The nominations for the 'BBC sound of 2012' are out, and flicking through some of the nominations excites me, so much fresh new music to look forward to! There seems to be a great mix, ranging from the soulful voice of Michael Kiwanuka, to dubstep artist Skrillex. I'm going to pick a couple of my favourites from the short list of 15.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/soundof/2012/
Dot Rotten - To be completely honest, I hadn't heard much of him before seeing him on the list, however after listening to 'Keep It On A Low', I'm impressed. This isn't the kind of music I go for admittedly, however I can see him storming the charts in 2012, helped by his extensive touring into the new year.
Dry The River - Having heard them back in the summer, I've been hooked to the unique vocals and smart build up, especially in tracks such as 'No Rest', where you can almost feel the band bursting with emotion. One to look out for without a doubt.
Jamie N Commons - Definitely the debut I'm most excited about for 2012. As BBC rightly put it, 'With a whiskey and nicotine soaked growl of a voice, a five piece band and a bunch of songs that sound like they were uncovered in an attic where they'd been lying there since 1959 waiting for Johnny Cash or Nick Cave to cover them, Jamie N. Commons makes it hard to believe that he's only 22.' Need I say more.
Lianne La Havas - Bon Iver called her his 'favourite Brit', after being invited on tour with Justin Vernon after appearing on Later.. With Jools Holland. It was this appearancethat has earnt her a wider audience, who currently have an EP to enjoy, although I'm sure many are looking forward to new releases to come in the new year.
London singer-songwriter Alex Clare released his debut album 'The Lateness Of The Hour' in July 2011. He started playing guitar and piano, whilst training to be a chef, and started attending open mic nights because he hated his job so badly! Whilst on a boat down the Thames he wrote several songs, which eventually found their way to Island Records.
Alex Clare's voice is captivating and full of soul, though it may be difficult to pin his music down to a specific genre. It seems to be a mixture of blues, reggae, soul and dubstep, that just seems to work. The first I heard of him was his cover of Etta James' 'Damn Your Eyes', which left me wanting to hear more of him.
The album itself is certainly interesting to listen to, due to his voice and rapid change and variety of musical genre throughout each track. It seems the best option for him now might be to follow in the footsteps of fellow ginger Ed Sheeran, who has propelled himself into the charts with constant gigging and collaborations.
His latest single release 'Too Close' seems to be gaining him more attention, having over 100,000 youtube views and counting. This could be the start of something good for Alex Clare.
