Rainbow Arabia

Mixing mesmerizing tribal beats, electro sounds, and Middle Eastern instrumentation, Rainbow Arabia were formed in 2008 by husband/wife duo Tiffany and Danny Preston. The two were married for three years before they started recording together in their Echo Park basement in early 2008. Just prior, Danny had played in the dub-based outfit Future Pigeon, and Tiffany was a member of Licorice Piglet. Influenced by Arabic albums released on Sublime Frequencies and a music class that Tiffany attended (which focused on Middle Eastern guitar), Rainbow Arabia became actively involved in the experimental L.A. dance-punk scene that year. The band gained recognition quickly, and U.K. label Merok (Crystal Castles, Klaxons) made plans to release their first EP (The Basta) and full-length in 2009. Boys & Diamonds, their Kompakt follow up, took a more tropical, dubby direction, and was released in 2011. Second album F.M. Sushi arrived in 2013, stripping away the duo's sunny samples and opting instead for a darker dance direction.