Stars In Her Eyes

It comes as no major surprise that Brit Award Critics' Choice winner Ellie Goulding has topped the BBC's 'Sound of 2010' poll of music industry gurus in the UK.

Since being alerted to her considerable talents by The Guardian's 'New Band of the Day' writer Ellie Goulding last February, Eimear and I have been devoted fans and it's been fascinating to watch her ascent to the big league.

Until shortly before then, Ellie had been performing folksy songs on her guitar but, after boldly asking Frankmusik via Myspace to produce her songs, she wound up recording 'Wish I Stayed'.

Teaming Ellie's ethereal warbling with shimmering synths and spluttering beats, Frankmusik crafted something quite fresh-sounding that soon had bloggers getting all hot and bothered.

Ellie was still unsigned when Frankmusik introduced her to producer Fin Dow Smith (aka Starsmith) in January 2009 but, within days of meeting, the pair began recording tracks what were to form the basis of her solo album, which was completed earlier this week.

Here's hoping that Ellie copes with the hype and isn't as burdened by the 'Sound of 2010' tag as Little Boots seemed to be by the 'Sound of 2009' one. Her album is due out on the 1st of March but, in the meantime, expect to hear 'Starry Eyed' played A LOT.

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed - free MP3 download



Meanwhile, this dubstep remix by the utterly superb Jakwob might just be 2010's answer to Skream's 'Lets Get Ravey' remix of La Roux's 'In For The Kill'. i.e. HUGE

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (Jakwob Remix) - free MP3 download

Your Mind Is Just Like Mine...

Marina & the Diamonds has given a rather emphatic "up yours" to those who have accused her of selling her soul to bubblegum pop with forthcoming single 'Hollywood', by recording this gorgeous 'stripped down' version of the track.

Revealing the strength of the melodies in the song, the video serves as a reminder that there's nothing remotely 'throwaway' about Marina's music.



Incidentally, the release of this video coincides with Marina being declared runner-up in the BBC's 'Sound of 2010' critics' poll. This should intensify the interest on Marina in the run-up to the release of her debut album, 'The Family Jewels', next month.

Discopop rightly points out that something that may come back to haunt her with respect to the above video is that in her, ahem, interview with The Beeb, she says: "I think that a lot of the interviews and acoustic sessions and other things that artists fill their time with are really pointless and suck the energy out of the artist."

Otherwise, she comes across better than any of the other artists featured in the countdown and things seem to be shaping up purrfectly for a 2010 takeover by Marina and her Diamonds.

Momentary Heroes

After finishing runner-up to Ellie Goulding in the 2010 Brit Award Critics' Choice, it was somewhat inevitable that Manchester three-piece Delphic would feature in the BBC's 'Sound of 2010' poll of music industry 'experts'.

Dephic have come in third in the poll, going one better than fellow Mancunians and fourth-place finishers Hurts. Team indie guitars with spiky electronica, the band occupy a point on the musical spectrum somewhere between Klaxons and Bloc Party.

While The Drums are clearly influenced by 50's surf-pop and Hurts owe much of their sound to the 80's, Delphic's music sounds positively futuristic. Their current single 'Doubt' is destined to become one of the year's earliest indie anthems and their album 'Acolyte' in unleashed next week.

Delphic - Doubt

Everybody Hurts

Manchester pop-noir duo Hurts have been deemed the act fourth most likely to succeed in 2010 by the BBC's 'Sound of 2010' music industry poll.

Their obscenely brilliant track 'Wonderful Life' surfaced early last year and, since then, members Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson have done their utmost to shroud themselves in mystique, divulging scant details about themselves and steering clear of live performances.

This strategy seems to have paid off as interest in the band has steadily mounted. Having already heard 'Wonderful Life' played in high-street stores twice this week, I have little doubt as to its crossover potential, but what remains to be seen is whether Hurts have anything else in their arsenal to ensure continued success.

Hurts - Wonderful Life

The Beat Goes On

The countdown is underway for the BBC's 'Sound of 2010', their annual attempt at second-guessing the 'next big things' in the music industry over the next twelve months.

Fifteen acts were announced in November's longlist but, throughout this week, the BBC will rank the 5 acts most likely to 'make it big' this year. In at no. 5 are The Drums, a New York band whose brand of 50's-flavoured pop-rock has already won them a considerable following.

Their jaunty pop anthem 'Let's Go Surfing' justifiably had bloggers in a tizzy last summer and The Drums can back back this up with other excellent tracks like the sunny 'Submarine' and despondent 'I Felt Stupid'.

The four-piece claim to be on a mission to bring back 'the song', which they say has been sidelined as a result of too much focus on production. They also identify with 'generation me' and believe this helps them to produce music that they themselves enjoy, rather than being concerned with other people's expectations.

The Drums strike me as a band very much 'in development', so let's hope the inevitable attention they receive as a result of being 'tips for 2010' isn't too premature.

The Drums - Let's Go Surfing

Oh, Crystal Ball...

The BBC's 'Sound Of 2010' longlist has been published and it makes for some interesting reading.

The annual attempt at second-guessing what we'll all be listening to over the next twelve months generally throws up an eclectic mix and this year is no different. The good news is that a number of my favourite new acts (Marina & The Diamonds, Ellie Goulding, Hurts, Everything Everything) have all been earmarked for big things.

I've heard good stuff from quite a few of the others (Stornoway, The Drums, Two Door Cinema Club, Delphic) but, as ever, there's also a few I know absolutely nothing about (Rox, Giggs, Devlin.)

The list in full:

Daisy Dares You, Delphic, Devlin, The Drums, Everything Everything, Giggs, Gold Panda, Ellie Goulding, Hurts, Joy Orbison, Marina and the Diamonds, Owl City, Rox, Stornoway, Two Door Cinema Club

The top 10 will be announced in January. Here's a reminder of how things panned out last year:

1. Little Boots
2. White Lies
3. Florence and the Machine
4. Empire of the Sun
5. La Roux
6. Lady Gaga
7. VV Brown
8. Passion Pit
9. Kid Cudi
10. Dan Black

As you can see, a few predictions were wide of the mark but some were spookily accurate. I'll be investigating the 2010 contenders over the next few days and trying to distinguish the Lady Gagas from the VV Browns. If you fancy doing likewise, check out Persona Sauna's post that features an MP3 by each artist.

At this time of year, there's a dearth of bloggers making lists in the vein of 'Sound of 2010'. The best I've come across is Neon Gold's, which contains some hefty overlap with the BBC list but also includes the brilliant Erik Hassle, Sky Ferreira, Penguin Prison and Starsmith.