Who will make it big in music in 2016?
On the subject of predictions, someone once famously said how difficult they are to make, especially if they’re about the future. That someone was Yogi Berra, who nowadays is perhaps better known for his brilliant quotes than for being the coach of the New York Yankees baseball team.
When you’re gazing into the future, the fact is any believable prediction of what it holds will be wrong, as much as any correct prediction of it will be unbelievable. So trying to prophesy which artists will make it big in the coming year is an altogether foolish undertaking. Foolish it may be, but it doesn’t stop many of us from having a go and even if we end up getting them completely wrong we can of course always claim “I never said most of the things I said!” which you won’t be surprised to learn, just happens to be another Yogi Berra quote.
So, let’s begin by laying down a few ground rules. First, how does one define what’s ‘new’? In this instance, it’s an artist that’s new to me, someone I hadn’t heard of previously — either by name or by ear. With ‘previously’ being sometime during 2015. And I’ll exempt anyone who started the year relatively unknown and ended it headlining (as could be said for James Bay, Jess Glynne, Halsey, Wolf Alice and Years & Years)
As someone with a lifelong passion for music, who goes to a lot of concerts, and has done since the age of 14, I think I’m well placed to have an opinion on who has the potential to make it big. This year I went to no less than 33 gigs (that meant seeing at least 70 odd bands, plus all those who played the three festivals I also went to (The Great Escape, Wild Life and Shakedown).
Some of my tips (which I’ve restricted to 12) are musicians I’ve seen play live during 2015, who I felt had something special about them, others are artists I’ve only heard one or two songs from, but still came to the same conclusion about.
I’m not going to try and rate them in terms of who has the most potential, so I’ll duck that and list them alphabetically. To help you get a feel for the music (after all that’s what I’m judging them on) I’ll include a link to one of their songs, the one that to my ears most represents their sound.
Let me also share this admission. These artists are not necessarily especially representative of my wider musical taste. I like a lot of different genres, but there were a number of them where I don’t have any predictions. That’s simply because I haven’t come across anyone new who I thought were any good.
If there is a theme running through them all, it’s all about the quality of the vocals, more so than the quality of the music. That’s all about tone, inflection, phrasing and above all, character and uniqueness.
We all compare new artists to established ones and whilst I don’t want to pigeonhole anyone, I’ve attempted to put an established name next to each of my picks.
Aurora: If you’re from the UK, you’ve almost certainly heard Aurora, even if you haven’t heard of her. The diminutive 19-year-old Norwegian from Bergen — full name Aurora Aksnes — was chosen to be the voice of this year’s John Lewis TV ad The Man In The Moon. I first came across her in a small club in Brighton back in May. It was The Great Escape and I’d got to the venue early to shoot the next two bands on the bill. To secure my spot at the front of the stage, meant seeing a couple of artists I knew nothing about, one of those was Aurora. Despite being unknown and tiny, what she lacked in stature, she more than made up with her singing and charisma. Within a couple of songs, she’d charmed the audience and received a rapturous send-off when her 30 minutes was up. Apart from impressing the likes of John Lewis, she found a fan in Katy Perry who said of her “At last, new music that makes my heart a flutter.” Aurora’s debut album, All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend, is expected in February 2016. [For those that like: Of Monsters And Men]
Cloves: Like so many solo artists these days, Kaity Dunstan goes under a non de plume. The 19-year-old from Melbourne, Australia known as Cloves caught my attention with her emotionally-charged debut single Frail Love, a beautifully minimal, piano ballad. Some are already drawing comparison with Lana Del Rey with whom she shares a deeply emotional voice, others even mentioning her in the same breath as Adele. She herself has described her music as “Scandinavian soothing metal.” The Lana Del Rey comparison is probably the most valid, especially as she’s been working with British songwriter/producer Justin Parker who co-wrote both Video Games and Born To Die. So far, she’s just released the one EP, called XIII and visited the UK in June for a showcase gig in London. Currently working on her debut album, expect to hear a lot more from Cloves in 2016. [For those that like: Lana Del Rey]
George FitzGerald: I have to admit to never having heard of George FitzGerald until quite recently, but the British DJ/producer has been making music since moving to Berlin in 2010. But delayed by disillusionment and a failing relationship meant it wasn’t until 2015 that he released his first album Fading Love. The sample-free breakup record, which the Guardian described as “intimate and beautifully textured” features vocals from Oli Bayston of indie rockers Boxed In, and Lawrence Hart who sings on one of its standout tracks Crystallise. [For those that like: Disclosure]
Jack Garratt: Having already been awarded the Brits Critics’ Choice prize for 2016, there’s not much doubt that Jack Garratt has a bright future ahead of him. Like James Bay, who won the award for 2015, he wears a signature hat, but rather than a fedora, his is a trucker cap. Foolishly, I missed seeing him when he played The Great Escape back in May, so I can only judge the 24-year-old multi-instrumentalist from Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire by his songs and his voice. Judging by everything I’ve heard, both his songwriting and his vocals are deserving of all the hype surrounding him. At the beginning of January, he was named Sound of 2016 by the BBC, won in 2015 by Years & Years. His much-anticipated debut album Phase is due early 2016. [For those that like: Ed Sheeran]
Ben Hobbs: With just one song to his name, it might be a bit of a gamble to predict a big future for Ben Hobbs, but when the song is as good as his self-produced Sweet Enough, you’ve a feeling there’s a lot more to come from this South London singer-songwriter. With a delicate soulful voice and emotional falsetto, the song may be simple but it promises much. Ben also promises more music in 2016. [For those that like: Ben Howard]
Elle King: 26-year-old Tanner Elle Schneider aka Elle King has been performing since she was 16. After releasing her debut EP in 2012, the bleached blonde Brooklyn-based singer followed it up with 2015’s Love Stuff, which contained the huge US hit single Ex’s and Oh’s. That song earned her two Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. I was impressed when I saw her in Brighton supporting James Bay. With her gravelly rasp, above average songs and the fact she played a banjo, she stood out from what one usually sees in support acts. The range of songs on Love Stuff make her hard to pigeon hole. As one reviewer put it “It’s her contradictions and complexity as an artist that ultimately makes for a much more interesting listen.” [For those that like: Adele]
Kygo: Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll aka Kygo is another artist who really impressed me in 2015, both for his tropical house beats and how he has almost single-handedly redefined the traditional route to success. Without an album to his name, the Norwegian DJ and producer had a huge year, having made his name collaborating with the likes of Ed Sheeran it was his two singles featuring unknown (at least to me) artists that had the biggest impact. First, there was the massive summer anthem Firestone with vocals from Australian Conrad Sewell and then the arguably even better, more upbeat Stole The Show with soulful vocals provided by South Carolinan Parson James. Hailing from Bergen, the same city as Aurora, Kygo is really putting Norway on the musical map, reaching 1 billion Spotify streams in the fastest time ever. It’s made him the 24-year-old the twentieth most-streamed artist of all time. No wonder Spotify named named him their Breakout Artist of 2015. February sees the release of his debut studio album. [For those that like: Avicii]
Miamigo: On the strength of the few tracks I’ve heard, Miamigo could just be the next band to make it big out of Brighton. Comprising Liam Fox and Jamie Verney (who both used to be in another Brighton band, Saint Savanna) the duo’s 80’s inspired music has been described as “sublime noir pop.” Once again, I missed them when they made their live debut during The Great Escape in May. They’ve just put out their second EP, Soda Lime Love which they self-produced at their Brighton studio. Sounding both fresh and delightfully nostalgic, it contains a couple of great tracks, my favourite being the sultry synth-driven Seeing Two. It’s a good example of Miamigo’s passion for phonetics and phrasing, which they say is just as important as the content. I’m still not sure whether their name is pronounced Mi-Amigo or Miami-go. [For those that like: The 1975]
Nothing But Thieves: Back in May, at The Great Escape in Brighton, Nothing But Thieves were my tip to be the new music festival’s breakout band. Before seeing them, I’d only heard a couple of their EP’s and was impressed with the maturity of their songs and, even more so, with Conor Mason’s stunning vocals. Their Coalition performance confirmed how good both were and was one of the highlights of TGE15. During the summer, the Southend quintet went on to play huge festivals as well as being Muse’s special guests in front of 35,000 at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. But it was what they did with their Live Lounge cover of Mumford & Sons I Believe that did impressed me the most. Their self-titled debut album came out at the end of the year. One moment mournful and melodic, the other blistering and boisterous, it’s a showcase for the power and emotion of one of the best new rock voices I’ve heard in years [For those that like: Led Zeppelin]
PVRIS: One of the most talked about new bands of 2015, I first came across PVRIS a couple of months before they came to Brighton in May. Opening for Lower Than Atlantis, the Boston band were third on the bill, but drew the biggest reaction of the night. The focus of course was on lead singer Lyndsey Gunnulfsen aka Lynn Gunn and no wonder, she has genuine star quality. Not only does she look the part, but she also writes great songs and has a distinctively gritty voice. Their 2014 debut album White Noise was full of promise and filled with dark, brooding, but immensly catchy tunes that combined guitar rock with electronic programing. But as good as they are rocking out, I think they’re even more special when they go acoustic. [For those that like: Paramore]
Lawrence Taylor: I only recently came across Lawrence Taylor when I heard two of his songs Bang Bang and Waiting For Your Love. Both were really impressive, especially his emotion-filled soulful voice and his bluesy guitar playing and based on those alone I predict big things for the 22-year-old singer/songwriter from Birmingham. I’m not the only one who rates him, over 5 million plays on Spotify are evidence that there’s something special about him. [For those that like: James Bay]
Andreya Triana: My first exposure to Andreya was when she supported George Benson at the Dome in Brighton. That night she put on a polished performance, as she did the next time I saw her at Brighton Centre supporting Caro Emerald. The 33-year old from Brixton has been around a while (her first album, produced by Bonobo, came out in 2010) but it’s her more upbeat 2015 release Giants — partly funded by a National Lottery grant and recorded in LA with Matt Hales (aka Aqualung)— that turned out to be a real winner. In November, The Guardian named her one to watch. Her new soul-infused pop is personified on lead single Gold, but throughout the record it’s her heartfelt vocals that stand out. [For those that like: Lauryn Hill]
So that’s it, a dozen ‘new’ artists who I first came across in 2015 and who impressed me enough to believe they will make it big in 2016. Making it big in music often comes down to serendipity, but along with a lot of luck, almost aways you need something distinctive too. A voice that’s immediately identifiable and a little different certainly helps, as does having at least a couple of memorable songs. All the artists I’ve picked have both. Whether they make the most of their talents only time will tell. If you haven’t yet, take a look at the videos and make up your own mind.
Behind the image: The photos of Aurora, Elle King, Nothing But Thieves, PVRIS and Andreya Triana were shot handheld with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and either the 12–40 2.8 Pro or the 75 1.8 lens, often using the camera’s built-in digital zoom function and always with available light only. All the others are publicity shots of the artists remixed by me.
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