A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages (perhaps deriving ultimately from Arabic or Persian cf. bab-khanah "gate-house" and "towered gateway" or from the mediaeval English burgh-kenning), is a fortified outpost or gateway, such as an outer defense to a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Usually barbicans were situated outside the main line of defences and connected to the city walls with a walled road called the neck. In the 15th century, with the improvement in siege tactics and artillery, barbicans lost their significance. However, several barbicans were built even in the 16th century.

Fortified or mock-fortified gatehouses remained a feature of ambitious French and English residences into the 17th century.

Fortifications in East Asia also featured similar structures. In particular, gates in Chinese city walls were often defended by an additional "archery tower" in front of the main gatehouse, with the two towers connected by walls extending out from the main fortification. Called literally "jar walls", they are often referred to as "barbicans" in English.

Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is a British electronic musician and composer. He founded the record label Rephlex Records in 1991 with Grant Wilson-Claridge. He was described by The Guardian as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music."

Aphex Twin has also recorded music under the aliases AFX, Blue Calx, Bradley Strider, Caustic Window, DJ Smojphace, GAK, Martin Tressider, Polygon Window, Power-Pill, Prichard D. Jams, Q-Chastic, Tahnaiya Russell, The Dice Man, Soit-P.P., and speculatively The Tuss.

Aphex Twin has released recordings on Rephlex, Warp, R&S, Sire, Mighty Force, Rabbit City, and Men Records.

Richard David James was born to Welsh parents Lorna and Derek James in St. Munchin's Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital, Ireland. He grew up in Lanner, Cornwall, enjoying, along with two older sisters, a "very happy" childhood during which they, according to James, "were pretty much left to do what [they] wanted." He "liked growing up there, being cut off from the city and the rest of the world". James attended Redruth School, located in Redruth, Cornwall.

Danny MacAskill, (born 23 December 1985) also known as 'Danny MegaSkill', is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He works professionally as a street trials pro rider for Inspired Bicycles Ltd. He released 'April 2009', a five-and-a-half-minute street trials video, filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby, on YouTube on the 19th April 2009. The video quickly gained popular acclaim and widespread media attention. The video features stunts performed by MacAskill set to 'The Funeral' by Band of Horses.

As of April 2009, MacAskill, who was brought up in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, had been practising for more than 12 years. He gave up his job as a mechanic so he could ride full time. He now lives in Edinburgh. In June 2009, MacAskill appeared in the music video for Doves' single "Winter Hill". MacAskill also appeared in a TV-commercial for the new Volkswagen Golf Estate.

On 16 November 2010 MacAskill released a new video "Way Back Home" produced by Red Bull Media House. The video showcases locations around Scotland including Edinburgh Castle, North Berwick, wartime bunkers on the island of Inchgarvie beneath the Forth Bridge and a hydro-electric power station in the Scottish Highlands. In May 2011 Leica Cameras released a "Go Play" promo video featuring him doing tricks in the city of Cape Town. In August 9 of 2011 Cut Media released a video named "Industrial Revolutions". The video, set to 'The Wolves' by Ben Howard, features MacAskill doing tricks in an abandoned Scottish iron works. It was created for Channel 4's documentary Concrete Circus.

Nicolas Jaar is an American-Chilean musician. He is currently studying comparative literature at Brown University, Rhode Island. Jaar is also the owner and founder of his own record label and art house Clown & Sunset.

Jaar was born in New York on January 10, 1990 to Alfredo Jaar and Evelyne Maynard and moved to his father’s native Chile when he was two. He and his family lived there for six years before moving back to New York. Jaar met Soul Keita and Nikita Quasim on a school trip through the Sonora desert in Mexico. The three bonded over music and began swapping beats and projects online. In 2009, Jaar started Clown & Sunset as a way to legitimize their music.

Jaar’s music is ruminative and emotional (he calls it “blue-wave”), drawing inspiration from fellow-Chilean Ricardo Villalobos and minimal techno. Most of Jaar’s compositions reside at 100 BPM or lower, far lower than the techno/house standards of 120-130 BPM. “I’m going to keep taking the beats even slower,” he says in an interview with Resident Advisor, “More unintentional things happen between the beats.” He released his debut album, Space Is Only Noise in January 2011 to critical acclaim, receiving a score of 8.4 “Best New Music” from Pitchfork and four stars from The Guardian. It was ranked #1 album of the year by Resident Advisor, Mixmag, Crack Mag, #2 by DJ Mag and #20 by Pitchfork. His track "Don't Break My Love" also received Best New Music by Pitchfork in late 2011. Jaar toured the album with a full band, combining sounds from his laptop with a guitarist, drummer, and saxophonist.

Michael Edward "Mike" Mills (born December 17, 1958 in Orange County, California) is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments. He contributed to a majority of the band's musical compositions.

As a young boy, Mills moved with his family to Macon, Georgia and attended Northeast High School in the early 1970s. Mills' father Frank was a singer whose appearances included The Ed Sullivan Show, while his mother Adora was a piano teacher, which helped him develop a love of music at an early age. He met and formed a band with drummer friend Bill Berry in high school. They met Peter Buck and Michael Stipe while attending the University of Georgia.

Mills, Berry, Buck, and Stipe decided to drop out of college and focus on their band, now named R.E.M. The band quickly developed a following and were soon signed to I.R.S. Records.