Who is he?
We know that Sonny J is a Whitstable-based Scouser whose playful, retro-flavoured soul-pop skips along the same path as the Avalanches and the Go! Team. But his actual identity is top secret.
Like the Banksy of pop?
Exactly. One theory is that Sonny may have previous music-biz experience he would rather keep to himself. After all, people might not get quite as excited about him if they discovered he was the former drummer of, say, the Farm, or Space.
So are folks getting excited about him?
They are indeed. Radio 1 plucked a demo of his aptly titled Can't Stop Moving from MySpace to give it daytime airplay. Then EMI revived their soul label, Stateside, to sign him. With Can't Stop Moving currently getting disco knickers in a twist across the land, hopes are high for his Disastro album (due early 2008).
What should we expect?
A cut-and-paste trawl of the vinyl sections of charity shops, with rapping French kids, cabaret stars, 1970s TV clips and soul hooks, delivered with a nod, a wink and an uplifting groove. As Sonny says: "You'd have to be a shoegazing bedwetter to not get it."
Where can I hear him?
Three tracks are at myspace.com/sonnyjmusic. Sonny and his band support Groove Armada from next week, and play London's Cargo on December 6.
