THE GREAT ESCAPE HOT PICKS

BY AISHA KABIR

The 22-year-old singer-songwriter launched her career while enrolled in her last year of undergraduate studies. Her videos gained hundreds of thousands of followers as a result of the time she invested in creating and posting unique songs from her bedroom. In a fairy-tale-like turn of events, stars like Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and Little Mix decided to repost her videos to their own fan bases. Since receiving her degree, Áine has gone on to create her debut EP, The Handmedowns, go on tour with James Bay and sell out her first headlining performance in London. At the start of the year, BBC Radio 1’s music of the week included the EP’s title track. After a second headline performance at London’s Omeara, Áine will then open for Sam Smith at the Royal Albert Hall.

This four-piece indie band, formed in 2018, from Liverpool is revolutionising the music industry with a unique sound and exciting live shows. They skilfully combine indie, pop, rock, country and disco, with each member contributing their own distinctive influences and backgrounds, to produce a sonic tapestry which is both distinctive and contagious. Ask Elliot have grown since their debut, with songs like Flowers of White and Settle Down demonstrating the band’s diversity and originality. Ask Elliot’s live performances are not to be missed; they excite and enthral listeners with their passion and intensity on stage. The band comprises a lead vocalist, two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer.

In the neo-Soul section of the UK, Ella More is a blossoming secret flower. The Birmingham singer-songwriter uses music as therapy, putting any troubles to rest while also releasing the weight of the world from her shoulders. She gives listeners a window into her life via her open, soul-baring lyrics. She doesn’t like to fit into neat categories or rigid frameworks; instead, she may weave in many topics and aspects of her personality through melodies and impulsive runs that are never the same. Her openness about former relationships, happy moments, and her plans for the future makes it seem like upward mobility is the only option.

The music that 20-year-old Kai Bosch creates is staged in the shadows and infused with a subdued yet intense sense of emotional drama. It makes a lot of sense if you look at where he’s going rather than where he’s been. The singer’s upcoming first self-titled EP is beholden to the quest of sensation. Bosch moved from a peaceful hamlet in Cornwall to the vibrant nightlife of Berlin at the age of 17, before migrating to London. The EP’s four tracks wear their emotions on their sleeves, conjuring hazy lost evenings and brief moments caught mid-breath, nodding to the nocturnal sensibilities of James Blake and the clear picture-painting of Lorde.