Lightning Surlaw - BBC Sound of 2021

Hi gang - every year I check out the BBC Sound of the year and try to pretend I'm not an old has-been. They shortlist 10 up and coming artists and I thought it might make an interesting mini surlaw.
(They actually announced the winner last night but anyway...)

So, if you want to play along, there’s ten songs below for you to sample. PM me your top five, in order. And I thought it might be nice if you added a couple of sentences for your top two that I’ll copy out in the reveal. Aiming for this to be lightning quick – reveal next Thursday night if a few people are in, so submissions to me by Wednesday 13th please. I'll give your first choice 7pts, then 5-3-2-1

Youtube music playlist

Green&Red wrote: »

Spotify playlist

1 – Alfie Templeman, Forever Isn’t Long Enough

17-year-old Alfie Templeman started making music by banging pots and pans in his family kitchen in Bedfordshire. After mastering those, he also taught himself bass and guitar.

2 - BERWYN, Vinyl

An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, he plays drums, piano, guitar and violin “but I’m not even sure if I play them properly because I taught myself”.

3 – Bree Runway, Apesh!t

With influences as diverse as Lil Kim, Madonna and Shania Twain, she bristles at being pigeon-holed. “I’m not just a rapper. Like, that’s completely impossible. I’m literally everything.”

4 - Dutchavelli, Bando Diaries

The younger brother of rap star Stefflon Don, Dutchavelli was born in Birmingham but raised in the Netherlands – hence his stage name. Known for his gruff voice and ominous beats, he released his first song, New Jack City, in 2016

5 - Girl In Red, Rue

Norwegian lo-fi artist Marie Ulven scored a viral hit with her first ever song, I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend, in 2017, which has since been played 80 million times on Spotify.

6 - Greentea Peng, Hu Man

Her tripped-out, spiritually-enriched soul is inspired by her attempts to relax and unwind. “I’ve got a busy brain,” she told The Face. “I’m always thinking about some madness.”

7 - Griff, Say It Again

After being nominated for an Ivor Novello Rising Star Award this summer, she was chosen to sing Love Is A Compass – the emotional ballad that soundtracked Disney’s Christmas advert.

8 – Holly Humberstone, Falling Asleep At The Wheel

Her intensely personal lyrics all have to pass a quality control test. “They have to be lyrics that someone would get tattooed on their skin for life,” she told one interviewer. “If they're not tattoo lyrics, then they don't make the record.”

9 – The Lathums, I See Your Ghost

In July, they topped the vinyl album charts with The Memories We Make – a compilation of all their recordings to date. Since then, they’ve started working on their debut album.

10 – Pa Salieu, My Family

Not afraid to experiment with different sounds and styles, he draws on everything from dancehall and drill, while incorporating the hand-drummed sounds of his Gambian heritage. “I don’t do genres,” he said in one interview, ”I do everything”.