The latest trades and handshakes from the agency world BILLIE EILISH (US)
Fastest growing artists based on online music consumption (across Facebook, Shazam, Songkick and Spotify).
Agent: Mike Malak, Coda Agency Silver-haired, 15-year-old Billie Eilish casts an unbreakable spell. The Los Angeles songstress resembles something of a fairy-tale heroine – albeit one with a Tyler, the Creator obsession, Aurora inspiration, wicked sense of humour, and inimitable fashion sense, filtered through a kaleidoscope of hip-hop, grunge and glam tendencies. It’s this kind of je nais sais quoi that fueled the meteoric rise of her debut single Ocean Eyes, produced by big brother Finneas O’Connell, which generated 40million Spotify streams and 5million YouTube/VEVO views.
CHILDHOOD (UK)
AMY SHARK (AU)
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J HUS (UK) SIGRID (NO) BILLIE EILISH (US) DECLAN MCKENNA (UK) SEVDALIZA (NL) AMY SHARK (AU) SKIP MARLEY (JA) THE JAPANESE HOUSE (UK) JESSIE REYEZ (CA) SYD (US) JORJA SMITH (UK) HIPPO CAMPUS (US) DEAN LEWIS (AU) REJJIE SNOW (IE) DAVE (UK)
Agent: Will Church, ATC Live No one sets out to make the same record twice, of course, but play Childhood’s new album alongside their debut album, and they sound like they could almost have been produced by different bands, such is the monumental leap forward the Londoners have made. Released just three years ago, Lacuna is a miasma of shimmering guitars and dazed dream pop; a deep dive into swirling pools of shoegazinglike sound that surface in hazy sunbursts of chorus. While it
still maintains the same alluring character and swooping, sleepy-eyed melodies that made its predecessor so alluring, Universal High is another beast altogether – it’s a record that gently traces a finger through classic sounds from the likes of Curtis Mayfield, Shuggie Otis and Prince; slips into rare groove’s slick sensuousness; and shares the magpie eye of MF Doom. Lacuna demonstrated that Childhood were one of the new voices worth listening to. Few would have anticipated this is where they would go to next.
Agents: Natasha Bent and Mike Malak, Coda Agency Gold Coast born and bred, the musically contemplative and soulfully brooding Amy Shark can best be described as the creatively complex girl next door. Her single Adore has been shortlisted for the Top 20 APRA Song of the Year, has had more than 10million streams and has reached No.3 on the ARIA singles chart, going platinum in the process. Amy’s music has struck a chord with many, with a sold-out national tour under her belt, and spots at Groovin the Moo and Bassinthegrass
After further success with Six Feet Under, her 2017 follow-up single Bellyache trots along on bright acoustic guitars before spinning out into a bass boom and unexpectedly cinematic lyrics. Billie’s “gloom pop,” as she appropriately dubs it, is nothing short of magic, and continually surprises.
Photo © Jack McKain
IQ MAGAZINE HOTTEST NEW ACTS - JULY 2017
Festival. Along with a recently announced headline show in New Zealand, and following a headline North American tour in June, Amy Shark is fast becoming a sought-after artist.
PREDICTIONS FOR NEXT MONTH Photo © Joyce NG
(Artists moving through database the quickest) REX ORANGE COUNTY (UK) YELLOW DAYS (UK) HMLTD (UK) RUBY FIELDS (AU) FAZERDAZE (NZ) Has your agency signed the year’s hottest new act? Email gordon@iq-mag.net to be considered for the next issue…
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IQ Magazine July 2017