In the winter of 2010, frustrated songwriter and multi instrumentalist Alex Feder -- previously known as the frontman of Brooklyn band The XYZ Affair -- nearly gave up on his childhood ambitions and quit music. Instead, he chose to move across the country to Los Angeles and create R&B singer Leonard Friend, a musical altar ego named after his grandfather, who abandoned a promising career as a big band saxophonist when he entered the family's traveling salesman business. The soundtrack for Feder's cross country journey -- Michael Jackson's Dangerous, The Dismemberment Plan's Emergency and I, Usher's Confessions, Phil Collins' Face Value, the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell duets, and the first three records by The Time -- became the roots for his new project, which Feder would officially unveil nearly two years later with the debut EP Lynyrd Frynd.

Triple threat. Many have claimed to possess it, yet finding an artist who has the ability to sing, dance and act is both hard to come by and an even harder quality to obtain. Enter: Gavin Turek. An unlikely character, Gavin turns out to be not at all what she seems. Behind the sweet monotone of her voice, innocent eyes and cascading curls, lies a talented artist who is capable of almost anything. One who is in every sense a triple threat.

The L.A. native known for her incredible voice, is also an experienced dancer, actress, and spokes person for the world renown make up brand Rimmel London. The Czechoslovakian African beauty began singing at a young age; writing her first song at the age of six. It wasn’t till Gavin reached college that she began taking her music seriously. When I asked what initially sparked her interest, she replied dryly, “A boy. It started out innocently. Writing was simply my emotional outlet so I started making music on my laptop. That led to my sister posting some of it online, which then led to working with incredible producers and beginning an album.” Crafting a sound that is soulful, memorable, danceable, earnest and shamelessly pop; all blended together by the soft soulfulness of Gavin’s voice.

Being compared to a devastatingly beautiful, meteorological act of God may seem like a high bar to aspire to, but for indie electro-rock group, TEMP3ST, it seems just right. They build their sound on a foundation of catastrophic electronic beats infused with dramatic, sweeping melodies that seem to shape-shift just as you think you’ve figure them out. Atop this mountain of sound rests the effervescent and raw voice of lead singer, Gabrielle Wortman, whose sheer vocal power can only be topped by the poetic and heartbreaking stories it tells.

Apparently, that’s what you get when you combine a classical pianist from Connecticut who harbors an obsession for mixing original synthesizers with a punk drummer from Florida who slings simple yet slamming beats. Gabrielle Wortman and Christopher Roberts, the pair that make up TEMP3ST, met in Los Angeles in 2010 and have nurtured their unlikely creative compatibility ever since. Gabrielle, who had already established herself as an award-winning songwriter prior to the group’s formation, describes her first encounters with Roberts as “the greatest thing that came out of my debut solo album.” She explains that her “classically-inspired piano riffs and his driving, heavy beats produced a musical misfit that is beautiful, fierce and unique.”

The TEMP3ST “mad scientists” have captured the attention of a mounting army of fans and music critics who continue to support the band as they catapult into mainstream success. In 2012 alone, TEMP3ST has supported well-known indie powerhouses like Cults, Grimes and Grouplove, performed in four festivals with over 10,000 in attendance, was named “Next Big Thing” at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival (where they performed five separate times), released their self-produced debut EP: I Am Tempest, to a sea of praise from blogs and music critics, and Wortman’s dub-step remix of Bon Iver’s “Minnesota, WI” placed 15th in the world during the Bon Iver Stems Project Contest.

TEMP3ST’s DIY nature is a fresh, rare and welcomed alternative to the major-label puppets of pop that dominate the mainstream nowadays. In fact, combating this “bobble-headed bullshit”, as Wortman puts it, seems to be high up on the band’s agenda. “We are breeding an army of conscious music consumers,” Wortman insists, “that reach for a more honest musical experience.”

Wortman and Roberts operate with a brilliant and fearless integrity that on its own could rally a following, but coupled with their undeniable musical ingenuity, could start a revolution. Diving into the core of this indie electronic band leaves you with the feeling that a storm is brewing and TEMP3ST is hell-bent on being in the eye of it.