Best New Artists of the Month
Finding new artists is easier than ever, but this creates a problem: it’s harder than ever to filter through it all and keep tabs on what’s really good. With so many artists popping up every day, it’s impossible not to miss out on some fresh faces and new sounds. With that in mind, we’ll be highlighting our favorite new acts each month. Here are the best new artists of November.
Gundelach
Credit: Simon Skredderne
Gundelach’s “Spiders” is a gauzy, wobbly ride through the songwriter’s native Norway—the trembling synths paint the picture of a winter wonderland, and Gundelach is driving the sleigh. Downtempo dance music is true bliss when it’s done right, and “Spiders” is a slice of gentle-funk heaven.
Jodie Abacus
Jodie Abacus will make you move. It starts with the voice—Jodie’s vocals are massive, out-front affairs that use the full capacity of his lungs. It continues with his instrumentation, where there’s a grateful debt owed to Stevie Wonder and his squishy synths. And the propensity for movement finishes with the groove—Jodie Abacus finds a pocket and stays there, building beat constructions that won’t let you go once the hooks are in.
“Halfway to Mexico” and “Good Feeling” are funky, disco-tinged affairs that are epic in scope and delicious listening experiences. If you’re in a danceable space, get to it.
Sara Hartman
Sara Hartman has made a huge splash with her debut single, “Monster Lead Me Home.” The song has already amassed over 100,000 plays on SoundCloud, succeeding with a unique brand of anthemic optimism and nervous excitement that came after a move from New York to Berlin. “It’s a snapshot of my mind when I first got to Berlin,” she explained. “It was really exciting but very frightening at the same time. I put everything into the music I make and trust it’ll take me where I’m supposed to be, i.e. ‘Monster Lead Me Home’.”
Anik Khan
As long as Anik Khan keeps making songs, you’ll know when an Anik Khan song comes on. His voice is a thing of unmistakable beauty, huge bellows soaring over electronic production. Most of his music is melodic, but as Khan shows on “Obsession” and his previous cut “Saul Bellow,” he’s perfectly capable of breaking off a bar or 16.
The Bengali-born, Queens-raised rapper linked up with us for a Daily Discovery earlier this month. He said his immigrant roots “are definitely the cement to my hip-hop foundation. I just took what I related to from that and added the world hip-hop hasn’t been accustomed to hearing. Keeping my Bengali roots a part of the sound, but also involving my West Indian influences, it only shows how far hip-hop has come.”
Public Access TV
Photo by Jim Tobias
If Mac DeMarco wasn’t so damn relaxed, he might sound a little like Public Access TV—the NYC rockers tear up their tracks with a unique blend of modern and classic sounds, and they’ve probably broken a few guitars in the process. There’s something comforting in knowing real rock bands still exist, and Public Access TV is doing it better than any other newcomers right now.
Babbit
It sounds like Babbit had a great time making “Painting Greys”—that crazy rolling synth in the chorus was a great find, and his vocal effects fall just on the right side of Imogen Heap.
What’s more, the producer wasn’t even planning on singing, telling us he “was planning on writing the lyrics for someone else. It was really just random that I ended up recording on the track at all, considering I don’t even own a microphone. My housemate, who’s more of a singer, ended up being out of town for a few days so I got a chance to mess around with his.” Here’s hoping the housemate goes out more often.
bLAck pARty
Photo by Ibra Ake
bLAck pARty was already good as a rapper, but he took shit to the next level with the ridiculously addictive “You.” The Little Rock, Arkansas producer/singer/songwriter found his groove on this one, and we can’t wait to hear what he comes up with next. He’s currently working on an EP.
Capo Lee
Image via Capo Lee
We’ve said it before: radio is the lifeblood of grime. If you’re an MC trying to build your name, hitting as many radio sets as possible is the best method to get your name buzzing (as long as you kill it on mic, of course). And if you’re thinking of awesome DJ’s whose sets you want to spit on, Spooky would surely be one of the first names to come to mind.
Capo Lee’s been grinding, and he just released an EP produced entirely by Spooky, on which he shows off his ability to both drop memorable catchphrases and tell stories. Start with “C.A.P.O.” and the Drake flip “666 God Freestyle.”
Tsar B
Image by Alexander Popelier
It’s always exciting to hear an artist find their voice. For Tsar B, that process is well underway after just one song—”Escalate” explores the Belgian singer’s considerable range, incorporating everything from bassy pitched vocals to a crisp falsetto.
This, Tsar B’s debut track, has a lurking, seductive quality to it that hints at something darker beneath the surface—the vocals are sweet and clean, but they’re counteracted by massive percussion and heavy reverb. In her own words, “‘Escalate’ is about the lack of wisdom or the lack of sense certain people have.”
AmeerVann
Brockhampton’s tentacles seem to reach farther every week, with affiliates like Merlyn Wood and Rodney Tenor branching out on their own alongside their work in America’s biggest boy band. AmeerVann is the latest to jump into the fray, and he’s blown us away by following up his gorgeous, intense “camera roll” with an even more impressive track, “LOVE.”
AmeerVann is most comfortable amidst storms of distortion and Auto-Tune, but he keeps everything orderly otherwise, saving the big drops and static explosions for the final act. He’s also a vivid lyricist, painting pictures (“put your nails in my back, making love in the street”) with an unparalleled intensity. He’s passionate as hell, and it doesn’t hurt to have Bearface, Albert Gordon, and JOBA on production.
Hidden Charms
If you miss the gritty, forlorn bar rock championed by The Dead Weather and The Black Keys, Hidden Charms is here to cure what ails you. With big, dirty guitar riffs and hopelessly cool lyrics (“I love you ’cause you’re there”), this London quartet is keeping blues rock alive with fuzzy filters and every inch of their vocal chords. It’s a welcome reminder that no matter how deep we dive into the digital age, rock will always be alive and well.
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