GREAT BLEEP FORWARD

You hear it in ads selling cologne, cars and colas. You experience it in cineplexes bringing drama to action flicks. You notice MTV using it to enliven its promo spots. Electronic music pervades popular culture, but most of its creators remain obscure, save for a few exceptions (Moby, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim). The electronica revolution many pundits predicted and labels hoped for in 1997 never really happened, but in the meantime, electronic music has continued to mutate in several fascinating ways. Below, we spotlight some of the multifaceted electronica scene's finest producers and DJs. Understand that this is the tip of the iceberg: We hope this feature will spur you to discover more of the genre's gems.

Covered: Antipop Consortium, Akufen, Dan The Automater, Boards Of Canada, Caurel, Deepsky, Jazzanova, Jel, Kinky, Miss Kitten & The Hacker, Timo Maas, Morel, Recloose, John Selway, Soul Center, Tadd Mullinix, Charles Webster

JEL

HEADQUARTERS> Oakland, CA

NOW PLAYING> 10 Seconds (MUSH; www.dirtyloop.com)

SOUNDS LIKE> Somebody with a madly eclectic record collection trying to revive instrumental hip hop.

WHY HE MATTERS> A crucial member of the Mush Records / Anticon collective, Jel is helping to rewrite the hiphop rulebook. He has an expansive view of what hiphop should be. As heard on his debut Album, '10 Seconds', as well as on other productions he's done for Deep Puddle Dynamics, Subtle and Themselves, Jel's music accommodates many styles (and provokes many smiles) yet still remains identifiably hiphop. Urb Magazine placed Jel in its Next 100 feature in 1999, and '10 Seconds' may finally be the joint to allow him to reap his just rewards. Heads are made to expand, rules are made to be broken, and Jel accomplishes both feats with an idiosyncratic finesse that never fails to keep it surreal.

DAVE SEGAL

Mush Records