Populous is the nom de musique of Lecce, Italy's Andrea Mangia, a multi-instrumentalist/programmer whose work ranges from cerebral pieces to shoegaze-tinged pop. His 2002 debut, Quipo, introduced his meticulous approach to layering sounds and his fondness for vintage electronics and pioneering electronic music figures such as Raymond Scott, elements that he embellished with soul and jazz influences on 2005's Queue for Love. Released in 2007, A Number of Small Things reflected Mangia's growing pop sensibilities. This culminated with the following year's dream pop-influenced Drawn in Basic, which featured the vocals of New York-based MC Short Stories. ~ Heather Phares