Ken McHugh, the man who is Autamata, had three different major labels interested in his work but none could deal with how diverse it was. The Dublin-based producer lays out trip-hop one minute and electro-pop the next and mixes the electronic with the acoustic. Sick of dealing with narrow-minded marketing departments, McHugh released his debut, My Sanctuary, on his own Left Hand Records in 2003. The London-based imprint RG gave the album a wider release in 2004. ~ David Jeffries