Blimey, this year has absolutely flown by. It feels like only yesterday we were making our predictions of who would dominate the charts in 2015. So, here we are again trying to read the future and guess who will be breaking through into the charts in the next 12 months. We get a buzz from working with new acts at Metropolis, here’s who we think could make 2016 their own.
Jack Garratt
Having already picked up the Brits critics’ choice award, it is hard to argue with his appearance on any list trying to predict whose debut albums will have the biggest commercial impact. The experimental yet mainstream applicable balladry of Jack Garratt should see him follow in the footsteps of previous critics’ choice winners like Adele, Sam Smith and Florence + The Machine.
‘Phase’ was mastered by Stuart Hawkes and is available to pre-order.
J Hus
Despite recent controversies leading to J Hus being in the papers for the wrong reasons, there is a lot to like and admire about the rapper and singer. Mixing rap, r&b, bashment and afrobeat, J Hus describes himself best: “There’s no better J Hus than J Hus”. ALL TOGETHER NOW “Lean and Bop, Lean and Bop”.
‘Lean and Bop’ was mastered by Peter Hewitt Dutton.
Billie Marten
Billie is a painfully talented and super young singer songwriter whose woozy and emotive vocals got her noticed back in 2014. Despite not yet finishing her GCSE’s Billie has put out two EP’s and show’s no sign of slowing down.
“As Long As – EP” was mastered by John Davis.
Oscar
Like a mixture of Blur and The Dandy Warhol’s, Oscar has a keen ear for melody. Equally likely to make you wanna jump up and down and sing along or have a quick cry in the corner this DIY producer writes beautiful indie pop rock.
“Breaking My Phone” was mastered by John Davis.
The Big Moon
Possibly one of the buzziest buzz bands on our list. Their discography may be short but their list of famous fans isn’t. Fresh from touring with the Vaccines, The Big Moon look set to own 2016 with their Riot Grrrl inspired grunge rock.
“The Road” was mastered by Felix Davis.
WSTRN
West London collective WSTRN flirted with mainstream success when their debut single “In2” peaked at #4. Haile, Akelle and Louis can be sure that the pressure will be on to deliver more chart friendly vibes and hope that the UK is as in to it as their first hit.
“In2” was mastered by Stuart Hawkes.
Our Girl
Soph Nathan was not content with only being in one band on our list so the part time The Big Moon guitarist pop’s up again with “Our Girl”. Based in Brighton this three piece have created a hazy shoe-gaze masterpiece with “Sleeper” and shimmering slow burner epic “Level”.
“Sleeper” was mastered by Felix Davis.
Sundara Karma
This Reading 4 piece have big tunes with big choruses. Much like Catfish & The Bottlemen it seems Sundara Karma are destined to play stadiums. If they keep writing anthemic ditty’s like Vivienne there will be no stopping them.
“Vivienne” was mastered by Andy “Hippy” Baldwin.
About Metropolis Mastering
Metropolis Mastering was founded in 1993 with the intention of redefining international standards. That same passion, ambition and commitment is still the force that drives us today. Our five mastering suites were designed and built to the highest possible specification, offering the best environment for critical listening, and equipped with some of the most sought after mastering equipment around.