Who: Santi White, a Philly-born, Wesleyan-educated producer turned songwriter who used to play in punk band Stiffed, but now specializes in eccentric pop that's a culture-clash of world music, blips and bleeps, and a healthy dose of reggae.

Sounds Like: Santogold merge White's versatile voice (which recalls M.I.A. one minute and Karen O the next) with quirky, off-kilter beats. The result is a kaleidoscope of organic and synthetic sounds held together by White's attitude-filled flow.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. White moved to New York in early 2005 after she lost her father and decided she needed to focus on her music. She started out as a songwriter, and has written with Lily Allen and Marc Ronson as well as for Ashlee Simpson. (Her current roster of collaborators includes hip beatmasters Spank Rock and Switch.)
2. Santogold was hand-picked by Björk to open for the Icelandic pop star when she played Madison Square Garden this week. The show took place on Santi's birthday, and the crowd sang to her. "After each show they do a little dance party backstage because Björk likes to get her adrenaline out of her muscles," White explains. "Each night a different person DJs off their iPod, then we had these dance battles in a circle. It's like a pajama party dance party."
3. White developed an early aversion to performing when she was traumatized during a high school choral recital. "I had a solo when I was fifteen and it was a fucking disaster," she says. "I was so nervous and I didn't have faith in myself at all. The first night, this other guy was supposed to sing the solo and he didn't show up and they're like, 'You're on!' I wasn't ready and I just hid my face onstage and my hands were shaking."

Get It: Santogold's as-yet-untitled debut album doesn't have a release date, but you can check out the band's music on their MySpace page and get your hands on the limited edition single of "LES Artistes"/"Creator" as an import on the Lizard King label. To check out Santogold in action, watch the live footage above.

› ›Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

Who: A microbiologist turned rocker from Sweden who was planning a career in academics or pharmaceuticals until he released his first album, 2005's Veneer, and found fame with a cover of the Knife's "Heartbeats" on a TV commercial and The O.C.

Sounds Like: José Gonzaléz's music instantly recalls other mellow introspective folk-rockers like Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, but the singer's significant South American influence sets him apart.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. Gonzaléz, who considers himself an atheist, titled his new album In Our Nature in reference to the debate over whether human behavior is biologically dictated. Science, philosophy and religion are major lyrical themes for him. "I don't want to be too harsh, but there's very little evidence for 'intelligent design' or any sort of creator," he explains.
2. Before high school, Gonzaléz spent a summer taking classical guitar lessons while also playing in a punk band. "I wore dreadlocks and rode a skateboard," the singer remembers. "The rest of the guys in the band were really bad at school -- I was the one who did the homework."
3. Gonzaléz's parents are from Argentina, but they moved to Gothenburg, Sweden, for political reasons in 1976. The singer's two primary languages are Swedish and Spanish. Get It: José Gonzaléz's In Our Nature comes out September 25th, and you can watch the video for new single "Down the Line" right here.

››Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

Click here to watch Grand National's video for "By the Time I Get Home There Won't Be Much of a Place for Me."

Who: Lawrence "La" Rudd and Rupert Lyddon, a pair of witty English dance-music enthusiasts with no particular fondness for horses — they had planned to name themselves after the pony that won a major horse race, wound up taking the name of the competition itself to save time, and have been plagued with horse-related questions from interviewers ever since.

Sounds Like: Dancey electro-rock that bounces along to soulful, Eighties-tinged grooves and clubby synths but never loses the "rock" side of the equation. The group's second album A Drink and a Quick Decision, like their debut Kicking the National Habit pulls from influences that range from Depeche Mode to Hall and Oates.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. When Lyddon used to deliver sausages for a living, he scored studio time in the band's early days by making a deal with Primal Scream — he'd hand over as many sausages as they desired, and the band let him borrow the keys to the studio.
2. Rudd used to perform in a Police cover band when he was a teenager.
3. Lyddon has a unique way of keeping snoopers out of the group's studio space: he urinates in bottles so he doesn't have to get up and break his concentration.

Get It: Grand National's second album A Drink and a Quick Decision is available now on Recall Records, and you can watch the video for "By the Time I Get Home There Won't Be Much of a Place for Me" right here.

› ›Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

Who: A lively mixed-race, mixed-sex crew of English kids who make a peppy, exuberant blend of rock, hip-hop, funk and TV-theme music that belies their band moniker (they're named after the workers who clear wreckage in the wake of plane crashes).

Sounds Like: Band mastermind Ian Parton assembles mash-up-mad rock grooves stocked with strange found-sound samples, and the rest of the group, including MC Ninja, raps and shouts on top of the collage-like concoctions.

Three Things You Should Know:

1. Ninja joined the band after answering Parton's ad for a female rapper. The MC (who has real martial-arts skills) auditioned for a soap opera and a science show called Tomorrow's World just prior to landing her Go! Team gig.
2. Guests on the group's latest album, Proof of Youth, include Public Enemy's Chuck D, Bonde De Role's Marina Vello, a cheerleading troupe from Washington, D.C. and a group of literally old-school rappers called the Double Dutch Divas (they're in their fifties).
3. The Go! Team's famous fans include Dennis Hopper and Tony Blair, who asked to use one of their songs for a Labour Party advertisement (Parton declined).

Get It: The Go! Team's second LP Proof of Youth comes out September 11th. The band hits the U.S. for a handful of tour dates in October, and you can check out first single "Grip Like a Vice" right here.

›› Watch every episode of our weekly New Breaking Artist video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click "Launch application"). Every Wednesday, an exclusive video profile of an emerging artist will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]