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2. Kwabs
Location: London
Kwabs has one of the most commanding voices in popular music, rich, earthy, and raw. It was what first enchanted us when we heard "Spirit Fade," and although the production on his songs has become bigger and more polished, that voice still cuts through it all and connects. Kwabs is already well on his way to becoming a star, but once he tours the world, and people get a first-hand experience of that voice, it's going to be game over.
4. Shura
Location: London
Shura's only got three songs out and a handful of remixes—some remixes other producers did of her songs and one she did for Jessie Ware—but her three songs are all excellent. She's got a retro sound with vintage song structures and pop melodies that wouldn't be out of place in the '80s or '90s, but her production has depth to it. It's clean, but instead of sounding like one big loop, each song builds organically with little flourishes of what sounds like live instrumentation. We haven't seen her live yet, but we can imagine these songs translating really well on stage.
6. Bipolar Sunshine
Location: Manchester
Lately, we've seen a lot of pop-leaning artists start off with their most obvious hit. Bipolar Sunshine took a different route. It's not that "Fire" and "Rivers" weren't accessible, but over the past year-and-a-half or so, the Manchester artist has been gradually developing and showing that he's got the potential not just to write some great songs, but to package them for a huge audience. His rise hasn't been as fast as other breakout stars, but the time he's spent growing give him a definite advantage. When his huge break does come, we've got a feeling Bipolar Sunshine is going to be ready.
Read our interview with Bipolar Sunshine here.
8. Jones
Location: London
Jones kicked things off with "Deep," an excellent debut song in the vein of Solange vocals and Dev Hynes production. It's a cool pop groove that's super accessible without being in-your-face. Her follow-up, "You," wasn't quite as immediate, but it showed that she's a versatile artist capable of switching things up. We'll be keeping an ear out and looking forward to finding out what's next.
10. Låpsley
Location: Liverpool
18-year-old Låpsley is doing everything right. The producer and singer had been regularly uploading her music to Soundcloud, experimenting with different styles, until she shared "Station," which caught a lot of people's attention. She followed that up with another minimal beauty "Painter (Valentine)," and then announced her signing to independent powerhouse XL Recordings.
Her debut EP on XL is on the way, and we can't see it being anything other than excellent.
12. TALA
Location: London
TALA effortlessly synthesizes the musical influences of her Iranian father, her pop loving mother, and the underground UK dance music that she grew up listening to into a truly unique package. Producing the music herself, TALA often layers her vocals in various effects, somehow giving her songs an even more epic, powerful quality. With bouncy and bright production and bold melodies, TALA is at home in the club as she would be in the charts.
Related: Future Star TALA on Escapism, Her Iranian Background, and Her Buzzing EPs
13. Johnny Lloyd
Location: London
London is full of artists on the cutting edge. New production techniques, modern genre-mashing, and fresh styles are emerging constantly, but Johnny Lloyd has a more classic sound. His music is proof that at the end of the day, good songwriting and musical talent reign supreme.
15. Fryars
Location: London
Fryars didn't let a few years of label limbo get him down, finally releasing POWER, a sweeping, experimental pop gem that is packed with both soaring instantly catchy choruses and moody, reflective moments of minimalism on November 14. The album is actually his second, and Ben Garrett, the man behind Fryars, also has songwriting credits on Lily Allen's Sheezus and a feature on Rae Morris' (another English artist to look out for) excellent "Cold."
Regardless, he should still be known and appreciated on a wider scale than he is right now, and if people give POWER the chance it deserves, it could be the turning point.
16. Oceaán
Location: Manchester
Oceaán's second EP, The Grip, is out soon, and the three songs we've heard from it so far show that the young producer and vocalist has progressed, matured, and is trying out new things. With his vocals clearer and the production playing with the dynamics of pressure and release, The Grip EP falls somewhere between the electronic ballads of SOHN and the glitchy futurism of James Blake—now Oceaán just has to try and live up to those sort of comparisons.
18. Azekel
Location: London
Azekel's manages to make music that feels both intimate and totally expansive. His warm tone and the jazzy flourishes in the production create the sense that he's inviting you into a dim, smoky bar where he's singing to you and you only, but then thunderous bass or a sweeping chorus will come in out of nowhere and blow you away. Maybe best of all; the way Azekel is improving with each song, we get the feeling that he's only getting started.
20. Nao
Location: London
Currently supporting Little Dragon on their European tour, Nao is about to release her brilliant debut EP on to the world. Like many new artists around now, Nao mixes soulful vocals with more experimental, electronic production, but she does it better than most of them. The producers she worked with on the So Good EP—especially secret weapon A. K. Paul (Jai Paul's brother) who she created the stunning title track with—create a varied and always interesting soundscape for her honeyed gospel and R&B-influenced voice to impress, and impress she does.
Keep up this quality, and she'll have lots more songs breaking the 1 million play mark in the coming months and years.
22. Raleigh Ritchie
Location: Bristol
Some of Raleigh Ritchie's songs are pure, radio-ready pop (not necessarily a bad thing), from the sweeping string sections to the huge hooks, and some, like "Cuckoo," are a little weirder. What ties all of Ritchie's music together, according to the singer himself, is an all-important honesty. With artists like Sam Smith who are not afraid to share their emotions and fears in their songs currently in the charts, the stage could be set for Raleigh Ritchie to have a massive 2015.
24. Rosie Lowe
Location: London
We can consider BANKS as "blown up" up now, right? Well, if BANKS can see that sort of success with her moody, emotionally raw, electronic-backed pop songs, then Rosie Lowe can too. Working with the likes of Kwes and Dave Okumu, Rosie's heart and soul-bearing lyrics are always accompanied by production that draws you in and then subtly catches you off guard. With one really big song, Rosie Lowe could be next.
26. Shivum Sharma
Location: London
With nothing more than a piano, some very simple percussion, and that angelic voice, Shivum Sharma blew us away with "Flicker. " The young Londoner is releasing his new EP All These Years on December 8, and the dreamy "Taboo Nightlight" is the closest he's come to recreating the jaw-dropping magic of "Flicker." It also proves that his crystalline vocals work with slightly bolder, more fully developed production—an exciting hint at Sharma's future.
28. MNEK
Location: London
Some readers, especially those based in the U.K., might argue that MNEK has already blown up. After all, he's appeared as a featured vocalist on a UK Top 10 single (Gorgon City's "Ready For Your Love") and is Grammy nominated for Best Dance Recording (as a featured artist on Duke Dumont's "Need U (100%)"), not to mention haven contributed songwriting and production to multiple UK No. 1's. Regardless, MNEK has the charisma, style, and sound to become a massive, international star. Your move, MNEK.
30. Joel Compass
Location: London
When Joel Compass first came out with songs like "Fucked Up," we wrongly labeled him as the British version of The Weeknd. Sorry, Joel. Over the last year, he's shown that he's way more than that, and perfectly capable of working in a more pop-leaning realm. We still love his darker side, but the fact that he can make a big, dramatic pop tune like "Forgive" or work in the dance music world with tracks like "Girlfriends" sets Joel up in a good position.
32. Sinead Harnett
Location: London
Most people became familiar with Sinead Harnett when she provided guest vocals on Disclosure's 2012 banger "Boiling," but since then, she's done a great job of showing that she can be a star in her own right, rather than just as a guest vocalist. Harnett's vocals are smooth, honeyed, and inviting, the perfect foil for lush and languid electronic production, just as on her most popular song to date, "No Other Way," produced by Snakehips.
34. Royce Wood Junior
Location: London
At this point, mixing rich and soulful vocals with more experimental production, often influenced by UK dance music, is nothing new, but when it's done well, it can still be so powerful. Royce Wood Junior, who lived with Jamie Woon and played in his band, is one of those artists doing it right. His sound, perfect for late night walks through empty city streets, is certainly becoming more and more accepted and embraced by the mainstream, so a whole album of high quality material from Royce could be a big deal.
