So,who'll be big in 2011?

I can't predict the future but I do have an idea of bands that I think will make it in 2011...


BEAR DRIVER

I watched them play a gig at The Bull & Gate in Kentish Town this week and can indeed confirm that they are the future of indie pop with their sharp, yet light and pleasant melodies.






The Naked and Famous

They make good, rather cool, pop music, yes? And now that everyone's catching onto this fact and they're getting the attention that they deserve, I'm sure they will acheive amazing things in 2011.







Esben & the Witch


I'm listening to their album as I write this which is going to be released in January 2011 and can indeed confirm that it is BIG. I'm pretty certain that it will be just as well praised as albums from their 'witch-house' counter parts: Glasser and Zola Jesus were this year.






Yuck

I don't think I really need to say much about Yuck as if you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know how much I've raved about them over the past year. 2011 WILL be their year, with their debut album set for release.







Matthew and the Atlas

They fit right into the 'nu-folk' scene along with Noah and the Whale (who are also due to release an album in 2011), Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn but this is not to say that they're just another nu-folk band. They are individual and posess the melodic/musical/poetic skills to do great things in 2011.






Spark

Having been the first person ever to interview her back in May of this year, I feel so proud of all of the media coverage she's getting at the moment and trust that she'll do great things in 2011 as she certainly has the drive. Here's the interview:



Having just performed her first set (and only 2nd ever live show) of the Marina and the Diamonds tour, East London songstress, Spark joins me for a brief chat in the Glee Club dressing room. Her dark hair is all clipped back, gravity defying eyelashes frame her eyes and she’s wearing starry hot pants teamed with a fancy looking ruched top; she looks like an authentic pop star already.

We soon establish that Spark’s real name is Jess Sparkle Morgan, yes; Sparkle is her middle name, that’s amazing right? But she mainly goes by the name of Spark whilst on tour due to her manager also being called Jess which can lead to confusion.


Spark tells me that although, leaving education would seem like a big decision for many people, for her, it was not as she would never have considered going to university. She’s only eighteen and left school (the Brit School) yesterday (she was meant to leave on Friday but “slipped out early” to come on tour) and has no intention of returning.


We also discuss how the whole music career thing happened; it seems to have all taken place so rapidly. “I have no idea, one day I was singing in nursery and the next day I’m on tour with Marina” Spark tells me endearingly. She used to play guitar and write songs, wrote her first song at the age of twelve and has always sung but she says that never really had any musical influences at all. She also describes the whole process as: “I just kept writing songs and then after that is all a blur.”


When asked about being on tour with Marina, she seems incredibly excited; having never witnessed one of Marina’s brilliant live shows, she’s eager to see what all of the fuss is about. She also appears to be stimulated by her future plans for after the tour as her debut single ‘Shut out the Moon’ is being released and she is already “living her dream.” “I feel like some-one’s going to pinch me and I’ll wake up and have to drag my sorry arse to school” she tells me with what seems like a mixture of genuine disbelief and delight. And that is where our chat terminates as we ‘hug it out’ in the words of Spark and head off to see Marina.


Sunday Girl

She's beautiful, she has a good eye for fashion, a great voice and can write good pop songs (and produce good cover versions). She's so perfect that there's no way in hell that this girl won't be doing something huge next year!





Duologue

I saw them play at a night that my friend, Jamila, put on in a rather odd venue in Hackney under a block of flats and they were absolutely brilliant. They're like no other bands out their at the moment. They combine distorted guitars with piano riffs and electric violins. Think of Muse, but of their faces on MDMA. I will be posting more on these boys soon! Keep your eyes peeled!



Too Young to Love

Hailing from Madrid, Italy; I'd say that this band are the most diverse choice on my list. Their music is a mélange of witch house, indie, shoe gaze and classic pop. Thus, giving them the sound of The Big Pink, mixed with These New Puritans (in some of their more experimental songs), mixed with Fever Rey, mixed with Hurts.





Wild Palms

Simple, catchy indie pop but with a bit of synth and plenty of delicious percussion. I saw them the play the other day too and they proved themselves to be pretty great live.






Clare Maguire

The phenominal voice of 2011. Her voice will blow your songs off just like the likes of Adele and Winehouse did. Her pop songs are great too. Head over to http://www.claremaguire.co.uk/ for a free download of the song below.






Wolf Gang


Now that they're finally getting the praise and media coverage that they deserve for their utterly marvelous pop music, they're heading for big and exciting things in 2011, including the release of their debut album.






The CocknBull Kid

Now that she's focussing on her own music carreer instead of writing songs for other people, Anita Blake is releasing her debut album 'Adulthood' in Febuary 2011 on Moshi Moshi. It will be a great pop album, fact. Here's the time when I interviewed her in November: http://katiewilkinsonblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/cocknbullkid-interview.html



Jamie Woon

This man knows how to mixed beats together and sing. Look, he's great! Beautiful pop music with bitterly dark undertones:






James Blake


The voice, the minimalism; it's all just pure beauty in a musical format.





The Vacccines

Ok, yes, they are another scuzzy, nostalgic, lo-fi indie band. But that doesn't make them any less brilliant.







Summer Camp


If you're a regular reader of this blog, you obviously know how much I love them. With the album release next year and a heavy tour schedule planned, they will achieve mass recognition in 2011, for sure. This video is so cute, it's ridiculous:






Thanks for reading! Have a nice christmas! I love you!


Katie

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