#soundof2014

[notorious-kei]

やっと届いた〜 何気にcirca wavesフルコンプ中。 B面はphienixのカバー♡ #circawaves #solong #soundof2014

[soundrating-blog]

BBC Sound of 2014 Review/Trends in music

It seems its that time of year again, where the BBC seem to predict the future and tell us what it will sound like. Its the coveted BBC Sound of 2014 award, given to the artist who will provide the soundtrack to the rest of the year. Previous choices for the award have included Haim, Michael Kiwanuku and Jessie J, the majority of whom have gone on to be very successful, so winning this award is actually rather beneficial for he artist who wins. Whether it is actually deserved is a matter I will be looking at today. I'll also be making my own predictions in terms of music trends in 2014. So without further ado, lets take a look at the winners!

1) Sam Smith:

                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv679SxziHQ (Sam Smith - Nirvana)

So here it is, the Sound of 2014, and it seems like his year is going to be a soulful one. You'll know him for his feature on 'Latch' by new dance music forerunners 'Disclosure', but his own solo music seems to gravitating towards a sound similar to that of James Blake, only with more focus on the soul than the experimental. There is no doubt that his voice is unique, being sharp and crisp in a way that strikes a chord within you. Yet he also seems to have enough to offer behind his vocals to make him stand out from the crowd. Of course, it will yet to be seen what his album will be like, but he certainly sounds promising and could herald an RnB revival. A good choice in my opinion!

2) Ella Eyre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqPC3dmKFdw (Ella Eyre - Deeper)

On first impressions it would be easy to conclude that Ella Eyre is the female version of Sam Smith, having also been a collaborator with last year's other big new dance act, Rudimental. Whilst there are certainly some similarities, such as the chopped up style of sampling and focus on the individual singing style, Ella Eyre has a slightly more upbeat approach. Despite this, she doesn't quite hit the mark in terms of innovation. Sam Smith seems to be doing more with the instrumental side of his music, whilst Ella Eyre seems a little more predictable. There is no doubt that she has a fantastic voice, but she's not particularly mind blowing.

3) BANKS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naMvm2DUKiE (BANKS - This is What It Feels Like)

Where the previous two seemed to be more soulful or fun, BANKS seems to pushing more for atmosphere and subtlety. The music behind her voice tends to be highly minimalist, drawing comparisons once again to James Blake, Burial and Massive Attack. However, whilst those three artists tend to focus purely on their own exploration of electronic atmosphere, BANKS seems to be making that sound more radio friendly. It certainly is interesting, yet has the danger of becoming somewhat repetitive. The album will no doubt have the potential to be stunning or bland.

4) Sampha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC-0p4k0jw4 (Sampha - Too Much)

Guess what!? Another collaborator! This time its the turn of SBTRKT's number one singer Sampha, who brings to the table a slightly more experimental style than the previous three. In some ways he is the artist who has deviated from his collaborators the least, bringing the subtle nuanced style of SBTRKT with him. Despite his unique voice, some of the songs suffer from the same issue as BANKS, in that they get a little repetitive. However, he is certainly promising and may have the chance to stretch his legs more when it comes to recording an album.

5) George Ezra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyGSQjyaoDA (George Ezra - Budapest)

At last! A guitar! The smokey voiced George Ezra rounds off the BBC 2014 as the only guitar based artist in the top 5. His style is more reminiscent of Michael Kiwanuku than Ed Sheeran, which can only be a good thing. Whilst his guitar style wont blow anyone out of the water, his voice is so emotive and resonant that you can't help but like it. Unfortunately, he seems to be late to a scene that is slowly moving out of the mainstream, which would probably explain his position in this poll. Definitely worth a listen to, and I look forward to his album eagerly!

So there we have it, the Sounds of 2014 and it seems this is the year of the collaborator. The top 5 seem to highlight several trends, especially considering that only one of the top 5 is a guitar based. Here are some of the trends I believe the music industry is undergoing at the moment.

Guitar music takes a step back:

It seems that guitar music has moved itself out of the mainstream after several years of popularity. The 2000s seemed to be characterized by a number new, innovative guitar bands including Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Muse, Kings of Leon to name but a few. Now, however, these bands seemed to have either moved onto new things (Arcade Fire's 'Reflektor'), faded into relative obscurity (Bloc Party/Franz Ferdinand) or become rather shit (Kings of Leon). The recent influx of popular guitar bands haven't quite cut it, and major labels are focusing more of their efforts on electronic bands. That's not to say that bands becoming less mainstream is a bad thing. In fact, it may give it the very thing it needs, a chance to be innovative and exciting. Guitar music will no doubt come back in some form, but for now it is taking the back seat to Dance music.

Electronic music renaissance:

Gone are the days of dubstep, when dance music was at its very lowest. It was easy at the time for dubstep to be popular, but in all honesty it was a joke. Only a few artists have come out of dubstep well (being James Blake and arguably Magnetic Man), with the rest either disappearing or becoming the soundtrack to video game montages. Nowadays we have a whole plethora of new dance music acts that are diversifying the scene. Whether it is the old school futurism of Daft Punk, the pounding French house of Justice and Kavinsky, or the British dance explosion fronted by Disclosure, Rudimental and SBTRKT. It's being experimental too, with Jon Hopkins and James Blake both exploring the subtle side of things. Even guitar bands are getting in on the action, as seen with Arcade Fire's new album 'Reflektor'. Dance music hasn't been this vibrant in a long time, and it signals a glorious emergence from the filthy dark ages of dubstep.

Overload of Solo Artists:

It's quite eye opening that only three artists out of all the nominees for the 2014 poll aren't solo artists (being Say Lou Lou, Royal Blood and Jungle) and even they are duets. Royal Blood stand as the only representative of bands in there as well. It seems the market is being flooded with solo artists to the point where it will be hard for any of them to be remembered. The sad fact of the matter is that the some of the solo artists picked in this top 5 will not be remembered at the end of the year. There will be many more solo artists emerging throughout the year who will be touted as the next big thing. Whether this says more about the decline in band music is open to debate, but there is no doubt that what is an already competitive market has become even more so with the overwhelming number of new acts. It is clear this is the case with these new artists using more experimental styles in an attempt to distinguish themselves from the rest. 

Well, that's my round up of the BBC Sound of 2014. It is worth noting that these are only predictions and opinions. The true sound of 2014 will be discovered at the end of the year. However, do you agree with choices? Gutted that Jungle didn't make the cut? Do you also agree with the music trends? Let me know in the comments!

[bobinronnier-blog]

Var stad/plats skapar sina egna utpräglade låtar i våra olika momentum och fyller sin yttersta funktion, att bevara känslan och essensen av staden/platsen. Det resande stadiet är så klart av bidragande faktor och utökar listan av låtar som ligger extra varmt om hjärtat. London, Italien, Karlskrona, Oslo och otaligt fler är alla av sådan karaktär. Melbourne är på god väg att skapa sig sin egen betydelse. 

[erasmusik-blog]

BBC SOUND OF 2014. INTRODUCING THE LONGLIST.

It has become one of the music industry's favorite traditions. Ever since 50 Cent was elected Sound of 2003 by the BBC and a vast array of music critics and journalists, a new up and coming act is promised the big breakthrough every year for the year to follow. Last year, a highly selective jury of 170 influential UK-based pundits named HAIM as the Sound of 2013. They were right. The three LA sisters' debut album Days Are Gone ultimately topped the UK charts while entering the top ten in several countries including the US, Australia and Norway. Finally HAIM's recent appearance on Saturday Night Live marked the trio's superstar status. Therefore we are all the more eager to check out this year's longlist including as many as 15 potential breakthrough acts. ERASMUSIK. is introducing you to the longlist's candidates one by one right after the jump.

1. MNEK

Starting with an ERASMUSIK. favorite here. At 19 Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike (MNEK) has already shaped a whole lot of the re-emerging UK electro pop/garage/dance scene. Scoring his first number one on Duke Dumont's and AME's addictive Need U (100%) he has also collaborated with this year's discoveries Disclosure and Rudimental. With his debut album just around the corner we think the stars will align in 2014 for the breakthrough of this singer/songwriter/producer. Whether he tops the list or not.

  2. BANKS

We are in love with this girl. Point blank. Seriously, you will have heard of Jillian Banks aka BANKS very soon (if you don't have already) so there is not much of an introduction needed. Just listen to the Californian's track This Is What It Feels Like and treat yourself to a unique blend of electronic beats and melancholic yet groovy R'n'B.

  3. GEORGE EZRA

Another 19 year old guy. OK, age is not that important when it comes to talent but boy does this guy's bluesy voice sound old. In a good way. A really good way. So good indeed we hope to hear a lot more of George Ezra soon.

  4. ELLA EYRE

We only just featured Ella Eyre in our XOXO NOVEMBER 2013 playlist. You might instantly recognize her as the powerful voice that delivered the vocals to Rudimental's Waiting All Night. The Brit school graduate will certainly leave her mark on 2014.

  5. SAY LOU LOU

One our favorite tracks this year certainly was Say Lou Lou's collab with Australian producer Chet Faker. Fool Of Me just emits a classy dreamy vibe of melancholy but the good melancholy, the one that makes you want to cover up in it and be silently thankful for all the great things and memories of your life, pain included. Anyway. Consisting of the beautiful twin sisters Miranda and Elektra Kilbey - who are currently recording their debut album in London and Los Angeles - Say Lou Lou for sure is a project to look out for next year or now or...just get carried away already!

  6. KELELA

Beyoncé is a fan, she's been compared to Janet Jackson and there are tracks on her mixtape released by her label Fade to Mind that are slightly reminiscent of Aaliyah. Kelela's sound comes across like the epitomy of the best R'n'B ever offered adding some serious hope for the future in the form of haunting beats and inspiring electronic arrangements.

[hernameisbanks]

Honored to be included in the the BBC Sound of 2014 longlist.

[stephenackroyd-blog]

What's in a list, anyway?

Today’s agenda, barring something quite extraordinary, will be dominated by chatter about new bands and lists. The BBC’s Sound of… poll long list was announced overnight, and already Twitter is awash with opinions. Yes, everyone has one.

That’s fine. These things are there to be debated. What I find more interesting (or perhaps confusing) is the way many - especially those who spend their lives searching for the next new act - see this as something like the end game.

I guess if you take the opinion that the bands who tend to make this fifteen strong hype train tend to have the requisite industry backing and bank balance, then yes, they can be self fulfilling prophecies. But on the counter, we can all play bingo with the acts who don’t make it (and there are always a couple). Last year alone proved that a new band can fail to make the list and go on to dominate the mainstream musical agenda - neither Bastille or London Grammar, for various and different reasons, found themselves on a Sound of… list.

The BBC list, it's worth noting, is compiled of loads of judges from different backgrounds. Clearly it's not going to stick to one niche or genre, and won't be 'right' to any single person with individual tastes. If you're after that, you're best finding a critic or publication that matches what you think more closely.

To me, as an editor, our annual Class of… feature, which has been running for YONKS now, is anything but a full stop. We’ve not revealed anything yet (the magazine is out on Friday), but it features a lot of bands. Like, a lot. More than ever before. That’s entirely intentional. It isn’t an example of a scattergun approach, but rather the musical landscape we find ourselves in. Last year we featured ten acts (it would have been twelve, but - behind the scenes info alert - time fell through on tight deadlines with two we wanted to interview). The thing is, 2013 felt a lot more together than 2014. Those claiming they guessed the Sound of… long list deserve respect - nothing on there is a surprise, sure, but I reckon I could give you another 20 names minimum that would sit just as easily too. Beyond a few at the top of the tree, there are a lot of acts who, with a fair wind and good judgement, will have a great year.

The acts in the Class of 2014 are all artists we’ve supported; especially through Neu, our new bands section. However, as a lot of this is done online, it’s hard to create the same statement you can in a magazine. That’s no slight to the format I cut my teeth on, either - online is just more of a flat hierarchy than you'd find in print (or print like) publications. We give eight pages in both the monthly and weekly to Neu, but even that’s not enough for the amount of new music that buzzes around these days. I see this as a chance to announce something to the people who don’t pour over the blogs, and who find the conveyor belt of fresh names a bit too much to keep track of. These are the acts you’ll be hearing more about from us this year. You might have seen them hanging around, but this is a formal introduction. This is who they are. Get acquainted, you’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.

We follow through on it too. Last year eight of our ten acts from 2013 graced a DIY cover in some form or other, and I’m sure at least one of the others will in the future, because they’re definitely an office favourite. That isn’t about external stuff, but rather setting a large part of our editorial voice for the year. It’s the warming up to the big number, not the nice lady in the pointy horned hat delivering the final bars. But, equally, they weren't the only bands to feature heavily. Things keep moving. It's not like a band can only get through that gate in January - more that some of the industry prefers it that way.

Oh, and for what it’s worth, it’s a perfectly good Sound of… long list. Under the criteria of picking favourite acts, two out of my three missed out, but that’s fine. It’s not as if it actually means much, anyway.