Mouthy rappers insisting on their genius and exhibiting their thick skulls are common enough in hip-hop, but what of electronica? Where is the Jay-Z of the dance floor, the Kanye West of the drum and bass battle, the Mary J. Blige of the dubstep declaration? That's right, they don't exist. Same as it never was!

Electronica, as it is widely known, forgotten, resurrected and in the dead-headed US, frowned upon, has typically relied on different currency to make its message complete. Sure, Aphex Twin was sometimes known to stretch his vocals into a self hammering stew ("Come To Daddy"), as did Squarepusher or even Plug (select cuts off the landmark Drum And Bass For Papa). And after electronica infiltrated the masses, Trip Hop got its groove on, revealing keen chanteuses who could spill a lyric a mile wide, and often over clever sampled beats (Lamb, Hooverphonic, Portishead). Dizzee Rascal is a master at driving manic riddims with even more maniacal raps. But pure electronica flow with spoken word shout-outs?

JDSY's Adage Of Known (Ghostly International/Moodgadget Records) marks the entrance of a new sound on the Ghostly horizon, the spoken word knob twiddler, the soothsayer flexing his sampledelic muscle, a man as enhanced with words as the beats that can support them.

"JDSY (aka Ann Arbor's Joey Sims) makes textbook Avant-Pop. Straddling the electronic and the acoustic, Adage Of Known (his first full Ghostly release) is completely unpredictable, using pop vocals as a distant signal for which to guide this stunning melodic soundclash. Having explored technology with no guidebook, his musical techniques are innovative and haphazard, which breathes a life into the songs that is consistently unique," or so goes his PR blather!

"Smoke And Mirrors": minor key fluff, twinkling halo lights and ink blot sirens, stock beats as ordinary as your Nintendo, freaked sound effects rupturing, spitting and jamming the mix, JDSY's vocals, which recall Psychedelic Furs, Bowie, Rocky and Bullwinkle. A beautiful groove fest, like dancing on atoms.

JDSY
"Smoke and Mirrors" (mp3)
from "Adage of Known"
(Ghostly International/Moodgadget Records)

More On This Album

Sally Shapiro: House music romance!: Supposedly a Swedish office worker turned house music star, my bet is that Sally's peaches and cream complexion really excites those pasty faced DJ types. Here, they--Junior Boys, Jon Brooks, Tenslake, Juan McLean--remix her top ten 2007 release, Disco Romance. Wonders never cease!

Sally Shapiro, Junior Boys
"Jackie Junior" (mp3)
from "Remix Romance Vol. 1"
(Paper Bag Records)

More On This Album

Sally Shapiro, Woodhands
"Anorak Christmas" (mp3)
from "Remix Romance Vol. 1"
(Paper Bag Records)

More On This Album

And the tracks that made her legend:

Sally Shapiro
"I'll Be By Your Side" (mp3)
from "Disco Romance"
(Paper Bag Records)

More On This Album

Sally Shapiro
"I'll Be By Your Side" (mp3)
from "Disco Romance"
(Paper Bag Records)

More On This Album