YOUR 2017 PLAYLIST
OUR MASTER OF MUSIC AND POP CULTURE, MARC ANDREWS PREVIEWS THE FUTURE SOUNDS OF NOW.
Ed, XX and someone called Madonna.
ED SHEERAN: DIVIDE AND CONQUER
It’s not often an artist can take up residence at the #1 and #2 spots on the chart, but Ed has already achieved that this year with Shape Of You and
Castle On The Hill. His new album ÷ (ie, divide) is quite likely to end up as this year’s top-selling release. While Shape Of You sounds like the kind of craftily deconstructed radio-friendly record written especially for Justin Bieber (Ed penned Beeb’s #1 hit Love Yourself ), Castle On The Hill suggests he has ambitions to be the new U2. “My new album ÷ holds a very special place in my heart,” Ed insists, “I really believe this is my best work to date.”
MISSY ELLIOT T: ABOUT TO BOUNCE BACK
It’s close to 20 years since Missy began cranking out the hits and some 12 years since she last released an album. Gurl, got busy with some bizness! In 2011, Missy revealed she suffered from Graves’ Disease after narrowly avoiding a car crash due to severe leg cramps. She subsequently dropped out of music to focus on her health. There were intermittent appearances (like joining Katy Perry at the 2015 Superbowl and a car pool appearance with former first lady Michelle Obama) before this year’s celebratory new single I’m Better. We take that as a sign she’s ready to get her freak back on. Work it, Missy!
THE XX: SEEING IS BELIEVING
Something strange happened on the way to The XX’s third album – they miraculously got their groove on. Previously feted for their chill-out minimalism, this Brit trio from South London, who in many ways were the precursor to London Grammar, are now not afraid of tossing some phat beats around. If you were a fan of
Everything But The Girl when they morphed from a folkie indie act to an edgy dance f loor obsession then you’ll be throwing x-es and o-es towards The XX’s album, I See You. The trio’s latest release has already hit #1 globally bringing “dream pop” to the fore as a musical movement to be reckoned with.
NELLY FURTADO: READY TO “RIDE” AGAIN
Last decade Canadian-Portuguese singer Nelly was one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
Maneater and Promiscuous were the sounds of the moment. That quickly changed, however, and Nelly’s last album, 2012’s The Spirit
Indestructible, suggested her moment in the sun had vapourised. So, Nelly took a few years off, worked in a friend’s record store, took up sewing, ceramics and playwriting before musical inspiration hit her again. Now she’s aiming for a comeback with her sixth album The Ride. “It’s okay to get off the ride once in a while,” she explains about the album title, “and reflect on everything you’ve experienced.” Welcome back, Ms Furtado.
POOLCLVB: POOLBOY MAKES GOOD
Contrary to many people’s initial suspicions, Australia has a long and glorious history of dance music including Madison Avenue, The Presets, The Avalanches and recent Grammy winner Flume. Add to that list Sydney producer Poolclvb (who clearly gets spelling tips from The Weeknd).
Madonna is set to rework the Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer disco classic Enough Is Enough as an anti-Trump anthem.
If it’s lushlu House reminiscent of Bondi Beach, skinny d dipping pool parties and happy hour cocktails,cocktail check out Poolclvb’s four-track debut EP You + Me. Included is Always, featuring the lang languid vocals of Carl Fox from Porsches. It hit #1 on the Australian Club Chart, the top 50 of theth US Viral Chart and clocked up over a quarter of a million Spotify plays. They’re also doing gigs as we speak – catch them before they explode globally.
ANOHNI: FROM HOPELESSNESS TO PARADISE
The second transgender person to be nominated for an Oscar (for the song Manta Ray from the film Racing Extinction) you may remember Anohni previously as the male-identifying lead singer of Antony And The Johnsons. Last year saw the release of her debut solo album, the acclaimed Hopelessness. Now comes the companion EP, the thankfully more cheerfully titled Paradise. The nine portraits of woman on the cover reflect the “feminine oracle” Anohni evokes in her live shows, while the music intends to support activist conversations and assumptions about pop music. With that in mind, check out Anohni’s powerful video for Drone Bomb Me starring a weeping, lip-syncing Naomi Campbell.
LONDON GRAMMAR: ROOTING AROUND
On New Year’s Day, this British trio released their first new music since 2013. With a title that gives Australians a giggle every time it’s mentioned, Rooting For You announced the grand ambitions the band have for their sophomore album this year. The trio spent time recently in Australia as the headliner of the Falls Festival, which worked its way across four states and gave the band plenty of opportunity to preview their new material. If you’re Europebound over the Northern Summer catch LG at the Flow Festival alongside Lana Del Rey and Flume held in a power plant in Helsinki. You can’t get much hotter than that (give or take a Finnish sauna).
MADONNA: STRIKE A PROTEST!
Not content to rest on her immaculate catalogue laurels, Madonna has already been in feisty form this year, enough to have President Trump anoint her as “disgusting”. Mads’ protest voice appears to have sparked her creative juices – a collaboration with Eminem and a rework of Barbra Streisand/ Donna Summer’s disco classic Enough Is Enough as an anti-Trump anthem is on the cards. Then there’s the soundtrack to the movie she’s directing/ writing, The Impossible Lives Of Greta Wells. “It touches on important topics I’ve always championed,” she notes, “fighting for women’s rights, gay rights and civil rights.” Madonna’s best work is clearly not done yet.
RAG’N’BONE MAN: THE MALE ADELE?
32-year-old Brit Rory Graham is already a true heavyweight (in more ways than one) on the music scene. His momentous debut single
Human, which became a humungous hit in Europe, is likely to be the soundtrack for many people’s 2017 selfies. Sticking a twist on soul and funk with his unlikely drum’n’bass and hip-hop background, RNB’s sound is like Adele with a bad attitude and a sexy bad ass bellow. Some may credibly argue that it’s just another white person appropriating black music but, if you’re a fan of fine, full-bodied music you’ll love this anyway.
GOLDFRAPP: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
It’s been a long time between (Gold)frappes for the eclectic Brit duo of Alison and Will, last seen with 2013’s Tales Of Us. With a new record label, they’ve again pushed themselves into new territory with Silver Eye their seventh album. “We’ve never liked repeating ourselves,” Alison says. “The fans who have stuck with us are the ones who embrace that idea and are excited by the thought that they don’t quite know what to expect next.” With a pulsing, slow burn first single in Anymore, the band debut their latest effort in London at the end of March.