Another Fab Four from Vevo’s dscvr Artists To Watch 2018 list, this time we meet Norway’s own Sigrid and dreamy Manc band Pale Waves, plus synth-popper Ella Vos and Atlantic rap duo EarthGang…
Sigrid Label: Island Management: LoyalT Management
An all-powerful Scandipop sensation, Sigrid is not to be messed with. Take debut track Don’t Kill My Vibe, which recalls a studio session with a control freak male producer. ‘You think you’re so important to me, don’t you?’ she sings, in a trademark rasp. ‘But I wanted you to know that you don’t belong here!’
In just a few months, she’s gone from an unknown entity into one of pop’s brightest, most uncompromising prospects, and nobody’s standing in her way. Just as the hype was picking up in May 2017, she played a stirring Vevo dscvr performance at Brighton’s Great Escape festival. And shortly after, she upped the ante with a live dscvr session.
Claudia de Wolff, Vevo’s VP, creative content & programming, UK & international, says: “We first worked with Sigrid at The Great Escape festival back in May. From there this all-powerful Scandipop sensation sold out two nights at The Scala and will be touring the UK in early 2018. No one can deny that she’s had a great 2017– but we feel like the next year will be even bigger.”
Pale Waves Label: Dirty Hit Management: All On Red
When Pale Waves vocalist / guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie writes a new song, she tends to have a coming-of-age film playing in the background. It’s the perfect match. On record, the Manchester-formed group capture a vivid headrush: first loves, long summer evenings spent discovering something new, a pre-cynicism consciousness.
With the sweet sugar fix of early singles Television Romance and There’s a Honey, the four-piece have fast become pin-ups for freedom-seeking pop. Expect a head-turning new EP and, all being well, one of the most exciting indie full-lengths in years.
De Wolff says: “This indie pop 4-piece from Manchester have been quietly building a loyal fan base and creating their own movement across the UK. The video for their track Television Romance hit over 1.5 million views in a month, so we are super excited to see what’s to come!”
Ella Vos Label: Unsigned Management: Lewis Hughes
Ella Vos’ synth-pop is rife with hooks any singer would be jealous of, but her real secret weapon is the ability to shape private feelings into gorgeous packages. The LA newcomer’s debut, 2016’s White Noise, dives into her struggles with postpartum depression and its attendant alienation.
Vos played a part in the SoCal electro-indie scene for a few years before landing on pop-savant playlists via Rolling Dice. But Vos’ solo work has shown that she is even more of a force when speaking her own truth; the strummy yet pulsing You Don’t Know About Me takes on microaggressions, and her dscvr performance of I Know You Care, from her debut album Words I Never Said, boasts a magnetism that tugs you towards surrender.
JP Evangelista, Vevo’s head of music & talent says: “There’s nothing surprising about the fan reaction to Ella Vos’ White Noise; the LA-based singer has a full grasp of pop mechanics, and her hooks are as powerful as her lyrics are revealing.”
EarthGang Label: Dreamville/Interscope Management: Fab 5
If the question is, Are there any ATLiens left? The answer must be, Yes, EarthGang. As Atlanta’s trap generation has conquered the hip-hop charts, the influence of the city’s foundational crew, the Dungeon Family, has seemingly faded.
That doesn’t slow down Doctur Dot and Johnny Venus, the duo who’ve inhaled the shape-shifting musical credo of elders like OutKast, Goodie Mobb and Organized Noise, updating it for the age of SoundCloud rap. Their anything-goes music reflects deeply complicit personalities trying to get through contemporary African-American life with a vape and a smile…and not always succeeding.
Evangelista says: “EarthGang is the inspired Atlanta duo of Doctur Dot and Johnny Venus, whose Rags, Robots and Royalty trilogy boasts an anything-goes vibe that isn’t afraid to put a smile on its face.”
