Ones to Watch 2012 - #15 Rachel Sermanni

We started the Breaking More Waves Ones To Watch 2012 posts with a female acoustic singer songwriter who we’ve featured on the blog a number of times this year (Lucy Rose) and so we’ll finish with a female acoustic singer songwriter who we’ve featured on the blog a number of times this year as well.

Rachel Sermanni is a charming musician who comes from a small village in the Highlands called Carrbridge. She’s already supported the likes of KT Tunstall, Roddy Woomble, Newton Faulkner, Fink, John William Grant plus Mumford & Sons and a few months back released the limited edition Bothy Sessions EP which was recorded in a green, wooden bothy with a tin roof and a wood-burning stove in the Highlands. This location seems perfect for Rachel, her songs being dreamily organic, the gradual increase in her popularity being found in a very natural way. There’s no major record label marketing strategy at work here, just a singer, some tunes, some live performances and an open ended vision of just playing music. It’s this d-i-y approach that meant that Rachel was under no pressure to make the songs on The Bothy Sessions fit for radio, with 3 of them clocking in at way over 5 minutes and the other being just a minute long. Yet they meshed with those who heard them anyway.

In 2012 Rachel Sermanni will start with some more shows and a new EP - Black Currents from which the song Breathe Easy (below) is taken.There’s a number of dates in her homeland and a very special gig at the Union Chapel in London with the equally wonderful Russian Red on Jan 23. After that, who knows? Not every artist has every aspect of their year mapped out from them from day 1. 2012 could be the year that Rachel Sermanni is One to Watch, but then it could be 2013 or 2014 as well. Irrespective of our predictions, whatever she does, whenever she does it, we’re pretty certain that this fine new talent from Scotland will produce magic. We know we've fallen head over heels, maybe you will to?

Breathe Easy taken from Rachel's debut EP Black Currents out on 30th Jan 2012 by Rachel Sermanni

Ones to Watch 2012 - #14 Charli XCX

One of the problems of publishing a new music blog that works fully outside of the music industry itself (excepting the huge pile of emails from PR companies that attempt to sink our in box every day) is that we can never be fully sure as to when an artist is going to be forthcoming with recorded material. Back in November 2009 we first featured the flamboyant teenager Charli XCX and her hyperactive sherbert-electropop. A year passed and as November 2010 arrived we gave her consideration for our Ones to Watch for 2011 list. Have a look at this blog and the picture to see some of those we considered and eventually decided against. The decision not to list Charli XCX was probably correct as it is only in the last few months that she’s fully surfaced from the darkness of the studio, releasing two singles, the classy electro-power ballad of Stay Away and the igneous Nuclear Seasons with its call of “When you go, please don't leave your love in the sun, my heart will melt away.” Both have found plenty of blog adoration, particularly stateside. There now seems to be a momentum behind Charli XCX and hence this year she features on our Ones to Watch for 2012.

Charli XCX may have burst out like an exploding cracker, showering Pac-Man power pills whilst playing at being a crotch grabbing horned up pop star, but her two recent singles display a much greater maturity. They veer between 80’s power balladry last seen when the likes of Berlin or Shakespeare’s Sister were in the charts and the more modern pop of the likes of Marina & The Diamonds or Gwen Stefani dabbling with computers in a cathedral. With an album finally set for 2012 these singles have shown great potential. The question is can it be fulfilled?

Nuclear Seasons (Night Plane Remix) by charlixcx

Ones to Watch 2012 - #13 Outfit

Our thirteenth choice in our Ones to Watch 2012 list is Outfit. They’re a five-piece indie band, but not the sort of indie band that is likely to quote Oasis or The Kaiser Chiefs as inspirations. In fact their Facebook lists their influences as Beach Boys, Pional, Todd Rundgren, Cryptacize and Kompak as reference points. There's a number of indie bands taking more interesting reference points at the moment -Embers (who we would have included on this list if it wasn't for the fact that it's so early days they haven't even played a gig yet), Zulu Winter, Woman's Hour, French Wives and Theme Park all nearly making it onto our Ones To Watch list, but we've gone this time with Outfit.

Having formed from the ashes of another band called Indica Ritual and various members having played in a whole host of other groups, Outfit first popped up on the internet 9 months ago with the songs Every Night I Dress Up As You and Killer. These two pieces of ambling, gentle, oft-kilter guitar tuneage immediately picked them up coverage on a music industry connected blog and pretty soon after the NME were on their case as well.

From that point onwards Outfit were on a rise and luckily they have the music to back it up. Their key track released to date is Two Islands, which floats in a vibey melancholic majestic beauty that seems to be going nowhere but is actually very focussed on its direction. There’s a feeling of sad loneliness in a packed space in the lyrics “I don’t know anyone else in here,” as guitar effects wash and keyboard sounds roll. With Outfit’s fluid structure and slightly avant-garde approach to song writing it’s inevitable that the band would draw comparisons with the likes of Wild Beasts and that has been the case. It’s not a bad comparison to draw.

It’s still very early days for Outfit, the band suggesting that they will release a new EP to follow up Two Islands in 2012 and a confirmed tour in February that opens at the Green Door Store in Brighton on 11th February before hitting Oxford, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham, with an album later in the year. Keep an eye (and ear) out for them.

Two Islands by OUTFIT

Ones to Watch 2012 - #12 Ren Harvieu

We’ve already mentioned that a number of choices in the Breaking More Waves Ones To Watch 2012 list have more than a vague whiff of nostalgia about them. From the 50’s vintage Bo Didley referencing Willy Moon to the old school rock and blues of Alabama Shakes to the smouldering 60’s gangster Nancy Sinatra of Lana Del Rey or the sepia tinged Otis loving acoustic soul of Michael Kiwanuka. Now here’s another one.

When we first posted about Ren Harvieu back in September we mentioned the likes of Dusty Springfield and Carole King as musical similarities. To that list we could also easily add Shirley Bassey (well, actually we did already, here) and Cilla Black because we could very much imagine Ren standing in a venue like the London Palladium and belting songs like Forever In Blue and the Say A Little Prayer referencing debut single Through The Night out and getting a standing ovation. It’s opulent stuff.

For the moment Ren Harvieu has to be content with her recent support slots with James Morrison and two headline shows at the less glamorous Monto Water Rats in London and the Ruby Lounge in Manchester. There's also a simple performance video of her covering The Beatles Something which she put out a couple of weeks ago (see below). At this point in time however, Ren is probably just glad to be getting out playing shows after badly injuring her back in a freak accident earlier this year that almost stopped her music career in the tracks before it even got going.

Through The Night by Ren Harvieu

Sister Morphine – Recorded for MOJO magazine covermount CD by Ren Harvieu

Ones to Watch 2012 - #11 The Staves

The Staves are three beautiful sisters making beautiful music. It’s music formed out of simplicity – one acoustic guitar and three harmonised voices that are about as close as you can get to pure. The word spell-binding doesn't even do them justice.

Jessica, Camilla and Emily Staveley-Taylor originally hail from Watford, UK and after starting their life in music playing open-mic nights and gigs in local cafes and pubs they secured a slot at the Glastonbury Festival back in 2009. Since then the band have found doors slowly opening for them as people recognise their undisputed and unique talent. In the summer of 2010 they were a part of the Communion records Flowerpot Takeover, during which they collaborated with Lissie, Mumford and Sons, Jesse Quinn, Pete Roe, Tim Rice-Oxley, and Damien Rice. They have also supported Mumford & Sons on a tour of the US and James Vincent McMorrow in the UK.

Originally featured on the blog back in April the sisters have now secured a record deal and an album will be released in 2012. If that album sounds anything like the beautiful Mexico which streamed on that April post or this bewitchingly calm version of Gone Tomorrow recorded live at Cecil Sharp House in London, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it finds itself on quite a few end of year lists come next December.

Gone Tomorrow by The Staves

Ones to Watch 2012 - #10 Queen of Hearts

If you’ve spent any time on Breaking More Waves blog over the last year the chances are you’ll have seen the name Queen of Hearts crop up a fair few times. Queen of Hearts is a new electronic pop artist who makes music similar to Sally Shapiro, Goldfrapp, Little Boots and Ladyhawke, referencing 80’s synth pop and italo disco but with a contemporary sheen thanks to working with producers such as Dreamtrack, Sound of Arrows, Fear of Tigers and Monarchy.

After receiving significant blog love this year (Breaking More Waves probably more so than any other blog out there, first posting about her in February 2011 and numerous times since) she finally released her debut EP Arrival this autumn.

Queen of Hearts has said that she writes songs about the important things in life – love, loss, heartbreak, betrayal. She has been growing a small but devoted fan base through gigs that involve elegant theatrical costumes, dancers and her ‘creatures’ – a number of rams skulls that adorn the stage. This left of centre showmanship gives an approach that reminds us of a more restrained small scale post-Gaga, without the overt near-nudity. In fact Queen of Hearts manages to be a very sexy performer whilst keeping her clothes fully on. Look at the picture above for the evidence.

Whilst her appeal may be a little too niche to have any mainstream appeal at this moment (although like Hurts did over the last two years it may be that she just needs time to find her true audience), if you like electronic music and believe that pop music should be about elevating you away from normality to a world of fantasy then Queen of Hearts is one for you to watch in 2012.

Freestyle (Diamond Cut Single Edit) by Queen Of Hearts

Black Star (Devils Gun Remix) by Queen Of Hearts

Ones To Watch 2012 - #9 Michael Kiwanuka

Rather like Willy Moon, who was yesterday’s Ones to Watch 2012 choice, Michael Kiwanuka is producing music that has a deeply nostalgic tone. Unlike Moon however there is no attempt to give his music a contemporary edge. Instead Kiwanuka’s music subscribes to the argument that great art should never be discounted simply because it doesn’t innovate. Innovation can often be too closely linked to fashion, falling out of favour as tides turn and new waves sweep in. Listen back to something in your record collection that you thought was ground-breaking a few years back and now it may actually seem very dated. Having the tools and talent to create something moving and beautiful, irrespective of originality, is more likely to stick closely to the heart longer than the latest hipster craze or fad.

This is where Michael Kiwanuka wins hands down. You can choose to describe his soulful, acoustic music as timeless, classic or alternatively you can use words such as retro and vintage, but ultimately whatever way you frame it Kiwanuka makes music that is exquisitely warm and wonderful.

Kiwanuka is 23 years old and grew up in North London. He grew up on a musical diet of Blur, Nirvana, Hendrix, Dylan and Otis Redding. It is Redding that laid the roots for Kiwanuka’s own brand of music that is every inch close immaculate.

Michael Kiwanuka will be releasing his new single Home Again on January 1^st and his debut album follows in March.

Home Again by MichaelKiwanuka

Ones to Watch 2012 - #8 Willy Moon

Our next One to Watch for 2012 certainly meets our criteria for producing something interesting. Albeit this judgement is made on the basis of only the two songs we have heard. The question of if it will be loved by the public is not nearly so clear, because what Willy Moon is doing is so different it's actually difficult to fathom if it's good or not. He could turn out to be 2012’s Marmite artist, dividing lovers and haters, or he could flop into the dark abyss of the bargain bin without anyone even noticing. Although we suspect that if he does end up in the trash can it's unlikely that it will be without at least getting noticed; for this is an ambitious young man. He's already been quoted as saying that he wants to be a massive pop star and that everything he does will be spectacular. Playing to fifteen people on a damp Tuesday night at The Bull & Gate isn't his style.

So what is it that makes Willy Moon so engrossing? The best answer is to watch the videos below. (Skip the remix and come back to that after you've seen the videos). Originally hailing from Wellington New Zealand but now based in London Willy Moon looks and sounds like he’s found some time warp from the 50’s and funnelled it to the present day. Anyone remember Westworld and Sonic Boom Boy? Well that’s a reference point perhaps.

With his snappy powder-coloured suits on his lanky body, hair full of Brylcreem, the most buttery feet you’ve ever seen move, Max Headroom styled stutters on She Loves Me, beats that could have almost come from a Jay-Z record, guitars that sound like they’ve been lifted from the grave of Bo Didley and songs that clock in under two minutes there’s no question that Willy Moon isn’t following any trend. The question is, will anyone actually like it?

I Wanna Be Your Man (Drop The Lime Remix) by Willy Moon

Ones to Watch 2012 - #7 Lana Del Rey

Initially we weren’t going to include Lana Del Rey in our list of Ones to Watch for 2012. There’s been so much written about her on the internet that it seems that another post from a small scale blog is almost pointless and arguably she's already so prominent in most music fans minds that bringing attention to her really isn't required.

By the end of 2011 with just one single release and a handful of shows Del Rey has received so much under the microscope analysis that you have to wonder how she can ever survive it. Is she authentic? Does she really write her own songs? How much money has she had thrown behind her by her major label? Can she sing? How much of what she does is an act? Why has her debut album under her real name Lizzy Grant been deleted? How many record company execs has she slept with to get where she is now? Are her lips real?

Let’s repeat that last one. Are her lips real?

Yes the internet has become such a dissecting gossipy beast that grown men (and some women too) are spending their time discussing how real Lana Del Rey’s lips are. When you think about it, it really is pathetically lame.

Del Rey seems to have become an internet discussed phenomena in a way that is childlike and sometimes borders on misogynist. Never before has a single new artist been subject to such inquiry and analysis, much of it based on pre-conceived assumptions, sometimes without accurate fact checking.

How on earth can Lana Del Rey survive the hype both musically and personally? Those who hate her will, like an abusive parent to a tiny toddler, continue to kick her down even before she’s had the chance to walk. With such levels of uncontrolled exposure, those who like her could also become sick of hearing about the most talked about new artist of 2011. Del Rey has said herself in interviews that she’s stopped reading what people are writing about her because it upsets her. If she continued reading she would probably have become sick of herself as well. It’s true that some of the negative writing about her has been particularly vicious, to the point where you have to question how the internet is affecting society – would these writers say what they write to Del Rey's face? If not then this is assassination by stealth.

This is why Lana Del Rey has to be one to watch for 2012. The question is can she survive the onslaught of the hype machine? Last year in this list we named The Vaccines who also had to ride the wave of over-exposure (albeit not of the tsunami proportions that Del Rey has experienced). The Vaccines rode the wave well by getting their heads down and concentrated on playing lots of gigs and festivals, weary of the press and blog adulation. Even when lead singer Justin suffered a haemorrhaging vocal polyp they got back on the road as quick as possible after. By the end of the year the band can look back at a solid if unremarkable debut UK top 5 LP, sold out gigs and personal relationships in the band that have held together well.

There’s a potential lesson there for Del Rey. The hype will eventually die down. The cynics and doubters will move on to find something else to cast their negativity on. If she focuses on what actually brought her to our attention in the first place – her intriguing, otherworldly music, she may just survive.

Let’s remind ourselves of that music. Back in May 2011 Breaking More Waves was the first Hype Machine listed blogger to post a stream of the song Video Games in the world. Since then that post has become one of the most read posts on our blog with 1000’s of hits. It remains a sublime, slightly disturbing song about control in a relationship and is one of our favourite pieces of music released in 2011. The video (playing below) has had over 6 million views on You Tube. Let’s see what 2012 brings.

Lana Del Ray - Blue Jeans

Ones to Watch 2012 - #6 Lianne La Havas

‘Nothing like Corinne Bailey Rae or Andreya Triana, but we all have similar hair,’ states Lianne La Havas, our sixth one to watch for 2012, on her facebook page. If those two comparisons don’t sit comfortably with Lianne then maybe instead we should compare her to our first one to watch choice, Lucy Rose. There are at least several similarities. They’re both women for starters and both play acoustic guitar. They both also sing songs that have a tremendously soothing quality. Then there’s the matter that both have names beginning with the initial L. They certainly don’t share the same hair however.

It could be a good year for women who have names beginning with L. Four of our 15 selections are as such (our fourth selection, Foxes, is called Loui and we have one further to come very soon). Let’s see how that statement holds up next December.

However whereas Lucy Rose sings in a pretty almost dainty voice, Lianne’s vocal has a more of a soft sultry soulful quality. Comparisons to the likes of a lighter Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott or Eryaka Badu have already been thrown around by the bucket load as she sings her songs of heartbreak.

If you’ve already come across Lianne La Havas it may have been through the song No Room For Doubt, which she recorded with Willy Mason (video below), her cover version of Final Form by quirky indie rockers Everything Everything (below), her performance on Later with Jools, her Black Cab Session video, or maybe you’ve never heard of her before and are reading her name for the first time on this blog. Whatever way you’ve discovered her one thing that is absolutely clear is that this 22 year old south Londoner, who has sung backing vocals with Paloma Faith and has found everyone from the likes of Bon Iver to Fearne Cotton championing her, has the potential to release an album that could ooze quality.

Everything Everything - Final Form - Lianne La Havas Cover

Lianne La Havas - Tease Me (Live in LA)

Ones to Watch 2012 - #5 Dot Rotten

It may come as a surprise for regular readers to see us featuring Dot Rotten in our Ones to Watch for 2012. After all this blog is hardly upfront when it comes to rap and grime. However, having expanded this list from the past previous ten to fifteen artists this year, it does give us the small opportunity to widen our net a little and put forward at least one act from a genre not featured heavily on the blog. Having said that, in terms of commercial rap music Rizzle Kicks regularly featured over the last year, the brassy ska-grooves of Down With The Trumpets being one of our favourite singles of 2011 with Breaking More Waves giving support by featuring the original demo of the track early on.

So this one to watch is a UK MC and you'll be pleased to read that all Eastenders references and jokes about his name have been left firmly at the gate.

Dot Rotten (real name Joseph Ellis) has been plugging away for a long time now. In fact way back in 2006 he was trading under the name Young Dot and released his debut mixtape This Is The Beginning. However his move from underground credibility to potential mainstream appeal really began at the start of this year. If you’ve heard Ed Sheeran’s excellent No.5 Collaborations EP ( at 8 tracks long it is virtually an album) which was released at the start of the year you’ll know that besides tracks with Wiley, Devlin and Random Inpulse one of the stand-out tracks was Rotten’s Goodbye To You; an intimate tribute to the loss of his nan and her strength. “I still think of you every Sunday, no one can top your chicken and rice, even through the darkest times you held us all up ‘cos your vision was bright, I knew your strength was your wisdom inside, you never let anyone see your heartache, you just got on with it,” he raps. It’s proud real-life stuff.

Now with a deal through Mercury Records, the sharp Normal Human Being making waves earlier this year, support slots with Chase & Status in the bag and a new single Keep It On A Low being released on December 11 it could be Dot Rotten’s time to step up with the UK rap big boys. On the strengths of Goodbye To You, the super slick Microphone (streaming below) and Keep It On A Low, we reckon he has a really good chance.

Microphone by Dot Rotten

Ones to Watch 2012 - #4 Foxes

If you’ve read Breaking More Waves for any period of time you’ll know that we have a strong penchant for female singers. In fact Hype Machine tags this blog as being one to investigate in particular for female vocalists. Therefore it makes absolute sense that of our 15 Ones to Watch for 2012, 9 of them will be bands or solo artists that feature female vocalists.

Our fourth selection is one of those 9. We first posted about her back in August when she was still performing using her real name, Loui Rose. (Actually her real name is Louisa Rose Allan, but she’d dropped the ‘sa’ and the Allan by then.) At the time we suggested that this had the potential to make things a little confusing, what with another upwardly rising singer Lucy Rose bobbing about in the arena. Now, we don’t know if Loui Rose or whoever is working with her was thinking the same thing, but now Loui Rose is going by the name of Foxes. Which makes it easier for you, and easier for us, especially as we’ve already featured Lucy Rose in this list.

Except it doesn’t.

Because there’s a band called Foxes! from Brighton who have been going for some time now and so there’s only an exclamation mark between these two. We can see all sorts of potentially confused looking gig audiences in the future. Surely there must have been other animal names that were available for a new act?

Since that blog post in August Louisa Rose Allan / Loui Rose / Foxes (maybe we should call her Loui Fox, although that wouldn’t work because according to the Guardian there’s a mysterious silent partner in the back with Loui who goes by the name of Sam, so actually Foxes is a band, just like the Brighton lot, although Popjustice says the Guardian is incorrect, so now we’re even MORE confused) seems to have picked up a fair amount of record industry attention and now she’s releasing a single via boutique pop label Neon Gold – the people responsible for the debut singles from Marina & The Diamonds and Ellie Goulding. Whether this means that Foxes already has a major label working behind her and the Neon Gold release is just to wow the tastemakers and give her credibility or not is unclear to us, but ultimately it’s irrelevant.

The important issue is the music.

Youth is the Neon Gold track and is is exactly what you’d expect from that stable. A high production value pop song with dance crammed edges formed with epic showers of shimmering synths and cluttering carnival percussion – it may not be quite as instant as early Marina and Ellie tracks did but it improves on repeated listens.

But there’s better to come.

You may remember that our August blog featured a demo of a song called Night Owls Early Birds. It sounded like a less muscular Rolling In The Deep by Adele and was particularly impressive. Along with the rest of the Loui Rose Soundcloud account it’s been taken offline now, so you’ll have to be patient to hear it in some fully produced form.

Don’t expect to see Foxes all over the place in the early part of 2012, but as the year progresses, watch carefully. We will be.

Youth by iamfoxes

Home by iamfoxes

Ones to Watch 2012 - #3 Alabama Shakes

Our third ones to watch for 2012 are Alabama Shakes, from Athens, Alabama, USA. If there’s a thread linking some of the artists on our 2012 list, it’s that more than one of them take classic, retro sounds and bring them fully loaded into our modern world and none more so than Alabama Shakes. Formerly just known as The Shakes this band bring straight up sweat, blues, soul and southern rock ‘n’ roll with knee trembling, gut bursting vocals from one Brittany Howard (pictured above) and in places a hint of the good parts of Kings of Leon. Hell, imagine if this lady went on X-Factor. The judges would probably wet themselves in fear.

Alabama Shakes are as raw, real and unbelievably good as any new band out there and will be making their way to the UK in 2012 on the back of a record deal with Rough Trade records. The groups first show is at The Boston Arms in London on February 22. If you live within 200 miles we recommend you bag yourself a ticket.

I Found You - Alabama Shakes EP

You Ain't Alone - Alabama Shakes EP

Ones to Watch 2012 - #2 Spector

He’s dated Peaches Geldof, was previously in both Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man and Les Incompetents, wears the most ridiculous thick rimmed circular framed glasses and in an interview with the NME compared his new group to Spandau Ballet. He’s possibly going to be the geek fantasy of a few girls whilst the rest of his gang is going to get more than a few attentive looks as well. He’s also going to upset a few (or possibly a lot) of people with his rhetoric; a strange mix of self-knowing depreciation and hyperbole at the same time. Some folks are going to absolutely hate this music-combo.

His name is Fred MacPherson and his band is called Spector. They may have tagged themselves a commercial indie group, which to some minds may seem a contradiction in terms, but they look more like a bunch of preppy office types in their shirts and jackets. However, such attire gives them the appearance of a unit – a slick-but-shabby ready-to-storm-the-charts unit, or if not at least a unit which will fail gloriously with the best songs that Fred has written in his life.

Having first come to our attention on Breaking More Waves back in May the band have done all the right things to get noticed, cropping up on smaller stages at summer festivals, releasing a series of low key singles and playing their own small headlining tour. Now it relies on Spector having enough good songs, the right exposure and that indefinable quality that some call luck to capture the public heart. With a slot on Jools Holland's BBC television show this week, a second tour early next year and then support slots at Florence & The Machine's arena shows, they certainly are going to be getting that exposure. And based on the evidence of their three singles, there’s a half-chance they’ll be able to grab peoples ears; Never Fade Away is a hooky bombastic anthem, What You Wanted is like a suave but bullish half-Killers referencing bopper and Grey Shirt & Tie is a subtler crooner with some very 80’s synth sounds.

Spector - Never Fade Away

Ones to Watch 2012 - #1 Lucy Rose

Our first One to Watch for 2012 is Lucy Rose. The Warwickshire born singer-songwriter first cropped up on this blog in summer following the release of her debut single Middle of the Bed and then followed it up with the love-him-or-leave-him ditty Scar this autumn. These two songs form the basis of a collection of works that are endearing in their sincerity and beautiful in their construction.

What Lucy Rose does so well is that she keeps things simple. There’s no over-blown production, no bumping and grinding bass-beats, just good songs crafted with care and love. Of course singer-songwriters are ten a penny these days, but Rose’s songs stand out because of her unaffected calmness combined with the gentle massage and purity of her vocals.

Even great songs or talent isn’t always enough and certainly the patronage of Jack Steadman of Bombay Bicycle Club will have done Lucy no harm (they met at a gig in London and since then Lucy has sung backing vocals on his bands album and supported them on tour).

Lucy Rose probably won’t be lighting up the singles charts next year with big pop bangers or out there rockers, but for those who want something a little more graceful and longer lasting, her rising star is one to watch and savour in 2012.

Lucy Rose - Middle Of The Bed by Lucy Rose

Ones to Watch 2012

It’s getting to that time of year again when everyone will soon be revealing their tips lists for 2012. Breaking More Waves is no different and this year we will be expanding our now traditional Ones to Watch feature to 15 artists rather than the smaller 10 we’ve published in previous years.

Our Ones to Watch list is not a tips for commercial success list. If it was we’d feature the likes of Azelia Banks, Frank Ocean and Skrillex, all of whom have had underground buzz and could be poised to break through in 2011. However, none of these artists fit with the tastes of Breaking More Waves and therefore won’t be appearing. Nor will it include any X-Factor or similar contest winners (although we admit we seriously considered listing Pepper from Sky 1's Must Be The Music - her track Wish It Away is way better than you would expect - keep an ear and eye out for it when it finally surfaces.) Our Ones to Watch 2012 reflects the output of the blog and its musical preferences and U.S hip hop, r 'n' b etc don't usually float our boats. (Having said that keep an eye out for a UK rapper that appears in this years list - we've cast our net a little wider with that one). The artists we select are new acts that we guess (and it can be no more than a guess) may produce some music of interest in 2012, irrespective of if they are a ‘hit’ or not - the kind of music that would appeal to ourselves and regular readers of this blog. Many of them have already appeared on the blog over the last year, in fact this list could almost be said to be a summary of our New Waves features on the blog from the last 12 months, although there will be a few new additions as well.

Last year we limited ourselves to new UK acts. This year we’re expanding to worldwide again, as there are at least 2 acts from outside our own country that we really adore and inclusion is a necessity. We’ve also changed our definition of what a ‘new act’ is this year, allowing artists to have already had 1 UK chart single, or up to 4 non-chart singles but no album release to date.

We’ll be publishing one of our Ones to Watch each day for the next fifteen days, then follow that up with our top ten albums of the year. By then it will nearly be Christmas, where with a couple of minor exceptions the blog shuts down until New Year.

So this is it, our final run down.

Our first one to watch for 2012 will be published at 20.30 this evening GMT and then at 8.30 every morning each day after that. Why not check back every day to see who we've chosen, or follow us on twitter for notification of when the blog posts go on line.

Before that, let’s cast our minds back to last year. Clare Maguire (listen and watch below) first cropped up on this blog in January 2009. We put her on our ones to watch list for 2010 at number 6 but it was too early as nothing was released until right at the end of the year. Last year we put her on the ones to watch for 2011 list at number 1 and she also appeared in the top 5 of the music industry BBC Sound of 2011 list. She finally put out some singles, an album and played gigs and festivals. We even got a thank you on her album sleeve for supporting her. Now, looking back at 2011, how did Clare Maguire do in terms of making interesting music? We’d be interested to know your views.

Clare Maguire - Strangest Thing