Ones to Watch 2016

That time of year is almost upon us. You know the one. The one where every blog, website, printed publication (what’s left of them) and media outlet rolls out their tips for 2016. Actually, we’re not quite there yet, but come December and January that’s what happens.

And as has become customary on Breaking More Waves we’re going out even before the B of the Bang, not for any particularly clever / savvy / get there first reason, but simply because this time suits us.

For the next 10 days we’ll be taking a stab at who we think it might be worth keeping your ears out for in 2016.

Last year’s tips were probably our weakest ever in terms of commercial success, with only 1 from our 10 selections (The Shires) going on to have a UK top 10 album, although of the other 9, only a further 2 have got round to releasing debut long players, one being a top 5 album in Sweden and the other having a top 30 record in the US. Of the other 7 none of them have got that far, let’s hope that some of them do so in 2016 otherwise we may find them disappearing in a cloud of obscurity.

Not that our Ones to Watch list is ever just about commercial success – it’s purely about artists that we’ve been enjoying, although past years have suggested that our taste is reasonably commercial to a point, with the likes of Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding, Florence & The Machine, Marina & The Diamonds, Mumford & Sons and more recently George Ezra and Wolf Alice all appearing on our lists. Of course there's been some misses both creatively and commercially in our picks, but let's move on and not mention the fact that we once thought Skint & Demoralised would be the next big thing.

So without further ado, let’s get started. We’ll be publishing one artist to watch for 2016 every day for the next 10 days at 8.30am, the first coming in fifteen minutes after this post goes on line. If you’re a regular reader of the blog most (but not all) of these tips will come as no surprise to you; many have already featured in past posts in 2015. In fact, this list is as much of a summary of the best of our past year or so of new music selections as it is a crystal ball for 2016. See if some of these crop up on other tip lists as we head into December and wish all the artists we’re about to feature in 2016 good luck – it’s getting harder and harder for new acts to develop any sort of long term career in an industry that some would suggest is seriously broken.