Alexi Murdoch (GB)

About

Alexi Murdoch built a devoted following almost entirely on his own terms. He turned down deal after deal from major labels to keep control of his music, releasing his debut EP Four Songs independently in 2002, and CD Baby ended up selling over 50,000 copies of it, making it the site's all time best seller at the time. Radio play on KCRW got people paying attention, and comparisons to Nick Drake followed naturally, his sparse, haunting folk sound earning five stars from Alternative Press and a spot on Rolling Stone's Top Ten Artists list. If you've watched a lot of American TV, you've almost certainly heard Murdoch without realising it. His first album Time Without Consequence became one of the most licensed records of its era, with songs turning up in Grey's Anatomy, Prison Break, The O.C., Scrubs and many more. Nine of his songs made up most of the soundtrack for the 2009 film Away We Go. His second album Towards the Sun, released officially in 2011, kept that reputation going, drawing praise from both US and European critics.