Poetry intertwined with popular music is something the world needs more of. Luckily, current poet laureate Simon Armitage is doing just that with his leftfield ambient post-rock band LYR. Alongside Armitage, LYR are comprised of singer-songwriter Richard Walters and producer Patrick J Pearson. Following the release of their acclaimed debut album Call in the Crash Team LYR have recently released a new EP, Firm as a Rock We Stand, which is part of a wider multi-disciplinary project including a documentary film inspired by the story of Durham’s Category D villages.

Twenty years ago Canadian performance artist and musician Merrill Nisker, better known as Peaches, released her seminal debut album The Teaches of Peaches. As well as paving the way for an explosion of electroclash dance-punk into the musical spotlight the album was a gamechanger in other ways too. In an era when female sexuality was in the main still only put on public display for consumption by male audiences (and even then it was kept neat and sanitised), gender identity was still an underground concept and body shaming was ingrained in popular culture, Peaches unashamedly tackled these issues head-on, both in her music and on stage.

With a big blues voice, a rock star energy on stage and a style that combines country and Irish folk music, Derby-based singer/songwriter Kezia Gill has transcended the narrow confines of musical genres to hone a sound that is truly inimitable.

The jazz/hip hop duo CoN&KwAkE are the latest artists to release on Shabaka Hutching’s label Native Rebel Recordings, but neither are strangers to the London music scene. Con, otherwise known as Confucius MC, has been a major name in UK hip hop since the early noughties, and Kwake Bass is a producer and current or recent Musical Director for big names like Sampha, Kae Tempest and Nightmares on Wax, as well as the drummer of choice for, amongst others, MF DOOM and Lianne La Havas.

If you’re a fan of post-punk and / or Bristol music you really need to get to know the music of Maximum Joy, if you haven’t already. Sounding as fresh as they did when they formed, mixing punk, dub, funk, free jazz, Afrobeat and hip-hop with wild improvisation, seminal post-punk band Maximum Joy rose up from the fertile Bristol music scene of the late 70’s and early 80’s.

Lu.Re is a London-based producer, DJ and vocalist who began producing during lockdown and has already established a fanbase and a great deal of support from others in the field, including Radio 1extra’s DJ Target. Her debut EP, Ruminate, is set to drop on May 26. A classically trained viola player, Lu.Re interweaves spiralling breakbeats and thick, bendy basslines with viola and vocals, and she mixed and produced the entire EP in her London flat.

Meet Selbor, a London-based Andalusian artist, whose self-titled debut album came out on 1st April on AWAL. Selbor pushes synth pop boundaries in his very own way, exploring the duality of hedonism and introspection, and merging electronic infused pop with his flamenco roots.

Meet REX, a queer Bristol-based DJ taking the local underground dance scene and making it theirs. After completing Saffron’s Mix Nights course in late 2019, REX has not held back in quickly becoming one of Bristol's most exciting DJs, blending everything from Grime and Dubstep to UK Funky and breaks.

In a world obsessed with stereotypes and genre pigeonholing, house & techno DJ, D&B DJ, broadcaster, presenter, writer and label head Charlie Tee’s no nonsense approach to music is that of any true aficionado; playing tracks that make her feel viscerally. From high energy house to gritty peak-time techno, or her more unhinged side rinsing some D&B and jungle, you’re always in for a ride.

If you haven’t come across Hen Ogledd yet but love the sound of wonky, folkloric, political, fluoro-pagan electro-pop you’re just going to love them, believe us. Following their latest release No Wood Accepted and their tour in December culture editor Kerry Mead caught up with them to talk about how they make music together, reclaiming the vocoder, and aural time-travelling.

Bristol-based DJ and producer Sean McCabe has had plenty of time to develop his own sound within the house music scene. Famously, he released his first tracks in 2003 at the tender age of 17 and has spent the last two decades fine-tuning a trademark sound that is effortlessly soulful. As a DJ, he forged a reputation at the legendary Southport Weekender, playing as far afield as Asia and South Africa, as well as regular appearances across Europe and the UK.