went through similar stages of seamless reinvention as Curtis Mayfield (and also enjoyed some time as Mayfield's guitarist). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJQxBtgDr6Q - "Black Gold" from Upchurch LP. God mode.

More on this later.