The BBC ‘Sound of’ shortlist has been going for over half a decade now. The list is compiled from the votes of ‘130 of the UK’s leading music critics’ and usually offers an eerily accurate prediction of the big breakthrough artists of the next 12 months; past winners include Adele, Mika, Bloc Party and The Klaxons. They know their stuff.
So who have they chosen to pluck from relative obscurity this year? Who’s going to make it big in 2009?
The Longlist is:
The Big Pink
Dan Black
VV Brown
Empire of the Sun
Florence and the Machine
Frankmusik
Kid Cudi
La Roux
Lady GaGa
Little Boots (Yay!)
Master Shortie
Mumford & Sons
Passion Pit
The Temper Trap
White Lies
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7758169.stm
This ‘longlist’ will lose five of its number in a month’s time and the number one artist – chosen on the 9th of January – will be catapulted into the Mainstream and enjoy a successful year all round – if the successes of previous winners are anything to go by. Sure it’s all a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy, but anything that goes out of its way to promote challenging and fresh music is worth it in my view.
I’ve only heard of a handful of the artists mentioned above so I’ve got plenty of listening to be doing. What does everyone else think about the list? Good? Bad? Dull? Exciting? Who’s gonna win it? Does it matter?
MP3: Little Boots – Stuck on Repeat