Last week my five featured artists as ‘Tipper of the Week‘ for The Tipping Point were limited to UK musicians only, but there are plenty more impressive acts from further afield, so here’s five emerging global talents to accompany the original article. They take us from Sweden to Hong Kong, via the US, South Korea, and Ireland. Enjoy…
HONEYMILK
Led by Marcus Admund and Nikki Nyberg, Stockholm band Honeymilk create a feel-good and melodic mix of indie, garage, and surf sounds, taking influences ranging from 60s California to 90’s Manchester. They’ve then added a layer of sublime Scandipop to the mix. January saw them release their album I Want You To Be Very Happy, led by the impressive The Nothing New, while Coming Home highlights their laid back shoegaze side, however I’m highlighting Havslåten as it collects the best of their melody, vocals, lyrics, guitars and percussion, all in one. An outstanding indie-pop earworm!
Spotify | Twitter | Facebook | Birds Records
BLOOD WINE OR HONEY
You wouldn’t immediately associate a tribal afrobeat and psychedelic-jazz band with Hong Kong, however, “surrounded by the scent of dried fish, the throb of heavy machinery, and the torrid humidity and heat of the South China Sea” that’s exactly where this trio of multi-instrumentalists have created their exotic sound. Their debut EP Anxious Party People came out last April, & is an avant-garde mix of rhythmic brass, electronica and percussion, and was followed up in November by the contagious & dance friendly Loosefoot. Blood Wine or Honey make for one hot Afro jazz party!
Bandcamp | Spotify | Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook
SAY SUE ME
We’ve another surf inspired band with this 4-piece from Busan, South Korea, who mix indie-rock with breezy jangle pop to create some incredibly catchy songs. Their 2017 EP Semin showcased their talent, with the lead track My Problem a dream laden gem full of jangly guitars, while their new track, Old Town, is a perfect example of the quality of their songwriting, as it captures an hypnotic shoegaze guitar melody, drumming that sets the pace, and the delightful vocals of Sumi Choi. It comes from their upcoming album Where We Were Together, due in April. It can’t come soon enough.
Bandcamp | Spotify | Twitter | Facebook
THE ACADEMIC
From the rural town of Mullingar in Ireland, The Academic are an indie rock band made up of 4 friends who met at secondary school. They hit the jackpot very early with the release of the brilliant Mixtape 2003 a couple of years ago (which we featured here), and they’ve since gone from strength to strength. Their debut album Tales from the Backseat came out in January, which continued to highlight their knack of writing hook driven and energetic indie rock tracks, with singalong lyrics telling stories of teenage life growing up in a small town. Every track could be a single!
ABHI THE NOMAD
Indian born Abhi the Nomad is well travelled, but has settled in Thousand Oaks, California. The varied chapters of his journey to date, which include Beijing and Fiji, have certainly influenced his warm sound and wonderfully rhymed lyrics, and produced outstanding results as evidenced by his album Marbled, which came out in February. It’s an infectious blend of numerous hip-hop and alternative flavours, from the dancefloor killer Headcase and the funky Dogs, to the more electronica infused title track, and the summer pop gem Somebody to Love (which we previously highlighted here). An outstanding array of words & tunes!
Official | Soundcloud | Spotify | You Tube | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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