British artists rock virtual SXSW 2021

The British Music Embassy, South by Southwest (SXSW)’s venue for hotly tipped UK artists, hosted 35 artist showcases during last week’s SXSW Online, which took place from 16 to 20 March.

The British Music Embassy – a joint venture between AIM, the BBC, BPI, the Department for International Trade, PPL, PRS for Music and PRS Foundation – typically takes over a venue every year at SXSW in Austin, Texas, putting a spotlight on the best new music from around the UK. With the showcase festival going online only for 2021, the embassy recorded live performances which could be watched during the event on the SXSW portal.

A selection of performances will also be made available for all to view on SXSW’s YouTube channel.

Among the performers at the British Music Embassy, which is also supported by ATC, media partner DIY Magazine and Belfast City Council, were Onipa, Olivia Dean, Chubby and the Gang, Phoebe Green, 404 Guild, Tayo Sound, Finn Askew, the Goa Express, Lilla Vargen,  Squid and Black Country, New Road.

“For 15 years, the global industry has been able to rely on the British Music Embassy to discover what’s next in British music at SXSW,” comments James Minor, SXSW’s head of music festival.

“I am delighted that we are continuing to support UK artists during the pandemic and can ensure the UK remains a world leader in music’

Graham Stuart, exports minister at the Department for International Trade, says: “The UK music industry is one of the greatest British exports, bringing millions to our economy each year. We are proud to have worked over many years with industry partners to promote new talent at SXSW, including Bastille, Celeste, Rag’n’Bone Man, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Dave, Sam Fender and more than 450 others. I am delighted that we are continuing to support UK artists during the pandemic and can ensure the UK remains a world leader in music.”

“Showcasing in overseas territories has proven to be a crucial stepping stone to progressing talented UK music creators’ careers and their sustainability, which is why at this unprecedented time it is so important we have adapted our International Showcase Fund support to enable export-ready artists to still be able to showcase at key overseas events such as SXSW,” adds Joe Frankland, CEO of PRS Foundation.

“I’m delighted that we are supporting at least 15 artists to showcase their performances at this year’s event and that the International Showcase Fund partners, together with our friends at the Department for International Trade and the BPI, have forged a UK Sounds opportunity and platform for export-ready music creators and to shine a spotlight on talented underrepresented groups in the UK.”

Since 2008, the British Music Embassy has hosted over 450 UK artists, positioning them in front of a global audience in order to help them to break into new markets and advance their careers. The British Music Embassy also uses UK-only production and equipment, giving artists from the UK an unparallelled platform on the world music stage.

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UK Sounds: Meet the artists showcasing at ILMC 33

UK Sounds is a joint initiative between PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund and the Department for International Trade’s Music Export Growth Scheme.

The International Showcase Fund is run by PRS Foundation in partnership with the Department for International Trade (DIT), British Underground, Arts Council England, the Musicians’ Union (MU), PPL, Creative Scotland, Wales Arts International and the Arts Council of Wales, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Invest NI. The Music Export Growth Scheme is funded through DIT and administered by the BPI.

UK Sounds partners have provided support for high-production value performances and bespoke partnerships with other companies and platforms domestically and internationally such as IQ and ILMC. The content supported by UK Sounds partners is to enable export-ready talent during this lockdown period to continue to reach their potential and compete internationally through trusted curation of content, reaching overseas music networks and providing a spotlight on talented underrepresented groups in the UK.

Read on for more information about the UK Sounds-supported acts showcasing at ILMC 33 on Wednesday 3 March at 20.00–21.00 GMT (Lady Nade, Harleighblu, Cherym, Genghar) and Thursday 4 March at 19.30–20:30 GMT (Elles Bailey, TrueMendous, HMS Morris, Dead Pony).

Cherym

Serving up a zingy, fearless new recipe for pop-punk rock, Cherym are Hannah Richardson, Nyree Porter and Alannagh Doherty from Derry in Northern Ireland, and they are responsible for some seriously infectious songwriting.

Taking influence from the Smashing Pumpkins, Bikini Kill, American Football, Pup and Pixies, the trio formed after meeting in college over a joint love of garage rock, pop-punk and being the biggest band in the world.

“A gut-punch of energy and DIY enthusiasm” — The Irish Times
“It won’t be long before Cherym break into the big leagues” — Hot Press
“Definite ones to watch… a refreshing blast of earnest songwriting and nostalgic joy” — Nialler9

Dead Pony

Fresh from a successful 2020, Dead Pony are a departure from Scotland’s fertile rock/post-punk movement. The band has cultivated a grunge-infused sound akin to Bikini Kill, Wolf Alice and Queens of the Stone Age.

In 2021, Dead Pony have hit the ground running after unprecedented success both in the UK and US last year. Despite the limitations of the global pandemic, the Glasgow-based outfit secured national radio play amongst some of the top music shows.

The band has enjoyed firm BBC support with plays from Jack Saunders and Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1, including Jack Saunders’ Next Wave features for two previous releases. BBC Radio Scotland has also shown support, with plays from Vic Galloway, Phoebe Inglis and Shereen Cutty, as well as a live session for Stephen McCauley’s Shutdown Sessions at BBC Ulster, a feature with Under the Radar Top Tips for 2021, along with an impressive performance on Brad Wagner’s New Colossus Festival sessions.

The band is eager to return and is looking forward to tastemaker festival slots and international showcase dates in the coming months.

Elles Bailey

Twenty twenty started with a bang for the super-smoky-voiced, hard-working, far-touring chanteuse Elles Bailey when ‘Little Piece of Heaven’, written with storied Memphis and Nashville giant Bobby Wood, and Dan Auerbach (of The Black Keys) picked up UK song of the year at the UK Americana Awards. It’s taken from her chart topping sophomore album Road I Call Home, which was released to rave reviews and awarded Album of the Year at the UK Blues Awards. The album charted in both the Official UK Country Charts and Americana charts, has gained over 3.4 million streams since its release and reached No1 on the Amazon Blues Bestseller chart. Adding to Elles’ string of awards, she also picked up the high accolade of Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards.

Despite the global pandemic, Elles has kept up her profile by doing many live streams; dropping a critically acclaimed, award- nominated live acoustic album, Ain’t Nothing But; raising money for charities and campaigning for Women in Music; and picking up another three nominations in the UK Blues Awards 2021, including Artist of the Year again (awards in May 2021). She will be releasing a brand new studio record in September 2021 and, if restrictions lift, touring shall begin again in October, November and December, after joining Joe Bonamassa on his Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea cruise.

Miss Bailey really does call the road home, and when she arrives near you, don’t think twice, get there. A great evening and a long musical friendship will be waiting.

Gengahr

Gengahr are an English indie band, formed in 2013 at Stoke Newington School in Hackney, London. Though originally named Res, they were forced to rename after discovering an artist with that name on iTunes. Their new name is a play on Gengar, one of the original Pokémon.

After BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens played their first single, ’Fill My Gums With Blood’, on his radio show, the band were invited to perform at the Introducing stage at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival.

Their critically acclaimed debut album, A Dream Outside, was released on 15 June 2015 after signing to Transgressive Records. A second album, Where Wildness Grows, was released in 2018, and the band’s third album Sanctuary was released in January 2020 via Liberator Music.

Harleighblu

Harleighblu’s classic yet truly distinctive soul voice pulls no punches and makes no apologies. Her raw, beat-heavy style is uniquely captivating, pushing the neo-soul and R&B template to its absolute limits.

Supported by Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 and Jazz FM, to name a few, she has been given the title of ‘Queen of Hip Hop and Soul’. Her electrifying latest album, She, led to a headline appearance at the prestigious Lollapalooza in Berlin. This same album gained over two million streams on Spotify alone, securing her the cover image on its Butter and Jazz UK playlists. She also sold over 1,500 vinyl records worldwide.

Twenty twenty-one is looking bigger than ever, with new music coming in March, a US writing tour and a Jazz Café London headline gig all on the cards for the talented Nottingham native.

Bringing us raw, unapologetically feminine and honest lyrical touches, Harleighblu has established herself as one of the UK’s most promising artists.

HMS Morris

HMS Morris are an art-rock group from Wales. They’ve been touring and recording since 2015, and are supported by the Cardiff-based Bubblewrap Collective.

Their two full-length albums to date (2016’s Interior Design and 2018’s Inspirational Talks) both earned nominations for the Welsh Music Prize, and were variously described as “innovative, forward-thinking pop music” (Earthly Pleasures), “strange and beautiful music” (Electronic Sound) and a “multi-dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound” (Clash).

They’ve taken their music to Toronto, Montreal, Osaka, Tokyo and Kyoto, and are currently working on a piece of theatre/art/ dance/music about running away from Earth.

Lady Nade

Indie-folk-Americana singer-songstress Lady Nade started writing songs as a form of healing from grief. Performing in venues across her native city of Bristol, her work developed into a calling to connect with her fans on a deeper level and help lead them through life’s complicated tapestry with the healing power of music.

Often being told that black females only sing soul, R&B or jazz has always quietly been playing on Lady Nade’s mind; however, during her creative process the one thing that is always at the centre is staying true to her art regardless of the genre. “I am awaking to my heritage, seeing things differently… but one thing that strikes me is that there are so many incredible black artists… there really is no need to put us all into one box!”

Nominated for UK song of the year (‘Ain’t One Thing’) at the UK Americana Awards 2021, Lady Nade is moving forward with a brand new album in the making, Willing, which is set for a June 2021 release.

TrueMendous

Rioting into 2021 with the explosive hard-hitting single ‘Cause a Scene’ landing on the Made in UK playlist, TrueMendous is set to have an incredible year.

In 2020, the rising star signed to High Focus Records where she released her EP Huh?. The EP had an exceptional response, accumulating over 222,000 streams, with one of the singles from the project landing on the Adidas COLD.RDY campaign, and another on the FIFA 21 soundtrack.

If this wasn’t enough, TrueMendous managed to bag the lead role in the 2020 Christmas Pepsi Max advert along with the lead role in a separate McVities ad at the same time.

She secured a mind-blowing 11 festival slots throughout the summer of 2019, including Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading, where she opened up the BBC 1xtra stage. TrueMendous was also one of the leading artists on Queens of Art, the first-ever all-female hip-hop tour, which visited eight cities across the UK.

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IQ New Music playlist spotlights ILMC 33 showcase artists

The latest edition of IQ’s New Music playlist goes live today, showcasing the exciting new acts, handpicked by major international agencies and music export offices, that are set to perform at this week’s 33rd International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

Launched last summer, the playlist complements IQ Magazine’s popular New Signings page, which keeps the live industry updated about which new, emerging and re-emerging artists are being signed by agents.

The March playlist features contributions from ITB, ATC Live, Paradigm, UTA and Primary Talent, as well as UK Sounds, Hots (Hungarian Oncoming Tunes), Soundczech and Why Portugal, each of which have picked up to 12 tracks apiece showcasing some of their hottest touring artists.

Listen to the latest selection using the Spotify playlist below – or click here to catch up on the February 2021 edition first.

Separated by agency/export office, the full track list for the March playlist is:

The full ILMC showcase schedule is available from the ILMC 33 website.

ILMC 33 takes place this week, from 3 to 5 March. A limited number of tickets are still available – click here for more information.

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