11 SHOWS
Yard Act are a minimalist rock group from Leeds. Old friends in a new band, spicing their observations across all walks of British life with sharp, satirical spoken-word humour. The four-piece released four coruscating, hilariously dark singles on their own imprint Zen F.C., all securing BBC 6 Music airplay and an increasing fanbase.
8 SHOWS
This former teacher raps in Ukrainian and hits the bull’s eye with her lyrics. Her debut album Ribki (or Fischlein, a synonym for young women) is about women like Alyona who are not accepted by society. It became a viral hit in Ukraine where ‘Salischaju swij dim’ (‘I leave my house’) has become an unofficial anthem for the many who want to move away from their traditional life to a better future.
8 SHOWS
With its forward-thinking R&B and South Asian sonic flair, Priya Ragu’s ‘Good Love 2.0’ was one of the most remarkable debut tracks of 2020.
6 SHOWS
Belfast based post-punk/noise rock, four-piece Enola Gay formed in the fall of 2019. With hip-hop-inspired, ranting vocals and reverb-soaked, buzz saw guitars layered on top of a driving rhythm, the band draws inspiration from both left-field electronica and post-punk heroes of the past.
6 SHOWS
In a span of months Holly Humberstone has amassed over 30 million streams, performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, been named Apple Music’s Up Next Artist, sold out her first headlining gigs in London, garnered radioplay from BBC Radio 1, KCRW, Beats 1, and blazed onto Rolling Stone’s Breakthrough 25 Chart.
6 SHOWS
Armed with nothing but her intriguing voice, her acoustic guitar and the cello of her buddy, Meskerem Mees transforms her layered and carefully crafted songs into the sweetest ear-candy. The young Belgian musician conquered the radiowaves and all hearts with first single ‘Joe’, including foreign media like Consequence of Sound and FIP Radio.
6 SHOWS
Mimi Webb is “the girl next door” with a hell of a vocal range. Hailing from the UK town of Canterbury, and inspired by the likes of Amy Winehouse, Emeli Sandé and Sam Smith, she started writing songs at 13 before eventually learning guitar and enrolling in the famed BRIT School.
5 SHOWS
Joe & the Shitboys are four bisexual vegan punks from the Faroe Islands. Their intention is calling out shitty behaviour, ‘the rock scene in their conservative homeland that is filled with boneless homophobes and misogynists’. They gained a lot of fans by playing ESNS and Left of the Dial online and now return for the real deal.
5 SHOWS
As Self Esteem, Rebecca Taylor has shaken off the shackles of her indie-band past to become the unapologetic pop star she always wanted to be. With her statement and debut ‘Compliments Please’ the Londoner gave voice to the feelings of insecurity and misogyny-induced frustration that so many of us face every day…
5 SHOWS
Myd has always assumed the role of affable underdog and it’s no surprise his debut album embraces his status as a lovable loser. After more than a decade, the Lille-bred producer perfects his solo sound on ‘Born A Loser’, a 14-track LP released on iconic French label Ed Banger Records.
4 SHOWS
Yves (Bounty Island) and Kees (Baby Galaxy) from Maastricht blend traditional Asian folk songs with modern sounds, and refine them with disco funk and psych-rock from the 70s. Debut album The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers contains a remarkable set of songs mixing world music, disco, funk and electronic sounds.
4 SHOWS
South London’s Wu-Lu is refreshingly straddling the seemingly disparate worlds of music genres. Having spent years experimenting with lo-fi, psychedelic guitar and off-kilter hip-hop, the multi-hyphenate has since been slowly nurturing a sound and position in the new gen of London’s underground punk/alternative hip-hop scene.
4 SHOWS
The Lathums are an English indie rock band from Wigan. They are singer-songwriter and guitarist Alex Moore, lead guitarist Scott Concepcion, bassist Johnny Cunliffe, and drummer Ryan Durrans.
4 SHOWS
Ascendant vierge is a new Brussels-based duo of goth-pop singer-songwriter Mathilde Fernandez and DJ-producer Paul Seul, also known as co-founder of the collective Casual Gabberz. In astrology, the virgo ascendant is known for its prudence.
3 SHOWS
Chubby and the Gang are a West London punk troupe comprised of members of various bands associated with the ‘New Wave of British Hardcore’, among them Violent Reaction, Abolition and Big Cheese. The band – helmed by local electrician Charlie Manning – developed a cult following in the UK, largely rooted in the cross-pollinating nature of the punk scene.
3 SHOWS
The cancellation of Eurovision 2020 couldn’t stop Icelandic entry Daði Freyr and his song ‘Think About Things’ from gaining an army of fans and going viral. With its quirky synths and stacked sing-along harmonies, the song has become an anthem for those in isolation across the globe.
3 SHOWS
Leaving aside perhaps Crass or The Beach Boys, few bands can claim to sound like their namesakes. Unschooling, a freshly formed four-piece linking Rouen and Montréal, tick this box with style. Students of art-rockers Women, these home-schooled eggheads have thrown out the textbooks and put a deceptively mathematical brand of rock on the curriculum, where complex guitar lines flirt with lo-fi spontaneity.
3 SHOWS
Since 2013, the multidisciplinary collective turned music act QuinzeQuinze has produced ‘climatic’, colourful and insular music, influenced by the Tahitian heritage of two band members.
3 SHOWS
Genre-welding Danish-Swedish quartet VOLA released their highly anticipated third album, ‘Witness’, in May 2021, via Mascot Records and hit the charts from the US to Germany. Formed in Copenhagen in 2006, inspired by bands such as Meshuggah, Opeth and Massive Attack, and now the Scandinavians are among the most exciting bands from Europe, their complex narratives blend with crushing riffs and sonic sophistication.
3 SHOWS
K.ZIA is a Brussels-born, Berlin-based, singer, songwriter and artistic director, whose vibrant music blends alternative R&B, soul, pop, trap and afro beat. Born of a Martinican father and a Belgo-Congolese mother – internationally acclaimed artist Zap Mama – K.ZIA was raised amongst multiple cultures.
2 SHOWS
Marie-Pierra was born in Congo and grew up in Rwanda, where she took refuge in education, music and writing. At 15 she moved to Namur where she realised that her most cherished ambition is to be a singer, but her parents did not support that goal.
2 SHOWS
NewDad are an alternative rock band from Galway, Ireland. Their sound reflects their personality; fun, easy-going and desperately trying to sound cooler than they are. They bring a fresh take to an old sound with forward-thinking pop vocals and woozy, nostalgic guitars that have drawn comparisons to Billie Eilish as well as The Cure and The Pixies.
2 SHOWS
James BKS is a French-Cameroonian artist whose music revolves around afro-urban influences. Meeting his biological father, the legendary Manu Dibango, allowed him to accept this legacy, and with ‘New Breed’ (feat. Q-Tip, Idris Elba & Little Simz) James BKS steps up in order to pay tribute to Africa and empowerment.
2 SHOWS
French producer, instrumentalist and DJ Neue Grafik returns with his all-new Neue Grafik Ensemble quartet. The now London-based jack-of-many-trades with a passion for jazz, hip hop and house, formed his latest project at the Total Refreshment Centre, the Mecca of the city’s modern jazz scene.
2 SHOWS
Global Charming exorcise the banality of everyday life, knowing the planet is doomed, and the printer is out of ink again. On their debut album Mediocre, Brutal, the Amsterdam post-punk quartet explores the monotony of daily routines, survival of the dullest kind.
2 SHOWS
Siblings Mollie (21) and Mamie (17) McGinn, and lifelong friend Orlaith Forsythe (20) formed Dea Matrona in Belfast in 2018, armed with their talent, a dream, and an ear for a great hook. You can hear the influence of Debbie Harry, Stevie Nicks, Zeppelin (plus a bit of Joni Mitchell) in their songs…
2 SHOWS
Takeshi’s Cashew (Laut&Luise, Berlin) are a new psych-funk group that explore the boundaries of club culture, world music and 70s psychedelia. All coming from different musical directions, these Austrians create a colorful fusion of genres embedded in a club-like beat framework.
2 SHOWS
There aren’t many bands that blur the lines between punk and grime as effectively as London duo Bob Vylan. Outspoken and engrossing, their lyrics convey the angst and discrimination by a corrupt system, while sonically it’s like “being pelted by a downpour of razor sharp arrows”, according to NME.
2 SHOWS
Shelter Boy is Simon Graupner from Dresden, aka the lead singer of Still Trees. His solo effort was often compared to Mac DeMarco but he soon developed his own style and blends dreamy guitar sounds with raw King Krule style vocals. The result is somewhere between indie rock and dreampop.
2 SHOWS
With a repertoire that spans the spectrum of club music, from the high energy assault of her debut EP ‘Erika Jane’ to the strung-out, spacious compositions on her ‘NAUGHTY DOG’ EP, COUCOU CHLOE consistently proves herself as one of underground electronic music’s most exciting artists
2 SHOWS
Amelie Siba is a young and charming songwriter from Prague, who is already one of the key figures of the Czech Republic’s contemporary independent music scene. She writes gentle and intimate songs and injects them with her deeply personal stories, reflecting both retrospective and current states of mind.
