Although they were championed by
Nine Inch Nails mastermind
Trent Reznor, who signed the band to his Nothing label, the British duo
12 Rounds was originally signed to Polydor and began as a trio. Although their debut, Jitter Juice, sold well enough to lead to a series of festival appearances back home and an extensive tour with friends
the Sneaker Pimps, the band --
Atticus Ross and
Claudia Sarne -- was ultimately dropped by Polydor. They used the downtime productively and recorded an album's worth of material in the summer of 1997 in their studio basement. When
Reznor heard the tapes, he signed them immediately, and eventually put out
My Big Hero in July 1998. Besides as
12 Rounds, the pair has worked with others as well, such as a collaboration with
Bomb the Bass, and production credits that include
Barry Adamson's
As Above So Below and a new band called No Jahoda. Most notable were
Atticus Ross' collaborations with
Reznor, which included work on
Nine Inch Nails' albums, handling production duties for other artists, and, with Reznor, to an Academy Award-winning career as score composer for films including The Social Network and
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. ~ Greg Prato