As one half of Harvard-bred indie pop duo Chester French, David-Andrew Wallach (or D.A. Wallach, professionally) rose from obscurity when he and bandmate Maxwell Drummey's 2007 demo attracted the attention of both Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. The band became the subject of a bidding war and eventually signed with Williams' Star Trak label, where they released their eclectic 2009 debut, Love the Future. Wallach's piano-led solo work leaned heavily on classic pop styles from the '60s and '70s, calling to mind forebears like Paul McCartney and Elton John. Working with a number of collaborators like Pharrell Williams and songwriters Dan Wilson and Diane Warren, he recorded his debut LP, Time Machine, which was released by Harvest in October 2015. ~ Timothy Monger