Endorphin

Though born in France, Endorphin (real name Eric Chapus) was very much an Aussie by the time he made it big as a performer. He was thrust into the spotlight during the late '90s as part of an effort to foster Australian talent by radio station Triple J. Playing cutting edge electro sounds, he was arguably one of down under's most unusual finds of that period. He was something of a nomad for much of his life, skipping between Europe, Africa, and Asia before finally settling in the hot and steamy Aussie state of Queensland. Here he dabbled in a variety of musical ventures throughout the 1980s and early '90s — such as the industrial outfit Godzilla in the Mist, who enriched their sound with the noise of chainsaws and angle grinders. In 1996 he composed the song "Pacific" to voice his opposition to French nuclear tests on Mururoa. That track didn't make much of an impact on his career, but his next offering — the hypnotic single "Relapse" — did. It won him a place amongst Australia's top musicians in Triple J's famous Unearthed comp, a massive cult following, and a five-album deal with Sony. Thus, in 1998, came the chilled out Embraced, which not only grabbed plenty of critical praise but was also a commercial success in Australia. It featured the widely celebrated single "Satie" — which was later used on the internationally popular Café Del Mar, Vol. 6 compilation. Not surprisingly, Endorphin quickly became one of the nation's most respected acts, regularly supporting such heavyweight visitors as Massive Attack, Moby, and Faithless. He then did his reputation as a musical pioneer no harm at all with the release of widely acclaimed trip-hop albums Skin (2000) and AM: PM (2001).