Under that moniker DJ Shadow, Joshua Paul Davis in 1996 gave sample-based music one of its first hit albums with Endtroducing. He transcended the established norms of ‘90s hip-hop by incorporating elements of ambient music, electronica and “sampledelia.” Davis found more common ground with U.K. trip-hop than West Coast G-funk—which might…

As he transitioned out of absurdist shock humor, Japanese-Australian entertainer George Miller effectively reinvented himself as Joji. His unofficial mixtape Chloe Burbank had a compelling plunderphonic aesthetic of jazzy piano and nuanced beats, which the more one-dimensional EP In Tongues toned down. Joji’s debut LP Ballads 1, could still benefit from…