At the end of every year a list is created telling us who will be big in the next year to come, it’s somewhat forced upon us through the medium of Internet and radio and precedes from January to December in that fashion until repeat. For the first time the list released for 2012 I totally disagree with what has been released.
The BBC Longlist sound of 2012 is as follows :
- A$ap Rocky
- Azealia Banks
- Dot Rotten
- Dry The River
- Flux Pavillion
- Frank Ocean
- Friends
- Jamie N Commons
- Lianne La Havas
- Michael Kiwanuka
- Niki & The Dove
- Ren Havrieu
- Skrillex
- Spector
- Stooshe
The first highlight for me is the severe lack of guitar based music, the closest to come to the genre are Niki & The Dove, Spector and Dry The River, and none of them are new to the music scene but are signed and have industry backing.
Further up the list is NME cool lists number 1 Azealia Banks, an MC based in London VIA Manhattan already pulling in the plaudits and leaving labels scrambling for her signature. The list is top heavy in beat based or rap music with Dot Rotton, A$AP Rocky and Frank Ocean.
A sound firmly leaving a mark on the year just past was Dubstep. In the summer of 2009 Skream released his remix of La Roux’s ‘In For The Kill’ a track that would put the genre on the map, nearly 2 years later Skrillex is riding that wave. Alongside Skrillex is Flux Pavilion, Another producer who has been around since the late winter of 2010 playing numerous shows in support of Skrillex and many others.
Weird pop outfit Friends, a year too late Jamie N Commons guarantee a number 1, Corinne Bailey Rae throw off Lianne La Havas, surprise act Michael Kiwanuku(who could steal the whole list) and Micha B meets Daphne & Celeste pointless girl act Stooshe fill the blank ‘insert pop act here’.
