By Oscar Ross, First Year History
With Bristol’s large and diverse nightlife, it can often be difficult to see through the drum and bass and Bed Mondays flyers that circulate the city. However, Bristol has been home to some of the most exciting artists in the UK, including Massive Attack, Idles and more recently acts like PinkPantheress. As such, any artist you see listed on Headfirst or hidden in the small print of a Crofter’s Rights poster could be the next big thing. Epigram Music is here to provide our picks for some of the best emerging acts that are just the tip of Bristol’s music iceberg.
Making laid back guitar and sample beats, producer-rapper and multi-instrumentalist Danny Chaska broke into the UK underground rap scene with his debut single ‘Madrid’ together with rapper Hal Shallo. Having recently moved to Bristol after the release of his first album with Shallo, VICETOWN, Chaska is a promising young artist with the best of his career ahead of him. In interview with The Breakroom magazine Chaska commented on the nature of the UK’s underground rap scene stating that ‘It can be annoying because underground is good vibes, but no one wants to stay underground’. With Chaska eager to get off the ground in the rap scene, his progress in Bristol will be one to watch.
Another emerging rapper in Bristol is Implicit, who featured on VICETOWN track 12, ‘Capri’. Implicit spits sharp minded lyrics with twisting rhythmic flows reminiscent of artists such as Verb T. Speaking to Epigram about his upcoming projects, Implicit was sad to relay that: “I was meant to have an EP coming out next month but my laptop with all my work on it got water damaged”. “Should have backed it up… awful”, Implicit continued, however the rapper remains hopeful for future projects stating that “I’ve got another single coming out with a nice video next month and then something else to follow very soon after”. After his smooth-talking debut single ‘Demeanour’ feat. Pitch 92 released earlier this year, Implicit is one to watch out for if you’re looking for prime rhymes and flows in Bristol.
You’ll be able to catch Chaska, Implicit and Shallo all together at The Scrandit on the 19th of May as part of Busker’s Banquet, a Bristol based food and music festival taking the city’s culinary and music scene by storm, combining the work of exciting chefs and emerging artists across Bristol for the next few months.
If rap isn’t quite your style, Bristol has a huge range of singer songwriters ranging from indie rock, soul to folk and everything in between. Emerging act FELIX has recently been making waves in Bristol’s indie scene with stunning vocals, heartfelt originals and driving acoustic guitar. Speaking to Epigram on Bristol’s music scene, FELIX described the “welcoming, and at times forgiving crowds” he has played, ranging from “open mics at Golden Lion to sweaty gigs at the Louisiana”. FELIX is eager to return to his favourite venue “so far”, The Crofter’s Rights on the 1st of June, supporting another featured artist in this article, Part Time Models (see below), as well as another gig at The Louisiana on the 30th of May. FELIX is one not to miss with his new full band sets bringing his already atmospheric acoustic songs to the next level.
You don’t need to go further to find more amazing artists in Bristol than FELIX’s fellow singer-songwriter, Shannon Flynn. A smooth and soulful singer songwriter, Flynn’s rich voice perfectly complements her own songs, writing about all the twists and turns of growing up and learning how to love. Flynn also puts new spins on old classics with her covers, playing her own stripped back versions of ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ and ‘September’, providing the full energy of the songs with just her voice and a guitar.
As a manager as well as a musician, Flynn is looking for emerging artists all the time. “There’s so much going on”, Flynn told Epigram Music, going on to speak about upcoming events getting organised to showcase new talent. Flynn commented how she’s “really excited to see new artist emerging from the Bristol scene” and with all these great acts about, frankly, why wouldn’t she be.
Flynn describes herself as “lucky enough to have found a really supportive clique of musicians” in Bristol, an important part of which is indie folk-rock band, Part Time Models. Optimistic about upcoming summer gigs, guitarist and vocalist George Crowther told Epigram “It’s been nothing but progress since the pandemic,” adding that “there’s no negative culture around promoters in Bristol compared to London”. The only complaint Crowther had was the “expectation for free live music which makes it hard to break even sometimes”. Long-time players in Bristol’s indie scene, Part Time Models have a long list of venues they love playing, including The Crofter’s Rights, which they are headlining with FELIX and local band HonnyBuzz on the 1stof June.
The band have a jam-packed summer ahead, playing Expressions Festival in Bristol on July 22nd, Treehouse Festival in Oxford on July 28th, and GoodenTime Festival in Godney, Somerset on the 30th of September, so there’s no excuse to miss a second of their set this summer. As if they weren’t busy enough, the band’s upcoming E.P, A Lot To Say About Nothing recorded in Ireland at StereoNotMono Studios last Autumn is “imminent this summer too...”
A wild card in this Bristol mix of rappers and indie rockers, emerging heavy rock band Bible Club spoke to Epigram music about how they are finding the Bristol scene. “It’s really welcoming” commented Bible Club, speaking on the lack of pretention in some of Bristol’s “iconic venues”.
Bible Club are excited about upcoming gig at The Lanes on the 28thof May as well as their second single coming out soon which they are “really looking forward to”, following their Idles-esque atmospheric banger of a debut single ‘Mr Lizard’.
To put it simply: you need to check out these artists. Stop complaining about never going anywhere but Spoons and Gravity and take yourself down to one of the many gigs listed above, whether it’s blazing anthems with FELIX and Part Time Models on the 1st of June at Crofters or a laid-back night of rap with Danny Chaska at the Scrandit, you do not want to miss a second of these artists this summer.
Featured image: Jack Hewett
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