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The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - May 2012


The last time we were both here, we were faced with the daunting task of summing up the Best New & Emerging Music of April 2012 into just five songs. We barely managed to accomplish this impossible feat - only just - because the amount of amazing new music that we've been blessed with so far this year has been ridiculous and April was no different. The weeks of May 2012 have not been an exception either, we literally have good music bursting out at the seams for us to share with you - from Hip-Hop to Electronic Music to Afrobeats to Indie to Pop and everything in between - so without further ado, here's your Best New Music of May (30/04/12 - 27/05/12) 2012...

We Plug To You... Stuart Newman


Mellow Indie Folk/Rock singer Stuart Newman is a largely self-taught musician. Starting out first with a piano and a guitar, he began writing songs and experimented with his home recording techniques during his University years. His music is reminiscent to the chilled-out but soulful Folk and acoustic music of America and he could be described as a miscellaneous mix of Elvis Presley and Nirvana. His musical influences range from The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Radiohead to Feeder, Queens of the Stone AgeGreen Day and My Chemical Romance.

We Plug To You... 2Face Idibia - Away & Beyond


This is a first for us here at WE PLUG. Today I have the ultimate pleasure of reviewing the album of a living legend and I honestly don't even feel I am worthy of it. This is why it has taken me two weeks to post this up but I think I have conquered my fear enough and without further ado, I would like to present to you the legendary 2Face Idibia with his fifth studio album - Away & Beyond.

We Plug To You... The Manic Shine


British Alternative Rock quartet The Manic Shine are celebrating the success of their video release for their new single, "My Woman (I Love Nothing About You)" after it was released on April 6, 2012. The band's latest single and video release comes just a few weeks after the band released their phenomenal debut album, Blindsider, which has proved immensely popular with fans and critics alike. The record was released in March via UK-based indie label The Animal Farm who had previously signed the band in November of last year after being involved in the release of The Manic Shine's previously released self-titled debut EP.

We Plug To You... Yuna - Yuna (Album Review)


The beautiful YUNA has finally released her self-titled US debut album! First off all, I have to apologise for having slept on this album for quite a bit. I received this album a good week and a half ago but only listened to it about four days ago and no lie, it has been all I’ve listened to since then. The 25-year old Malaysian singer, songwriter and musician came on our radar last year with her US-released Decorate EP after signing to the FADER label. She quickly caught the attention of critics and fans alike across a wide spectrum with her beautiful music and heart felt lyrics.

We Plug To You... Lydia Baylis


Lydia Baylis is a superb rarity. Having been compared to natural beauties such as Rosamund Pyke and Christie Brinkley and admired for her looks by dazzling American actress, Lauren Bacall, Lydia could have easily had a successful career in modelling. However the 22-year-old - who was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, UK - has surprisingly enough taken to a solo career in music and song writing instead, especially as there is no history of musical talent anywhere in Lydia’s family history.

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - April 2012


April has been an eventful month for New and Emerging Music this year and that is putting it mildly - our long list of songs to choose our favourites from seemed never ending. While its crazy to even think that a good four weeks have come and gone since the last time we shared our Best New Music with you, those four weeks have come accompanied with some pretty amazing music thankfully. The month of April - week FOURTEEN (02/04/12 - 08/04/12) all the way through to week SEVENTEEN (23/04/12) - (29/04/12) of 2012 - has been blessed with at least one gem of a record in Hip-HopAfrobeatsIndiePopR&B and everything in between. Here are our favourite picks as always...

We Plug To You... PJ Morton - Follow My First Mind EP


We plug to you singer, songwriter and musician PJ Morton with his most recent body of work, the 7 track EP titled Follow My First Mind (FMFM). PJ Morton recalls his musical upbringing in New Orleans where he was born and raised as having greatly influenced his musical style and allowed his talents to be early nurtured and developed. His first dive into music was with a band called Freestyle Nation which started right after Morton graduated from college. Over the years, the band went on to receive minimal recognition, however during this time Morton's stock as a songwriter/producer was beginning to rise in the industry and in no time, he already had a Grammy Award to his name.

We Plug To You... Dry the River


Fast-rising eclectic Folk band Dry the River - consisting of Peter Liddle (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Matthew Taylor (Guitar), Will Harvey (Violin), Scott Taylor (Bass Guitar) and Jon Warren (Drums) - are not your typical Mumford and Sons kind of folk-band even though everyone wants to call them "the next Mumford and Sons". Each member of the band has previously played in Hardcore Rock and Post-Punk bands and these elements shine through on Dry the River’s music, song lyrics and weirdly enough, the band members’ love of tattoos (uncanny for a Folk band surely).

We Plug To You... Bonaventure


Nashville-based Alternative Rock band Bonaventure is made up of Dan Smyers and Andrew Albert, both of whom are already well known in the music world to their respective fans - Andy is the lead singer of Pop-Punk band Holiday Parade while Dan is a successful solo singer and guitarist in his own right. The pair met up about a year and a half ago in Miami, Florida and after realising that they were both heading down the same path musically, began to explore and share a few song ideas between themselves over the internet. That path as well as the initial exploration and sharing of ideas eventually led to the formation of Bonaventure and both artists moving to Nashville, Tennessee - the city of such great songwriters as Johnny Cash and Jimi Hendrix - to create what they call "Rock with a Southern flavour".

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 12 & 13, 2012


And JUST like that, the first quarter of the year is well and truly gone! 2012 is not waiting around for anybody it seems and as we draw ever closer and closer to the Summer time and all the music festivals that come with it, I hope we all have our tickets and Wellington boots ready! Our Best New Music of the final two weeks of the first quarter range from UK Grime to Indie Pop to Brit Soul/R&B to Hip-Hop to Experimental so let's get right into it, shall we? Week TWELVE (19/03/12 - 25/03/12) and week THIRTEEN (26/03/12 - 01/04/12) of 2012 produced these entries into our Best New and Emerging Music series...

We Plug To You... Attention Thieves


We plug to you, unsigned Reading Rock band Attention Thieves with their debut EP Look A Little Closer which was released last week on Monday, March 26. Far from your generic guitar Rock band, Attention Thieves add many different layers and elements to what their sound is - from Progressive Rock to Punk to Post-Hardcore - and with fans and critics alike heaping praises on Attention Thieves and likening them to the likes of The Police and Foo Fighters, it will soon be very hard for your favourite mainstream radio station and the wider audience consciousness to overlook the anthemic and progressive Rock sound of Attention Thieves.

We Plug To You... Professor Penguin - Planes (Album Review)


I really need to start making sure I keep up to date with the music on our sister blog, Conversations but you know how it is right? You get busy with school and work and with life, you just can't keep track of the updates and you miss out on some pretty amazing music. Case in point is this next band... You see, I came across this album yesterday while actioning the emails I had received over the last few days and I listened to it until I fell asleep last night. Beautiful music brought forth by London 9-piece band, Professor Penguin.

We Plug To You... Wilson - Painted on Silence EP


Introducing emerging Brit Soul Singer/Songwriter Wilson with his debut EP, Painted On Silence. Hailing from North London, Wilson has been singing his entire life with performances starting from as early as primary school and according to his Facebook page, his influences range from the late great Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston to Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway among others. Wilson, who is a University graduate of Commercial Music, has performed at some of London's famous venues such as the Jazz Cafe, Hackney Empire and the Royal Albert Hall over the years but Painted On Silence marks his first public foray into the world of recorded music. Read on to find out what we thought...

We Plug To You... Adenikè


Adenikè Adenaike. A deliberate play on syntax? Maybe not. A stage name? Definitely not! That is actually her real name. ADENIKÈ means royalty in Yoruba (Nigeria) and rightly so. She has branded herself with the royal color - purple, her nickname is ‘Purple’ and from the press photo above, so is her hair and her brand but what about her music? I would have to concur that her music is just as awesome as the color purple... We plug to you, emerging R&B singer Adenikè.

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 10 & 11, 2012


A full week late with this instalment BUT we are here nevertheless and what a month of March it has been so far for New and Emerging Music! The Sun is finally out and the music festival season has officially begun with South by Southwest (SXSW) kicking off the proceedings earlier in the month. In a way, you could say that our Best New and Emerging Music series is very much like the SXSW festivals. SXSW has always been known for unearthing some pretty amazing new  and emerging artists and that's exactly what our series has been doing all year so without further ado, here's our Best New Music of week TEN (05/03/12 - 11/03/12) and week ELEVEN (12/03/12 - 18/03/12) of 2012.

We Plug To You... Diggy Simmons - Unexpected Arrival (Album Review)


Even after three mixtapes [that I shamelessly still bump occasionally], I instantly think of young Diggy from the reality TV show Run's House whenever I hear Diggy Simmons. Needless to say, this Unexpected Arrival album, if nothing, has erased that thought as Diggy has very well proven himself to be a true rapper on his debut solo effort. 

We Plug To You... Sara London - Breaking Hearts EP


Canadian Singer/Songwriter Sara London has been on my ‘to-listen’ list for a while now, since a download link to her debut EP Breaking Hearts landed on my radar last month. I finally got to listen to the emotional project this weekend and the impressive vocalist automatically gets a plug from me as a result of her stellar debut.

We Plug To You… The Funeral Suits


Heading straight out of the Irish capital, The Funeral Suits are a modern Rock four-piece band, with roots in melodious Pop, mind-blowing art Rock and symphonic Electronica. The band's music can be likened to early Kasabian, White Lies and Electro-Acoustic Rock band, Empire Of The Sun, with their summery, edgy, psychedelic-rock sound. Not the first type of music that you think about when you envision an alternative Irish band I'm sure...

We Plug To You... Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again (Album Review)


It's a Friday night and I'm getting prepped for my radio show looking for new African acts delivering great music. It was while doing this a few weeks ago that I heard Michael Kiwanuka for the first time via Okay Africa. What I heard that day was "Home Again", the lead single and title track for his debut album which I have the pleasure of reviewing now. As such; without further ado, I plug to you the BBC Sound of 2012 winner, Michael Kiwanuka with his inspiring debut album Home Again.

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 8 & Week 9, 2012


Ladies and gentlemen, I am not going to lie to you. Being able to bring to you this rather fun and exciting Best New and Emerging Music series every week is proving harder than I thought and you will have noticed that over the last six weeks, it has become more of bi-monthly series rather than a weekly one. Notwithstanding, we are as still committed as ever to continue to trail and sifting through all the new music coming out in 2012 and bringing you the very Best New and Emerging Music of 2012 as and when they occur. Without further ado however, here's our Best New Music of week EIGHT (20/02/12 - 26/02/12) and week NINE (27/02/12 - 04/03/12) of 2012.

We Plug To You… Black Circles


Bursting out of Kent, Englad and describing themselves as an Alternative power-trio is a dark and intense outfit by the name of Black Circles with their excellent delivery of thrashing, melody-driven Rock anthems. The band are self-proclaimed lovers of early Foo Fighters material - an influence that is clearly present their music - and while some bands who try to dabble in this specific genre of music can of course become lost in screaming vocals, Black Circles' lead vocalist/guitarist Dan (with backing from bassist Mayumi) delivers catchy choruses without going too far into the wailing territory of many similar bands.

We Plug to You... BJ The Chicago Kid - Pineapple Now-Laters (Album Review)


OK so Pineapple Now - Laters is actually a candy! When I first heard the intro to this record, I thought  BJ was just reciting some really cool Spoken Word with some deeper meaning but he’s actually just talking about candy people! Apparently it was his favourite candy as a kid and in previous interviews, he has stated that this pre-album is just a taste of everything BJ - he refers to it as "World Soul R&B". I refer to it as a perfect mix of all things Soul and GOOD.

We Plug To You... Stacy Barthe


Hey folks! Apologies for the hiatus, but I’m back with an artist that you just have to hear about. I like to consider myself knowledgeable about music but it looks like somehow this Singer-Songwriter missed my radar last year.

She recently made it on to our Best New & Emerging Music list and with no further ado I present to you, Singer/Songwriter Stacy Barthe. Like most songwriters who transition into performing artists, Stacy’s first EP Sincerely Yours came about by her wondering what would happen if she answered the calling she felt within to create a personal work of art and to perform her own songs. Following that successful EP from 2011, came the birth of her most recent work In The Inbetween which was released in February 2012. Below is an excerpt on Stacy from her official website.

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 6 & Week 7, 2012


It's been a very eventful fourteen days in music and that is putting it very mildly. We begin this article by paying our respects to the late great Whitney Houston who passed away on February 11, 2012. May her soul rest in perfect peace and our condolences go out to the entire Houston family.

Now unto today's proceedings, we have been sifting through all the new and emerging music that has come away over the last two weeks - from February 6 to February 19 - and as we usually do, we've selected only the best of the best to share with you. Here are our Best New & Emerging Music from weeks SIX (06/02/12 - 12/02/12) and weeks SEVEN (13/02/12 - 19/02/12) of 2012.

We Plug To You... Cris Cab - Echo Boom


It's bad enough that this is only second article of the year and February is already upon us - makes me shudder at how fast it's all going. Before you know it, the year will be over again but thankfully, that will come with so much good music for us to share with you on a weekly basis and I am very much excited about that, aren't you?

This artist is no stranger on here as I had the pleasure of reviewing his debut EP titled Foreword last year. Having already made it into our list of The Best New & Emerging Music twice so far this year - a list that I am sure, he will be on a couple more times - I would like to re-introduce to you to Miami native Singer/Songwriter Cris Cab with his new mixtape titled Echo Boom presented by none other than the Billionaire Boy's Club.

We Plug To You... Emeli Sande - Our Version Of Events (Album Review)


Hi everyone. Filled with a mixture of sadness and joy today, with the demise of the Great Whitney Houston and with Adele, sweeping the Grammy's over the weekend, it seems rather poetic. Gone is a legend - with a voice so pure - and in comes, a woman that I suspect will be a legend in her own right with a voice just as pure. It's the magic that we call life. Our artist today, has two things in common with the late Whitney and Adele...

We Plug To You... Lánre


Talk of songs that tell a story... Of fresh unadulterated natural music from the roots... Of music that is organic, music that is unplugged, music that is fresh from the garden of Soul and inspiring from the garden of life and we can only be talking about the special and beautifully simple UK-based Nigerian singer/songwriter by the name of Lánre.

We Plug to You... Elle Varner - Conversational Lush Mixtape


Los Angeles native Elle Shellise Varner was born - February 12, 1989 - into a musical household with both her parents being notable songwriters and publishers. It then comes as no surprise that at the tender age of six, Elle began her musical journey - playing various musical instruments from the flute to the piano and then the guitar. In 2008, she graduate from New York University’s renowned Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music and by October 2009, Elle had signed with RCA Records alongside securing a publishing agreement with Sony Music. All perks of a musical household or is there something about Elle Varner?

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 4 & Week 5, 2012


Happy NEW month ladies and gentlemen. Apologies for the hiatus last week and we could get into a little back and forth about what happened to us BUT what good would that do anyone? What's important is that we're here NOW and we've got two full weeks of NEW and EMERGING music to sift through to bring you some of the Best New and Emerging Music from over the past two weeks especially for your listening pleasure. So without wasting anymore time, here are our very TOP picks of the Best New and Emerging Music of weeks FOUR (23/01/12 - 29/01/12) and FIVE (30/01/12 - 05/02/12) of 2012.

We Plug to You... Lana Del Ray - Born To Die (Album Review)


The sensational 25-year old Lana Del Ray - aka the "gangsta Nancy Sinantra" - first hit the mainstream in the second half of last year with her vintage homemade video for the massive "Video Games" single and it quickly created a cult following for her hard to place sultry voice landing her plaudits from everyone who is anyone in music and a record deal with Interscope and Polydor! While speculations remain rife about her new identity and why she ditched her old name Lizzy Grant for the more stylish Lana Del Ray to boost her career to stardom and trust me, we could get into our own back and forth about that, fortunately for you that is not what we are about here! Whether she goes by the name Lizzy Grant or Del Ray, there is no disputing that she makes good music despite what name she answers to...

We Plug to You... Allen Stone


Hey guys! Happy New Year! And yes I know its well into 2012 but this is my first post of the year hence the pleasantries! Anyway getting right into it, the artist that I will be plugging to you is none other than the very talented and peculiar looking Allen Stone. I personally feel like this is an awesome feature to start the New Year with and before I get into Mr Stone’s background, I’m going to set the mood with this very awesome song! It’s a fun, upbeat and simple simple number released back in 2010 and while this wasn’t the first song I heard from Allen Stone, its now one of my favorites and just one of those ones that get your feet tapping, I also think its smartly written… But alas, all this rhetoric will sound like gibberish to you till you hit the play button and enjoy, here’s "Another Break Up Song"...

We Plug to You... The Arcadian Kicks


The Arcadian Kicks - a Brummy Indie-Pop/Rock five-piece outfit - have been making music together for around five years, with some recognition at a local level for their sounds. Having been friends at upper-school, four of the band members began making music together with drummer Harry Grainger joining the Birmingham band later. After gigging locally for a good few years, the band developed a light Pop sound that featured pianist and back-up vocalist Rebekah Pennington on saxophone, giving them a stand-out and often Jazzy sound...

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 3, 2012


And just like that boys and girls, the first month of the "new" year is on its last legs. 2012 is going full steam ahead at this point with the third week of the year having whizzed quickly by without warning BUT thankfully NOT before it blessed us with some pretty AMAZING new and emerging music to carry us through the week. Here are our TOP FIVE BEST New & Emerging Music of the THIRD week of 2012 (16/01/12 - 22/01/12) after the jump, make sure you Listen + Comment + Share...

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 2, 2012


Here we go ladies and gentlemen! Week TWO of 2012 is officially OVER and just like that, the "new" year is already fifteen days deep and what a couple of weeks its been already. This second week has seen Jay-Z and Beyonce bring forth their first child to the world, Common take hard bodied shots at Drake on wax, the UK's Ed Sheeran sweep this year's BRIT Awards nominations and well of course - the reason why we all are here - a mad flurry of NEW and EMERGING music...

We Plug To You... SOMI


Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2012. We hope to keep the trend of plugging G.O.O.D music to you as always. Therefore in a bid to start of the year with some much needed freshness, I bring to you music that smells like the sweetness of rain... We plug to you music from a Chicago-born East African lady of Rwandan/Ugandan parentage, who spent her early childhood in Zambia and is currently resident in New York. We plug to you SOMI.

The Best NEW & EMERGING Music - Week 1, 2012


Welcome - once again - to 2012 and welcome to a brand new weekly feature right here on We Plug GOOD Music. In pretty much the same vein as our Best New & Emerging Music of 2011 list, this weekly feature will aim to showcase and highlight only the very best new and emerging music to have graced our ears each and every week in 2012. The criteria is pretty simple for who and what gets considered - as long as an artist is yet to release a full length major album release, they'll be considered for this feature so without further adieu...

THE BEST NEW & EMERGING MUSIC OF 2011


Happy New Year! Welcome to 2012 but before we go steaming ahead, let's look back at the Best New and Emerging Music that graced our ears in 2011...

Where do we even begin? 2011 has been an exciting year for music but more specifically, for new and emerging music from all around the world. This article is simply to specially highlight and showcase our best of the best out of the influx of new and emerging music that we've been blessed with this year.

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