BBC Sound Of 2017: Part 1
It seems like just yesterday I was writing about the "BBC Sound of 2014" list and if that list is anything to go by then I have no doubts that we'll be seeing each and every one of the contenders on this list in the coming years.
This is the first longlist in years where I haven't actually listened to at least half of the artists so I wanted to use this as a time to do some research and give my opinion on them as soon as they come to mind.
AJ TRACEY
I was not ready for this! Before searching him on YouTube I was sure that I was going to see a female rapper/singer and so when "Buster Cannon" was the first thing to pop up I was pretty surprised. The song is definitely a banger, the video's very creative and I appreciate the Dragonball Z reference - in short, in less than 4 minutes, AJ Tracey has secured a new fan.
CABBAGE
I've been seeing this band everywhere over the past few months, they've obviously been extremely busy. The more and more I saw them, I kept telling myself to check them out; to see what they're about, but we all know about procrastination. I guess there's no time like the present. After the first listen I can imagine they'd be great to see live - I haven't heard a band so brazen and British since maybe Palma Violets and this might be a level up...
DAVE
Like most, I'd only heard of Dave because Drake went ahead and remixed his hit song "Wanna Know" and of late I have to say I've been very disappointed with Drake's efforts but I at least have to applaud him for drawing attention to some lesser known names through his own music. Dave is great for now but I'd be interested to see if he has the longevity to still be around and relevant 3 years from now.
DECLAN MCKENNA
I'm actually pretty ashamed that I'm only hearing about Declan through BBC - very poor on my part. After listening to "Isombard", I feel like this might be some of my favourite indie music to come out of the UK in the past couple years. I'm almost as excited as I was when I discovered Jamie T. As well as Declan sounding familiar, he doesn't sound copy-cat or too generic.
MAGGIE ROGERS
Damn near everybody with a Facebook account has seen that video of Maggie playing her demos for Pharrell and him just being stunned into silence and awe. In light of that I was not even a little bit shocked to see her name on the list. Pure innovation really, taking what's already there and turning it into to something new and better. I have no doubts that mainstream trolls will pick up this track in 0.5 minutes and we'll hear songs like "Alaska" everywhere, but until then, let's just enjoy.
This is the first longlist in years where I haven't actually listened to at least half of the artists so I wanted to use this as a time to do some research and give my opinion on them as soon as they come to mind.
AJ TRACEY
I was not ready for this! Before searching him on YouTube I was sure that I was going to see a female rapper/singer and so when "Buster Cannon" was the first thing to pop up I was pretty surprised. The song is definitely a banger, the video's very creative and I appreciate the Dragonball Z reference - in short, in less than 4 minutes, AJ Tracey has secured a new fan.
ANDERSON .PAAK A personal favourite of mine. I've had eyes on Anderson for a while and so it's very nice to see him finally coming into the limelight especially over here on British shores. He's definitely a unique and noticeable voice in a genre that's becoming rapidly more saturated. Be it on features, solo material, production or even as part of NxWorries, Paak stands apart. I expect big things... | |
CABBAGE
DAVE
Like most, I'd only heard of Dave because Drake went ahead and remixed his hit song "Wanna Know" and of late I have to say I've been very disappointed with Drake's efforts but I at least have to applaud him for drawing attention to some lesser known names through his own music. Dave is great for now but I'd be interested to see if he has the longevity to still be around and relevant 3 years from now.
DECLAN MCKENNA
I'm actually pretty ashamed that I'm only hearing about Declan through BBC - very poor on my part. After listening to "Isombard", I feel like this might be some of my favourite indie music to come out of the UK in the past couple years. I'm almost as excited as I was when I discovered Jamie T. As well as Declan sounding familiar, he doesn't sound copy-cat or too generic.
So I actually heard about her after seeing posters advertised for her headline show at work. She looked interesting so I just searched her on Spotify and the first thing I thought was "that tone!!" Her voice is beautiful. What a smooth sound - it actually made me smile because it's been the longest since I listened to popular music and thought "yes, this is a real artist". All hope is certainly not lost...
MAGGIE ROGERS
Damn near everybody with a Facebook account has seen that video of Maggie playing her demos for Pharrell and him just being stunned into silence and awe. In light of that I was not even a little bit shocked to see her name on the list. Pure innovation really, taking what's already there and turning it into to something new and better. I have no doubts that mainstream trolls will pick up this track in 0.5 minutes and we'll hear songs like "Alaska" everywhere, but until then, let's just enjoy.
Keep an eye out for part 2 before they announce the winner...
