who are you listening to?
We called up our favourite women in music – charttoppers, indie queens and rabble-rousing icons – and asked them to introduce us to the next wave of must-listen artists. Update your playlists
We asked music icons who’s on their playlists.
STEVIE NICKS on RYN WEAVER THE SOUND: Infectious electro-pop.
CLAIM TO FAME: Earning a million Soundcloud plays in a little over a week, last year’s “Octahate” – a marimba-fuelled number co-written by Charli XCX – shot to No.1 on Billboard’s Twitter Emerging Artists chart in the US.
NICKS SAYS: “I like her entire record,” the icon says of The Fool, Weaver’s first album. “I’m drawn to her interesting, percussive style and the way she puts beats together. She reminds me of Christine Mcvie.”
NENEH CHERRY on SEINABO SEY
THE SOUND: Rich R&B tinged with Swedish electro beats.
CLAIM TO FAME: Sey’s song “Younger” has been remixed by the globe’s best DJS, including Norwegian wunderkind Kygo.
CHERRY SAYS: “[Her music] has a familiarity that’s kind of classic, but it’s also very much a new sound. The melodies are there – it’s strong, soulful – but the actual sound of the music is quite sparse, high and contemporary.” KELIS on KEKE WYATT THE SOUND: Smooth, seductive soul-pop. CLAIM TO FAME: Wyatt is best known for 2001’s Soul Sista, but her new single, “Lie Under You”, is what’s making her a re-emerging artist. KELIS SAYS: “It’s less about the music and more about her voice. It cuts through your brain – it’s ridiculous.” CHRISTINA AGUILERA on ELLE KING THE SOUND: Super-catchy rock-pop.
CLAIM TO FAME: “Ex’s & Oh’s”, from King’s 2015 LP Love Stuff, earned her a pair of Grammy nominations and made it to number five on the ARIA Singles Chart.
AGUILERA SAYS: “She’s raw, relatable and a little gritty,” says Aguilera, who tapped King for songwriting help on her own upcoming album. “She has a really honest approach to telling a story.” SHIRLEY MANSON on DU BLONDE THE SOUND: Off-kilter psych rock. CLAIM TO FAME: Du Blonde’s 2015 album Welcome Back To Milk, a Bowie-esque journey of glam-rock, folk-pop sounds, was critically acclaimed, cementing her status as one to watch.
MANSON SAYS: “She has a unique musical style. She also happens to look incredible, has a wicked sense of style and has a fully formed, bona fide rock-star attitude.” The hit track? “Mind Is On My Mind”, which, Manson says, “mashes influences together in a completely chaotic fashion [that] somehow makes perfect sense.”
ALISON MOSSHART on BABY IN VAIN
THE SOUND: Indie-inspired, bluesbacked noise rock.
CLAIM TO FAME: This Danish all-female trio rocks hard, with unflinching hooks, serious guitar shredding and high-rise vocals. Check out “Fieldtrippin’” to see their frenetic fret skills on display.
MOSSHART SAYS: “They’re monsters on stage – wild and loud! I first heard about them on Youtube. I was blown away, so we took them on the road with us.” HAYLEY WILLIAMS on BULLY THE SOUND: Punk-rock with a ’90s vibe.
CLAIM TO FAME: Lead singer Alicia Bognanno also wrote, produced and engineered the band’s debut album, Feels Like.
WILLIAMS SAYS: Bognanno “embodies every emotion I’ve ever had, from teen angst to a woman just trying to figure it out every day. When you dig into the record and you hear some of the heavier songs – like ‘Six’, where she’s screaming a lot of the lyrics – that taps into a totally different emotion.”