So, who the heck are we? We're a small crew of dedicated musicians, editors, marketers and designers dedicated to the cause of throwing a spotlight on great artists.

We're especially interested in brilliant pros that explode onto the international music scene and drop out soon after, often to do wonderful work that only hard-core fans bother to check out. Think Mary Fahl of the October Project, Thomas Dolby, Neil Finn of Crowded House, Mark Cohn (author of "Walking in Memphis") and even 80s mainstays like Howard Jones whose talents, we'd argue, extend well beyond charming pop tunes. Or Tasmin Archer, one of this month's featured artists, whose work only seems to have grown richer since she dropped her EMI contract more than a decade ago.

We're also tracking emerging bands and artists with a distinctive sound, brains and yes, a decent business plan. We're artistic but we're practical too-and those who are clueless about business, unfortunately, aren't going to be able to feed their art. This issue of ReMixed, in fact, features two of the sharpest music business minds we've encountered, and they're all of 12 and 14 years old.

Then there's the session players and "side men" (or women) whose careers weren't built for the spotlight. We'd like to give them one. Consider guitarist John Konesky, who co-wrote Tenacious D's kickin' anthem "The Metal": if you're never considered where that screaming riff came from, this will be your chance. How about Jeff Pevar, a mild-mannered songwriter guitar player who never seems to brag about the fact that he frequently works with folk-rock god David Crosby? Or even Crosby's son James Raymond, a brilliant songwriter and performer whose name you might never otherwise hear?

As far as we're concerned, the world doesn't need another smart-assed set of critics to speak for musicians, slap genre labels on them and dare them to prove themselves. While we intend to be candid in our takes, we're here to be a supportive voice and salute those who despite all odds, dig into themselves and produce something great.

So, get on board and ReMix with us. This is going to be a blast!

If you want to share news, opinions or the names of artists you care about, please write to us at editors@remixedmag.com