"Do you remember when the guitar was a wild, unpredictable instrument? (...) Well, Daniel Champagne still plays the guitar in that bold, unconstrained way" - Ted Gioia recommends the Australian guitarist (now living in Nashville). "You feel as if he just invented the instrument yesterday and was discovering its possibilities afresh. And I haven’t even started telling you about his singing and songwriting—but go find out for yourself."

Darkest hour
April 05, 2023

Heartworms - "the next great cult act"

"There’s a real depth to Heartworms’ music that matches the image, and proves her to be a true and powerful outlier of her time" - NME is delighted with the debut EP by Heartworms, London goth/post-punk band. Fronted by musician and poet Jojo Orme, formed in 2020, their 4-song introductory release ‘A Comforting Notion’ feels "urgent and important, brimming with all the promise of the next great cult act." DIY Mag feels similar about her: "a Seriously Fucking Cool new artist with vision and formidable talent to her name."

The thrill is coming
February 01, 2023

Raye to finally release her debut album

Raye was signed to Polydor Records as a teenager, she wrote songs for Beyoncé and Little Mix, sang on top 10 hits by David Guetta and Jax Jones, but her label refused to release her debut album. After she extricated herself from Polydor and struck out as an independent artist, she had the biggest-selling single in the UK within 18 months - 'Escapism', a hard-hitting account of abusing drink, drugs and meaningless sex to get over a break-up. Her long-awaited debut album, '21st Century Blues', is out this Friday, with hard-hitting stories of sexual abuse, self-doubt, misogyny...

Will be happy to say "told you so"
January 13, 2023

MixMag chooses 24 best new artists

"There’s an exciting energy in the air at the start of each year, knowing that a whole new wave of exciting music and dancefloors moments are soon to be experienced" - MixMag introduces the selection of 24 DJs, producers, and rappers to watch in 2023. Included are English rapper Clavish with "some of the most formidable wordplay in UK rap right now", Irish DJ Fio Fa - "expect to see him get dancefloors shaking in 2023", Chinese DJ Hao who "pulls dancers through pneumatic beats up to blinding trance-inflected climaxes with a sense of momentum that’s relentless and exhilarating", and LA DJ Introspekt because "any artist who can master the full stylistic range garage offers is immediately essential".

Ana Moura is one of Portugal’s biggest stars, a fado singer (or fadista) who has sold millions of records, and has just released her seventh album. This time Noura is reinventing the ‘Portuguese blues’ again, mixing its emotional intensity with kizomba, samba and trap. Guardian presents the fado star.

Good days are coming
October 26, 2022

Stereogum picks out the 40 best new bands of 2022

A nice list - Stereogum chooses 40 musicians who have done "something... in the past year that makes us feel like they’ve reached or are about to reach their full potential". It's not really a global list - the vast majority is American, and a few come from the UK or Australia - but still, it's quite colorful. The full list: Age Of Apocalypse, Anxious, Blackbraid, Caroline, Chat Pile, Dazy, Dijon, Doechii, DOMi & JD Beck, Dummy, Dust Star, Ethel Cain, Fugitive, Glorilla, High Vis, Jane Inc, Jane Remover, Jockstrap, King Hannah, Knifeplay, LF System, Lowertown, Maria BC, Mess Esque, MSPAINT, Naima Bock, Pool Kids, Rachika, Nayar, Rat Tally, Ripped To Shreds, Romero, RXK Nephew, Saucy Santana, Scowl, They Are Gutting A Body Of Water, Trapland Pat, Undeath, Why Bonnie, Zoh Amba, and ZORA.

TikTokeress
January 09, 2022

PinkPantheress is BBC's Sound Of 2022

20-year-old PinkPantheress, who only started releasing music a year ago, has won BBC Radio 1's Sound Of 2022. The singer, who goes by her TikTok username, remains shrouded in mystery - she comes from Bath and currently lives in London, where she's studying film. Her real name remains a secret and, until relatively recently, she didn't show her face on social media. Indie-pop duo Wet Leg came second in this year's list, with powerhouse vocalist Mimi Webb third.

London rapper Central Cee is the first musician shortlisted on BBC's Sound of 2022. He's been doing music for 10 years, but he's been in the limelight for the last year. He talked to BBC about his perseverance: "Within those 10 years there's obviously been bumps in the road and whatever but I was determined for the most part". His plan for 2022 is to - "stay alive and get richer!".

Watch out list!
November 05, 2021

Stereogum's 40 best new bands of 2021

PinkPantheress / Horsegirl / Bruiser Wolf

Stereogum picks out 40 musicians "that make us most excited about the future", which includes Bruiser Wolf, Olivia Rodrigo, Enumclaw, For Your Health, Indigo de Souza, Horsegirl, Mustafa, PinkPantheress among others. The criteria is that "all of them are doing something worth hearing right now, and deserve to have your ears on them going forward". Check out the full list.

One by one
November 01, 2021

Vevo unveils 2022's Artists To Watch

Lola Young

Vevo has unveiled its 2022 DSCVR Artists To Watch list, featuring 21 exciting new artists in the US, UK, Europe and beyond. The Vevo list which has in the past spotlighted the likes of Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi and Sam Smith early in their careers. MBW presents this year's cohort:

  • Andy Rivera
  • ArrDee
  • Brray
  • Chiiild
  • Clinton Kane
  • Enny
  • EST Gee
  • Grip
  • JAWNY
  • Jessica Winter
  • Lola Young
  • Mimi Webb
  • Nija
  • Pip Millett
  • Poupie
  • Ronisia
  • Sen Senra
  • Seori
  • Serious Klein
  • Wet Leg
  • Willie Jones

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