What new music should you be checking out this week? Radio 1 man Huw Stephens gives us his picks…
“I’m heading to CMJ in New York this week for the first time. I’ve heard so much about the new music festival, spread across New York City, so I’m excited to be heading there to experience it first hand. I am out there with BBC Introducing, and we’re taking five artists out to the States, four of whom are playing there for the first time.
Georgia has released one of the most innovative, bold and ambitious albums of the year, and I hope she gets a Mercury nomination for her debut. Liverpool’s Clean Cut Kid will be bringing their undeniably warm melodies to NYC, The Big Moon are playing their first US gig, and Pretty Vicious from Merthyr Tydfil are also on, and are sure to create an impression. Bristol’s The Jacques complete the line up, which I think shows five new and very exciting emerging artists.
I’m looking forward to seeing Nico Yaryan play too. He was Hanni El Khatib’s drummer, and has written an album inspired by love, Amsterdam and LA. The record is as dreamy as that sounds, and comes out next year. You could file it next to Elliot Smith and Kurt Vile, it’s a really lush record. I enjoyed seeing The Rhythm Method play in London recently. A duo with a penchant for a catchy chorus and with a a nice turn of phrase, their hit single in waiting is ‘Local, Girl’, a song all about impressing your new love interest by taking her to to your local. And making a big deal of it. Part tongue in cheek, part unique glimpse at the ridiculousness of modern life (and you can tell they’ve listened to a bit of Blur over the years), if you don’t love them they will at least make you smile.
If you like sad bedroom songs and a poet with a tear in his eye, check out the Peacock Affect. His songs are gentle and sad, he has hardly any followers on his music pages. He sent me a demo that was so intimate and charming I finished my show with it recently. Scotland’s Sam Gellaitry is someone you have to hear as well. His ‘Long Distance’ track on Soulection is one of my favourite of the year, a heavy, bass-ridden tune that is a guaranteed dance floor burner, and equal parts bum shuffler. And that’s high praise!”