It’s not 2015 yet, hell, I’ve only just accepted it’s December and almost, ALMOST (I repeat almost because I refuse to accept that it IS) Christmas, and that’s only because I opened the first day of my advent calendar this morning. Yes, I still get an advent calendar every year and my mammy buys it for me, so what? Fuck you, that’s what.
Anyway, 2015 is almost upon and to get us ready for the musical future ahead of us, the BBC have once again compiled a longlist of the acts that will soundtrack the year 2015; the bands you will fall in love with and be unable to get enough of, or the bands you’ll fall in loathe with and want to burn from the airwaves, long before 2015 is over. It’s the BBC Sound of 2015, y’all!
The list is compiled by 139 “influential tastemakers” who cast a vote for their three favourite new musical acts from any music genre. The results of said compiled list are further mathed the fuck out of to form the longlist that follows, before finally being whittled down into an ultimate Top 5 announced on a day from the 5th of January to the 9th.
Previous prestigious winners have included the likes of Sam Smith, Haim, Adele, and 50 Cent.
“If you want to embark on a journey into the future of music, BBC Music’s ‘Sound Of 2015’ is a brilliant starting point. With around 140 of the UK’s key tastemakers taking part, the longlist is wide ranging, including grime artists, singer-songwriters, an electro-pop band, a garage punk duo and a poet amongst others. It’s a list full of talent and promise and I very much look forward to seeing how each artist’s story unfolds over the coming year.”
– George Ergatoudis, Head of BBC’s Music, Radio 1, ad 1Xtra
Without further ado, the BBC Sound of 2015;
George The Poet
George Mpanga, or George The Poet, is a spoken word and hip hop artist that has been doing the rounds since about 2006 – even though he’s only 23. Born to Ugandan parents in North West London performing rap and grim whilst he was still just in school. George has been steadily collaborating and releasing tracks lately, and has been getting a lot of acclaim for his lyricism, and its profound nature. Well, he is a poet after all.
James Bay
James Bay has released a few EPs in his short years as an artist, but already he has established himself as a strong and distinct voice; taking straightforward singer-songwriting but infusing it with a powerful sense of soul, alternative rock structures, and the distinct atmosphere of Americana. However, it’s not just a combination of tastes on display here, Bay offers up his own incredibly deft songwriting skills and his burnt, raw with emotion vocals.
Kwabs
Kwabena Adjepong has been slowly but surely whetting all sorts of appetites with teasers and tasters since 2011; singles, covers, collaborations, live video session, and praise in high places. It’s safe to say there’s been a powerful thirst not getting quenched with the buzz, so it seems like 2015 is the year that all those waiting, and those who didn’t even know they were thirsty will get a good drink of Kwabs striking mix of straight up gospel and soul channelled and amplified through R&B and the coolest electronica.
Låpsley
Just eighteen years young Låpsley, has earned herself a spot on the Sound of 2015 longlist, but with one listen to her musical output so far, it really isn’t hard to see why. Take her recently released single ‘Falling Short’ as a prime example; the production is sleek, sparse and open to expansion within your own ear drums as minimalist percussions keeps you on track without getting lost as Låpsley’s vocals drift in and around the track ghostlike seemingly wanting to take you the right way and lead you astray simultaneously. Stunning.
Novelist
From a poet to a novelist and from a 18 year old to a 17 year old (at least according to what minimal information I can find on Novelist – he may be 18 by now), we find ourselves with Novelist; a young rapper who has been taking his rhymes to stage since he was just 14 – climbing the ladder up the underground grime scene, working in crews, and making a name for his self as one of the most dexterous and hotly tipped young rappers out there. With a current resurgence for grime in British music, this nod from Sound of 2015 is sure to see him catch the wave into the mainstream and to the top.
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