Glastonbury Emerging Talent - Our Choices

After hours of painstaking listening and deliberation some of the best music bloggers in the UK have put forward their nominations for the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition 2011, and that includes Breaking More Waves. It was incredibly difficult to decide on our final three choices from the list of 160 bands we were given to listen to, but eventually we went with our hearts choosing quite simply the music that moved us the most.

We’re very pleased to announce that our top choice was the fantastic Codes, followed in second and third respectively by Leaving Atlantis and Temper the Wolves. We hope at some point to be able to see all of these bands live and hopefully support them on the blog, irrespective of if they make it any further in the competition.

Later this week, the 123 acts will be narrowed down to a shortlist of just 8 who will compete at April's live finals for a main stage slot at this year's Festival. They will be chosen by the final judging panel which consists of the following 10 judges: Michael Eavis (Glastonbury organiser), Emily Eavis (Glastonbury organiser), Nick Dewey (main stages programmer), Martin Elbourne (main stages programmer), Malcolm Haynes (Dance Village programmer), Steve Symons (West Holts programmer), Philippa Aylott (Radio One producer), Angus Baskerville (live agent), Paul Charles (agent/promoter/manager) and Chris Salmon (music journalist). We wish our three choices the very best of luck.

It also pleases us to see a number of other bands on the shortlist that we have blogged in the past such as Run Toto Run, Dems and The Dufflefolks – all excellent selections. In fact the long list represents a fantastic sample of new and emerging talent – the UK bloggers have demonstrated exactly why they are becoming increasingly known as a vital part of new music discovery. Below you’ll find tracks by all of these other bands together with an introductory video from our top choice Codes – an Irish band with a grandiose vision who combine stadium sonics, subtle electronic soundscapes and songs that deliver immediately but get better with every listen. Their album – Trees Dream In Algebra is brilliantly accomplished and we hope that irrespective of their now slim 123-1 chances of winning, that as the year progresses more people outside of Ireland will get to know about them.

The full long list of all 123 bands can be found using this link here.

01 Hater - Run Toto Run by Breaking More Waves

Jarndyce vs Jarndyce by dems

1. Two Hands Clapping by thedufflefolks

Your Blues by Leaving Atlantis

Cold Hands by Temper The Wolves

The Dufflefolks - New Waves @ Breaking More Waves

With a name like The Dufflefolks and song titles such as Ley Lines and Homegrown it would be very easy to expect this Hemel Hempstead based four-piece to be a bunch of bearded earthy Stonehenge loving hippies, with flower power emblems painted on their camper van. On top of this the group recently won a competition to play the Green Man Festival - an event known for its richly organic line-up - so the last thing you may expect would be for The Dufflefolks to wield keyboards, electronic beats and laptops. But they do, albeit in a very warm, woozy, folky way. Lead singer Daniel Davies has an ochre-coated vocal that resonates with a touch of soul and their instrumentation is just vibey and trancey enough to coax you into a better place, without ever becoming boring. Occasionally if the suspicion is aroused that things are getting a bit too chilled and sofa-bed comfy, the band also inject a more jittery and experimental sound, such as on their playfully stuttering laptop drama Two Hands Clapping.

Having bonded in an art room in sixth form a number of years ago, The Dufflefolks began making music that has evolved over a number of years, to reach its current more electronic state. For their live shows they have been known accustomed to sport animal hoodies made by one of the bands girlfriends. However this novelty element doesn’t take anything away from their honey-coated laidback tunes which have a grass-roots authenticity that combines with a touch of modern beauty. Highly lovely stuff. Listen to Homegrown below and see what we mean.