This Sunday, BBC 6 Music and The Hype Machine are joining forces to unveil the top 25 artists of the year so far in the 2012 Music Blog Zeitgeist. We were asked to decide upon our top 3 artists of the year so far, and after some serious deliberation we have finally whittled our shortlist down to these 3 candidates.
Make sure you tune in to BBC Radio 6 on Sunday, as the special show will be going out between 6-8pm GMT.
#1 – Clock Opera
After teasing us with a fantastic (but limited) selection of material over the past two years, finally in 2012 we were able to get our hands on Clock Opera´s debut studio album called “Ways To Forget“.
The ten track album is simply a masterpiece from start to finish, granting the four piece an automatic entry into this list without any questions asked. If you haven´t yet experienced what this incredibly talented group has to offer then we really cannot recommend them enough.
#2 – Disclosure
Brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, more recognisable as production duo Disclosure, have risen remarkably to prominence in the first 6 months of this year with their unique combination of new-school garage and deep house. First coming to widespread attention with their irresistably cool remix of Jessie Ware‘s “Running“, which one YouTube commenter profoundly described as ‘post-minimal-tech-bro-chill-diÂgi-bongo-beat’. And it’s that kind of genre-bandit sound that has served them well so far, especially with the release of their “The Face EP“, which dropped on Greco-Roman at the start of June. Ranging from the bouncy sunshine-infused Sinead Harnett-featuring “Boiling“, right through to the sub-bass festival of Lividup – it was an astutely accomplished debut that won critical and general acclaim across the board.
The brothers have also won friends in high places in recent months, with radio plays from Skream & Benga, Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Zane Lowe to name but a few. Influential promoter UKF are even in on the act, giving the pair yet another extension to their reach. With the current explosion of UK bass scene, and another EP forthcoming at the end of the summer, it would appear as though 2012 will belong to Disclosure. To see what all the hype’s about, stream a couple of choice tracks below – including the aforementioned Jessie Ware remix.
#3 – Madeon
The French seem to have an unfair knack of churning out incredible house producers. We’ve had the likes of Daft Punk and Justice – but this year has seen the emergence of young starlet Madeon as a major player in the game. Tender in years, at only 18, his infectious feel-good style of pop/house has an extraordinary ability to get under your skin and inside your head. At his shows, his phenomenally good productions collide with an ingenious live set-up (which incorporates a large amount of sampling) to set dancefloors across the world alight.
He’s been commisioned for remixes for Deadmau5, Martin Solveig and Pendulum – and his reknowned “Pop Culture” mash-up (an example of said live mixing) has amassed a combined viewcount of around 20 milion. After releasing his debut single “Icarus” – a twinkling synth-led testament to the sheer radiance of his sound – earlier on in the year, he lines up his forthcoming Nicholas Petricca-feautring “Finale“, which will drop on July 22nd on Popcultur. It diversifies slightly from his normal style – but still maintains that unmistakable ‘Madeon’ sound – incorporating elements of house, electro and drumstep. There’s rumours circulating of an upcoming EP from the Frenchman, but no word on an actual release date. For now, take a listen to what we’ve heard from Madeon already – which should go some way to explaining why he’s one of our favourite artists of the year thus far.