11 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.
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.
9 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.
9 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.
8 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.
7 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.
7 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.
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
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.
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.
5 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
Alina Pash is a 100% Bitanga (ruthenian dialect for ‘hooligan’) who breaks the system of old stereotypes. Her authentic style is a mix of electronic music, hip hop, pop and ethnic folk. Born in a small Ukrainian village, Alina Pash was brought up on the basis of archaic Carpathian traditions, which formed her as an independent spirit with deep roots in the motherland. She now has dozens of releases and a big team of her label Bitanga Blood behind her.
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.
4 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.
4 SHOWS
LNDFK is a producer, singer and songwriter, a child of two different cultures, of an Italian mother and a Tunisian father. Growing up in Naples, and losing touch with her father, the Sahara, her homeland and her traditions, the desire to rediscover her roots through art grew stronger and stronger. Her music is a mixture of jazz, neo-soul and hip-hop. The debut LP will be released early 2022 by NYC label Bastard Jazz.
4 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…
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.
3 SHOWS
52 Hertz Whale is a Bratislava-based band whose music is ferocious and melancholic, streaked with vigour and impatience. With two releases under their belt the band has toured in Slovakia, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Britain and The Czech Republic. They gained a fervent underground following, thanks to their cathartic gigs, and operate in the wastelands between post-punk and noise rock. 022 promises to deliver a new album and European tour.
3 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.
3 SHOWS
Banji is based in The Netherlands. Consisting of four fresh and sweet-smelling boys, this project oozes funk, wonky beats and synths that go like woimp. There are also occasional catchy choruses, and a combined love for R&B and alternative pop. Listen to their songs, you might envision them as the musical embodiment of dangling necklaces, loose fit dungarees, 8-bit arcade and ironic thrift shop finds.
3 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
3 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…
3 SHOWS
Florence Arman is an established singer-songwriter, who has worked with artists like Rhys Lewis, The Kooks, Barns Courtney, G-Flip, Bakermat, filous and Harry Hudson. She got noticed as one of the most promising newcomers thanks to her intimate, yet witty and light-hearted debut EP ‘Out of the Blue’. A collection of songs with honest lyrics and strong melodies that she wrote as a sort of self-therapy over the last few years.
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.
3 SHOWS
Kids Return’s sound sits somewhere between The Mamas and the Papas’ Californian pop, Vladimir Cosma’s orchestrations and the modesty of Joe Hisaishi’s soundtracks. The French duo draws on Blur’s energy and MGMT’s vocal harmonies, while revisiting these Anglo-Saxon influences with the precision and delicacy of bands like Air. They compose, produce and write together using analogical gear like Moog, Mellotron and acoustic guitar. The results are then orchestrated by a string quartet in the countryside.
3 SHOWS
Kynsy is the solo project of 23 year-old Irish multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Ciara Lindsey. Her music moves from the metallic lurch of a nightclubbing Iggy Pop, the icy cool of St. Vincent to the futurism of Julian Casablancas’ solo output. Tipped as breakthrough artist by the likes of NME, Dork and Clash, Kynsy’s debut EP ‘Things That Don’t Exist’ is a powerful statement of intent that channels youthful rage into something tragic yet uplifting.
3 SHOWS
This supergroup from Vienna is serious about one thing: having fun. My Ugly Clementine is the brainchild of songwriter and producer Sophie Lindinger (from Leyya), who gathered together musicians that she always wanted to work with like Mira Lu Kovacs, Kathrin Kolleritsch and Barbara Jungreithmeier. Tickets for their first show sold out in less than 24 hours, and with the release of the first singles the excitement grew and grew. This culminated in the spring of 2020 with debut album Vitamin C, which is as joyful as it is impressive, and was followed by the acoustic spin-off Peeled in June.
3 SHOWS
Neo-zombie-post-folk from Estonia. Puuluup is a duo consisting of Ramo Teder (aka Pastacas) and Marko Veisson. Their instruments – bowed lyres (Estonian hiiu kannel, Swedish talharpa/tagelharpa/stråkharpa, Finnish jouhikko) – represent the tradition and folklore of the Baltic region.
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
Sylvie Kreusch rose to prominence as the female vocalist of Warhaus. Now she’s breaking out solo with her debut EP BADA BING! BADA BOOM!. With her smouldering vocals, velvety tones, and impressive live performances, she won critical acclaim from magazines and newspapers such as American Vogue, The New York Times and Dazed & Confused, calling her “a master of dramatic, atmospheric pop”.
3 SHOWS
The boys behind Tuys formed the Luxembourg band at the age of ten. They are an odd boyband singing in three-part harmony, while being in love with driving synths and energetic psych-rock. Their songs are pervaded by distorted bass lines, entangling hooks and dynamics that makes you want to see them live.
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
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.
