The 2023 hotlist

Dexter Woolley sets the record straight on the coming year's most promising artists

THERE are so many great songs released daily that are waiting to be discovered. Finding new music to fall in love with still remains one of the best feelings, even with it all seeming only a step or a click away. Here are a few exciting up-and-coming artists to pay attention to in 2023:

Nemahsis

Top Songs: 'criminal' and 'i’m not gonna kill you'

Listen If You Like: FKA Twigs, Caroline Polacheck

Nemahsis is an up-and-coming Palestinian-Canadian singer-songwriter. Nemah Hasan first started gaining an audience on Instagram, making videos talking about her Muslim identity, the hijab, and beauty, whilst also posting short covers of Adele and Dolly Parton.

In 2021, she released her debut single 'What If I Took it Off For You?' — a thoughtful piano ballad that would be adopted by other female creators, using the songs as a chance to talk about the hijab and female empowerment. The delicate vocals, meditative instrumentation, and powerful music video create a space on the internet to talk about the treatment of the hijab in public and discrimination.

Continuing to experiment with her music and appearance, Nemahsis’ vulnerable lyrics set her work apart. Exploring the relationship between herself as a Muslim immigrant and Canadian society, the assumptions made about her due to her appearance are a key theme to the singer’s work.

Recently, Nemahsis performed her latest single 'criminal' at the ColorsxStudio in Berlin, offering her a great platform next to vast amounts of diverse talent.

Cowboyy

Top Song: 'Gmaps'

Listen If You Like: Dry Cleaning, Hella

The latest product of the ‘Windmill, Sebright Arms and New Cross Inn’ East London music circuit, Cowboyy are a fourpiece band that have caught the ears of some music insiders like Matt Wilkinson, and the festival goers of 2022. Following the success of post-punk bands like Black Country, New Road, Shame, and Black Midi, the South coast band look ready to join the ranks of the genre trailblazers.

Formed by Stetson adorned songwriter and guitarist, Stanley Powell, the band carries the influences of their London-based predecessors, featuring whirring math-rock guitars, driving bass, and a Geordie Greep-inspired rapidly stuttering vocal delivery. Drummer, Rhys Teal, finds inspiration in both jazz legends such as Tony Williams and the metalcore drumming of Chris Pennie.

Their debut single, 'Gmaps', the first song of an EP coming out in March, is brimming with erratic pedal-driven guitar sounds. Despite their arty, experimental sound, the band does not shy away from referencing popular culture, much like Isaac Wood. The need for Google Maps suddenly becomes a quest for meaning and spiritual direction in Powell’s poetic rambles.

Kinder Bloomen

Top Songs: 'Do You Barbarians Speak?' and 'Brainless the Third, on a Cloudy Mission'

Listen If You Like: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Can

Formed in South Jakarta, Kinder Bloomen are a sixpiece progressive rock band that make a lot of noise for a long time. Citing influences from psychedelia and jazz fusion to Kendrick Lamar and Blink-182, listening to this Indonesian band is a busy experience. Releasing their second EP 'Progression II' in the summer of 2022, their output sees years of jamming at guitarist Abdul 'Defa' Defashah’s house put to tape.

Emerging from the trust and friendship the band have developed, their 15-minute long single 'Taxi to the Massala Guy' ebbs and flows with a psychedelic mindset around a krautrock-inspired core. On their latest single 'Do You Barbarians Speak?', vocalist Danang Joewono’s lyrics fluctuate between Indonesian and English, rap-inflected braggadocio and dream inspired surrealism: '"Akulah the wizard, kamulah barbarians” (“I am the wizard / You are barbarians”).

The band are well-placed to get bigger in Indonesia, playing shows throughout Jakarta and Bandung. They’re definitely in good company as an active part of indie label Lamunai Records’ buzzing roster, also working with retro rock trio FLEUR! and rapper BAP.