By Andy Kellman, AllMusic Chicano Batman source their high-spirited alternative Latin synthesis from tropicália, West Coast psychedelia, and late-’60s/early-’70s soul, among other styles. Eduardo Arenas (bass, vocals), Bardo Martinez (lead vocals, organ, guitar), and Gabriel Villa (drums, percussion) made their recorded debut in 2009 with a self-released, self-titled album. After Carlos Arévalo (guitar) was added […]
By David Renshaw West London grime MC AJ Tracey is fast and aggressive on the mic, boasts a versatile style, and his lyrics are packed with references to everything from soccer players to Dragon Ball Z characters. In 2015 he released two impressive EPs in The Front and Alex Moran, and he has recently locked […]
By Roisin O’Connor Be Charlotte is a three-piece Scottish band that evolved from the solo project of singer songwriter Charlotte Brimner: still in her teens, but already scooping up accolades for music that involves an impressively fluid use of analogue and digital sound. They just picked up a nod for Best Electronic Act at the Scottish Alternative […]
By Paul Simpson, AllMusic Marian Hill are a duo from Philadelphia consisting of singer Samantha Gongol and producer Jeremy Lloyd. Their unique sound combines sparse, minimal electronic beats with seductive vocals (which are often chopped up and manipulated) along with sultry saxophone. The duo wrote a song called “Whisky” in spring of 2013 and sent […]
By Ashley Lyle, Billboard Up-and-comer OneInThe4rest steps into the spotlight with his infectious pop/R&B banger “Jiu-Jitsu,” featuring Chris Brown. Years before a burgeoning songwriting career that included working with Nicki Minaj, French Montana, Big Sean and Tyga, among others, the artist born Melvin Moore was a young boy living in Kansas with his parents — his mom did theater […]
By Caroline Sullivan ‘This is my dream,” says Rachel “Raye” Keen at the end of the evening, glass typically half-full. Outside, it’s freezing; inside, it’s a basement with obstructing pillars and a stage so cosy that she and her three musicians are almost literally cheek by jowl. Yet dreams are subjective, and for this teenager […]
By Vanessa Okoth-Obbo Real Ting is the first project of the impressive rising young London MC Stefanie Allen (aka Stefflon Don). The mixtape is a slightly rocky intro, but her raw talent shines through. In late 2015, then-ascendant South London rappers Section Boyz made their presence felt with “Lock Arff,” the breakout single that netted them […]
By Rolling Stone and Jane Chardiet Palberta Sounds Like: Basement-show Beefheart For Fans of: The Raincoats, the Residents, Half Japanese Why You Should Pay Attention: After two well-received cassette full-lengths, Brooklyn/Philly noise-rock trio Palberta are finally going straight to vinyl for their third album, Bye Bye Berta. For their first release for Brooklyn’s Wharf Cat Records, […]
Artist Biography by Mark Deming An experimental duo whose music is a witty yet sensual fusion of funk, pop, R&B, Latin, and electronic influences, Buscabulla were formed by Raquel Berrios and Luis Alfredo Del Valle, a pair of Puerto Rican émigrés living in Brooklyn, New York. The two first met in 2011, when Del Valle […]
By Simon Spreyer, AllMusic Essex, England-born Anne-Marie Nicholson was no stranger to performing by the time her debut EP dropped in 2015, having shared the stage as a 12-year-old with none other than Jessie J in a West End production of Whistle Down the Wind. She also auditioned for Les Miserables without telling her parents, […]