Listen out for... SAM FENDER
IT’S TIME TO LOOK AHEAD AT THE NEW STARS POISED TO MAKE AN IMPACT IN 2019. LUCY MAPSTONE INTRODUCES THE BUDDING ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THIS YEAR
MUSIC is a constant joy, and there’s no denying the extra thrill of the promise of a fresh year of brand new music. From the Brit-born young R&B star who is already making waves in America, to a four-piece from New Zealand, here are the acts to keep on your radar.
YOU know how it is: get named on BBC Radio 1’s Sound of the year list and win the Brits Critics’ Choice Award and inevitably you end up having a stellar career. That’s certainly the likely projection for British singer-songwriter Sam Fender, who won the 2018 Brits accolade, following in the footsteps of the likes of Adele, Sam Smith, Jessie J, Florence and the Machine and Rag’n’Bone Man.
The musician from North Shields has so far received plenty of praise following the release of his debut EP in November, and he scored a spot on Later... With Jools Holland. He’s also earned a mention on Annie Mac’s Hottest Record list for the song Dead Boys, a powerful track about suicide in young men.
Erring on the rockier, more acerbic and socially-aware side of singer-songwriter fare, Sam has a raw sound to offer music fans who perhaps have grown a little tired of the regular pared-back guitar ballads from male musicians.
He doesn’t feel the need to suck up to his successful predecessors. He recently told the BBC, of Ed Sheeran: “I admire what he’s done – the fact that he’s sold out Wembley with acoustic guitars. I just find his music incredibly beige.”
So, expect markedly un-beige music from
Sam.
GRACE CARTER
FANCY listening to someone who was heavily inspired by the likes of Nina Simone and Lauryn Hill? If so, do check out Grace Carter, a BBC Sound of 2019 nominee.
The soulful singer’s
Why Her Not Me may already sound familiar – perhaps because you’ve already heard it somewhere, or just because there’s a comforting familiarity and ease to her style of powerful songwriting and simple, elegant, mature musicality.
The heartbreaking song was written about her father, who she says chose “another life over raising me”. Also check out the beautiful piano-backed ballad Silhouette for another taste of her emotive approach.
Grace, from Brighton, has already supported UK stars Dua Lipa, Mabel, Jorja Smith and Rag’n’Bone Man on tour, and her debut EP, released last year, was a critical triumph. Success is on the horizon for this budding star, and it’s highly recommended that fans catch her in smaller venues on her tour in the UK in March before she
starts selling out the bigger arenas.
ELLA MAI
BRITISH singer-songwriter Ella Mai has already started to make her sizeable impact on the industry in America, but in case she’s not on your radar yet, here’s what you need to know: the R&B superstar-to-be nabbed two Grammy nominations in 2018, and her video for breakthrough single Boo’d Up has garnered more than 300 million views on YouTube so far. Not only that, but she stepped in to support Bruno Mars on his tour and she recently performed on Saturday Night Live.
Ella, who auditioned with trio Arize for The X Factor in 2014 after years of musical theatre training, saw Boo’d Up make history as the longest-running number one by a female artist on the Billboard R&B/ Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Billboard magazine ranked it as their third best song of the year.
There’s a real 1990s R&B vibe to Ella, who hails from London and whose debut self-titled album – dubbed a “throwback R&B record” by critics – debuted at number 18 in the UK charts. It’s performed even better Stateside, where Ella, who lived in New York for five years as a teen, seems to be reaping the most success. The record hit number five on the Billboard 200 chart and number four on the US R&B/ Hip-Hop Albums chart. Ella headed out on her first headline UK tour last month, before performing across Europe and then America.
DRAX PROJECT
THIS four-piece from New Zealand have been bubbling under for some time, but 2019 looks set to be the year they finally make it.
Formed in 2014 and comprised of friends Shaan Singh (vocals and saxophone), Matt Beachen (drums), Sam Thomson (bass) and Ben O’Leary (guitar), they kicked off their career as buskers on the streets of Wellington, but have since gone on to perform in 20 sold-out shows and supported international acts including Ed Sheeran, Gorillaz and Camilla Cabello, as well as their fellow Kiwi Lorde. Their music could best be described as smooth yet addictive, covering bases from pop, dance, electro and R&B.
They recently signed to Syco in the UK and it’s definitely worth keeping an ear out for new music from them in the new year.
SELF ESTEEM
SELF Esteem, aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor, was previously one half of Sheffield-based duo Slow Club, but now she’s going it alone and has already started offering the world her own brand of punchy, poptinged alternative music. The songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist will drop her debut album in 2019, and it looks set to be a banger if her recent single Rollout is anything to go by. The catchy track has been supported by BBC Radio 6 Music, having landed on their A-list, and followed her first two equally-memorable singles Wrestling and Your Wife. Having been described as “witty, intelligent, an extrovert and piercingly insightful”. She’ll be out on tour in the UK in March.