Local pandas transported (upward, specifically)

Heads up, TV junkies: a song by semi-local (one member is local, the other is from France) electronic pop duo Panda Transport will be among the featured music on the episode of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy airing tonight at 8pm on ABC.

Central Virginia-based singer Kathy Compton, who started the band with long-distance collaborator Thierry Holweck, says they were contacted on January 21 through MySpace on behalf of Chop Shop, the company run by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, and told they were being considered for a slot on the wildly popular show. Confirmation came yesterday.

"We don't know how we were discovered," says Compton, "The fact that they contacted us through MySpace leaves me to believe that there's someone constantly looking for independent music."

It's a pretty cushy spot to be in: the song is slated for nearly three minutes of exposure, and in addition to the significant financial compensation involved, which likely will include royalties from syndicated broadcasts of the show in the future, Patsavas is something of a powerhouse in Hollywood. In the past

few years, she has worked on shows including Mad Men, Chuck, Without A Trace, The O.C., and Gossip Girl in addition to Grey's.

The last three, in particular, are significant, having come to define a certain class of alternative pop with mainstream appeal and significant commercial potential. The O.C. spawned a successful series of compilation albums and also inadvertently turned Imogen Heap into a popular internet meme, and Grey's Anatomy single-handedly sent The Fray's sappy piano ballad "How To Save A Life" into double-platinum territory in 2006.

It's not the first time the Pandas have made it to the small screen–- their quirky paper-cutout-and-Ikea-catalog videos have enjoyed modest success on Arte, a European television station dedicated to cultural programming.

If you can't wait until tonight, here's something to tide you over. We don't actually have the song in question, "Transmission," since they're perhaps wisely preparing themselves for the sudden arrival of a new audience and/or customer base, but you can grab it from iTunes.

Panda Transport - Wanted
Panda Transport - Cosy
Panda Transport - Paint By Numbers [remix]