It's been a busy few weeks in the lead up to Autumn/Winter and as always artists are popping up everywhere - this year in particular - but there have been a few that have stuck in mind long after first listen. The same ones that I've been quick to recommend any time people have asked me for new music.


AZADI.MP3
Who is AZADI.mp3? In just over two minutes of being introduced to AZADI.mp3, it's almost impossible to place her in any single genre or even a particular box. There is nothing, out of the UK or beyond, that I've heard that sounds like this. If this debut is anything to go by all that I can confidently say is that AZADI.mp3 will be keeping us on our toes both through visuals and vocals. Keep your eyes peeled on AZADI's Instagram for updates on her next release. The next visual will be a collaboration with Liverpool collective LEECH and I have no idea what to expect.


DAVID GOTSOUND
Place the tongue and cheek, quick witted lyricism of Dizzee Rascal atop a modern take on a Garage beat and you have my first impression of David GotSound. After listening to the album in full I'd say it definitely gave me a deeper look into David as an artist and a person. The real and relatable lyrics heard on his EP The Human Condition remind me of how Ghostpoet shines a light on his personal life. David's music is honest and true to his nature, I'm expecting exciting things from his corner next year.



KLLO
On a hazy bus trip back from a night out at about 3am, I'd fallen asleep on the bus and awoken to find Spotify radio spinning "Dissolve" quietly in my ears. Not much of the journey stuck in my head afterwards but the next morning finding that song again was the first thing on my mind. Instrumentals reminiscent of a stripped back Trophy Wife but vocals harking back to old school UK Garage - it was surprisingly refreshing to hear.



ZILO
Another social media discovery for me here - whilst scrolling through Instagram I caught just a snippet of vocals from Zilo's latest album The Nature Of The Beast advertising her most recent set of shows at the Servant Jazz Quarters. Unfortunately I couldn't make it down to the gig myself however after listening to the album I am more than sure that I'll be seeing much more of her in the near future. Neo-Soul vocals over mostly Hip Hop beats, what more could I want?



VICKTOR TAIWÒ
Last month I was lucky enough to be able to attend Anaïs' debut solo show in London whom, if you haven't heard of yet yourself, you should definitely do some research into because her sound is silky smooth goodness. However, at this show I wasn't aware that Vicktor would be the support act and when he stepped on stage, he looked young and a little but unsure of himself, but as soon as the first note came out of his mouth the whole room was stunned to silence. His album Joy Comes In Spirit will have you captured for the entire duration.



AMA LOU
Another Instagram catch, whilst scrolling down the new feed, I came across Ama Lou's - by now very well known - COLORS set and remembered thinking that it was strange that Clarks (the footwear company) were endorsing music all of a sudden. After listening to the EP on Spotify I can't tell you how much I overplayed it. It's the same way I felt about Ella Mai when she first came onto the scene. There are a hell of a lot of female R&B voices that we're hearing right now and good ones at that. I just hope that Ama Lou's doesn't get caught up in the mix because the grit in her voice is something that's missing front a lot of our front-runners right now, particularly in the UK.

One of my favourite new discoveries this side of 2018 and lucky for me I caught Sam Rendina at a time when he's still a new discovery for most people. After listening to his voice, it's almost impossible to believe that this is his very first single.




When my friend sent me one of his videos over Instagram the first thing that caught me was the tone of his voice. Such a silky smooth tone with so much control, range and versatility. The visuals owe a lot to the transitions - they build with the song seamlessly, all the while showcasing some of the highlights of London. It's a fantastic introduction to Sam as an artist, and before I start to overplay this, I would absolutely love to hear an acoustic piano version of this song. Sam has been belting out acoustic covers on YouTube for almost a year now, and listening to this latest single not only highlights his creative growth but perhaps more so illuminates his potential both as a performer and a vocalist. As fantastic as he sounds, I don't believe that this was far outside of his comfort zone. The ability to make something so emotive sound so effortless is nothing to be taken lightly. If this is only the beginning, then I expect that we'll continue to hear bigger and better from Sam moving forward.

Serendipity is one of my favourite things; a couple of weeks ago I spontaneously ended up at an Amaroun show - also one of my favourite new discoveries this year so far, please have a listen - and just so happened to bump into Annie (a.k.a. Austel). Talk about right place, right time. After a quick chat my interest was piqued on what the project would sound like, especially after later finding out that Annie has worked with a number of varied artists beforehand. All I will say is that I was not disappointed...



As delicate as Austel's vocals sound in portions of "Crows", the strength of her voice and the message of rising above uncertainty had come through clearly by the end. After attending her debut full band show in London yesterday, I can confidently say this is a name you'll be hearing again soon. I would have never imagined that this was their first time performing live together. Austel's ability to convey emotion and float seamlessly between hard-hitting and quiet comtemplative moments in music is stunning. You can hear a little taster of that during the bridge on "Crows" and you'll without a doubt be hearing more examples of this on any releases to come. Austel's EP entitled Unfold is due to be released later this year and I can't wait.

I may be a little late with this one but this could have slipped through my fingers so I felt it important to put it somewhere I wouldn't lose it. Whilst checking emails on my way to Brighton Pride last weekend, I opened Rough Trade's weekly update for new releases and Soccer Mommy was top of the list. I couldn't tell you why I was immediately intrigued but the name stuck in my mind and I told myself I'd come back to it.

Turns out it didn't even take that long, because after a couple of hours in Brighton I found myself in Resident Music standing at a listening station jamming along to her latest release Collection. There was no getting away from it so I started from the top... and ended up listening to the entire thing right there and then.

Super excited about this new discovery! Twitter is fast becoming the hub for me when finding new music and in this case I was shocked to find this one lurking in the abyss rather than running viral as I would have expected.

Diamond Youth (f.k.a. Diamond) - the first new discovery that I wrote about 5 years ago here, came by recommendation on Hayley William's tumblr. Since that sweet discovery, I've not overlooked a new band or artist with Hayley's stamp of approval and she hasn't missed yet! Earlier this week Hayley tweeted about from a new band from Franklin, Tennessee - Ill Spector. All I'll say now is, download their debut EP on Spotify and let your eardrums enjoy the next 16 minutes.

On the 18th of April I went to O2 Academy 3 in Birmingham to catch PVRIS' sold out headline show. I wrote about them as a new discovery a couple of years ago here and now they're finally and deservedly blowing up.

First up on the bill was Twin Wild. I'd not heard of this band before the night but I've remembered the name every day since. They really caught my attention. The lead singer's vocals were great and their sons were very catchy. Although I did feel at the time that their set had been the perfect length for them, I would love to see them again live at their own headline show.

Next, Light You Up. I've been keeping up with this band for just over a year now and in that time their fame has just gone from zero to one hundred, just like PVRIS to be honest. I didn't really know what to expect in terms of their live stage presence, all I had to go by was their behaviour in the "All We've Ever Known" video. They absolutely killed it though! Tom is just pure energy! Even from before the set started, Tom was getting juiced up during sound-check. The perfect set to get the crowd ready for the main event.When Tom jumped into the crowd and started singing with and talking to the fans, I'm sure that they gained some new fans in that moment.

Finally, after some unexpected but enjoyable tunes during the interval, PVRIS. That electricity you feel when a band that you love steps on stage. That will never get old. But I swear, that electricity was x100 when Lynn came on - she has a crazy amount of presence. Playing such a small venue off the back of their debut album, I was hoping that they'd play the album in it's entirety. When they started off with "Smoke" followed by "St. Patrick", I must admit that I was hopeful. Even though they didn't play "Let Them In" I was far too caught up in the euphoria to even let it phase me. Everything just sounded so much better live than I'd imagined. The crowd's voices covering the sound of the band even at times! Especially during the album singles - "My House" was frenetic. Everybody knew it was coming but nobody was ready. That is such a huge hit!! As musicians each of them are very multi-talented, well as expected I suppose - it's hard for a three piece band to make such a huge sound, but they did it! And did it very well. Everyone was buzzing after the show - Lynn even tweeting "Birmingham! We all just unanimously agreed that tonight may have been our favorite show ever. Thank you so much!!!" Big show, if you haven't already checked PVRIS out, don't waste any more time.

Overall Rating - 7.5/10


Here are some pictures from the night... 

Thank goodness for social media eh?! The lads in Goodbye Stranger sent through their latest track on Twitter for me to check out, but before I say anything about it, have a listen below...

GOODBYE STRANGER - Cave