Album: Kid Koala, 12 Bit Blues (Ninja Tune)

You might question the wisdom of a nerdy Canadian scratch DJ trying to make a blues album. But the blues is a big church, and there's no doubting the expressiveness with which the Kid physically manipulates his samples.

With a wave of the hand, he magics a single sustained note on an old piece of vinyl into a whole harmonica or slide-guitar solo. These are tipsy juke-joint stompers with feeling in their heart as well as dust in their grooves.