Olivier Conan is the lead singer and cuatro player for the Brooklyn-based chicha band Chicha Libre.

Olivier Conan seems determined to make me think he's the coolest guy in the world. First of all, he sings and plays cuatro (a small guitar, traditionally played in Venezuelan music) in Chicha Libre, one of the coolest bands I know of. Secondly, he's one of the owners of Barbes, one of my favorite places to see world music in New York City. Pretty cool, I'd say.