The British Bit is a weekly column bringing you the latest culture from across the pond.
To mark the beginning of a new year, The British Bit is jumping on the “best of” list bandwagon and bringing you ten British musicians you should be listening to now. In order to straddle the two years, I’m recommending five artists who released excellent releases in 2011 but didn’t get quite get the attention of Adele, Coldplay or Florence + the Machine, and five new artists to keep an ear out for in 2012.
You may have missed in 2011:
1. Ed Sheeran is a 20-year-old Rupert Grint doppelganger whose music bounces between folk, rock and acoustic hip-hop. His soul-tinged single “The A Team” reached third place in the UK charts last June and subsequently debuted at the top of the album charts in September. The A Team EP was released in America in December, and here’s hoping the full discography of his intricate wordsmithing reaches us in 2012.
2. Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote (a.k.a. Kenny Anderson) teamed up with English electronica musician Jon Hopkins last year to create Diamond Mine, a collection of heart-wrenching soundscapes suggesting a romanticized view of Fife, Scotland. The soothing album that combines musical elements with field recordings was nominated for a Mercury Prize but ultimately lost out to PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake.
3. Charlene Soraia covered The Calling’s “Wherever You Will Go” for a Twinings tea advert that began airing in October. The delicate, stripped-back track made it to the third position on the UK charts. She released her debut album Moonchild in the UK in November, but there is currently no word on a US release.
4. And then there’s Birdy – a 15-year-old whose cover of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” captivated UK audiences last winter. It’s pretty amazing how this girl manages to make Justin Vernon’s song more melancholy than it already is. Her self-titled debut includes “Skinny Love,” nine other covers and an original called “Without a Word.” It’s unlikely we’ll be hearing much from Birdy (a.k.a. Jasmine van den Bogaerde) until her career matures in Britain first, but maybe once she writes some more original music, it’ll make its way over here.
5. Ben Howard is a folksy singer-songwriter from Devon who has developed a devoted following akin to the fervor of Ed Sheeran’s fanbase. Instead of Sheeran’s dubstep and grime influences, Howard packs in a lot of natural imagery and wise words. And good news: his debut album Every Kingdom is available for download in the States!
Some of the new artists emerging in 2012 will make it big enough in Britain to also break into America, some may not make it across the pond until 2013, and others may never be widely marketed here, but here are some artists that Brits are talking about in 2012:
1. Emeli Sandé won the Brit Awards Critics’ Choice for 2012. That alone indicates that you should sit up and take notice of this R&B artist from Scotland. The award is given to new talent just before they blow up. Adele was the first to win in 2008, followed by Florence + the Machine, Ellie Goulding and Jessie J. If you’ve never heard any of these names before, I am so sorry. Her album Our Version of Events is due out in the UK in February, but for now, listen to her danceable yet soulful “Heaven”.
2. After a year of working in seclusion, London five-piece Zulu Winter has emerged with artsy pop songs, part of an album to be released in April. The band sounds a bit like the polarizing Vampire Weekend, but less frenetic and without the ridiculous rhymes (Horchata and balaclava? Really?).
3. Delilah’s latest EP Love You So was released digitally in December, and her forthcoming LP From the Roots Up is set to be released in March. The urban singer-songwriter has toured with Chase & Status and was featured in the drum-and-bass duo’s “Time”.
4. Dry The River is definitely in the same camp as folk-rock band Mumford & Sons, but they sound more like Fleet Foxes with mellower arrangements and without the Marcus Mumford gravel. The sound is a little unusual considering that the band members met as teenagers in punk and post-rock bands. The band’s debut album Shallow Bed drops in the UK in March.
5. Bon Iver liked 22-year-old soulstress Lianne La Havas enough to invite her to support them on their North American tour last month. La Havas writes with the pacing of Laura Marling and sings with the croon of Corinne Bailey Rae or Janelle Monae. This performance of “Age” on Later… With Jools Holland is what attracted the attention of her folksy benefactor.