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.

2FORJOY - "CHOKE"

I knew nothing of Ruth Ivo Powell aka 2FORJOY before coming across her amazing debut single titled "Choke". Admittedly, I still know very little about this London based singer and songwriter other than her voice is simply beautiful and her single "Choke" is one hell of a gem of a song - piano-led, Electronica-tinged, subtle, melancholic and compellingly haunting, brought together by some very excellent songwriting. Apparently 2forJoy is the brainchild of Performing Arts veteran and creative director of Trash City, Ruby Blues. Watch the equally compelling Annick Wolfers-directed visuals for "Choke" below:

BINKO SWINK - "BODY NAKED"

My love for London based Indie Pop trio BINKO SWINK has been well documented and with the recent release of "Body Naked", that fondness has increased rather exponentially. Released on March 5 along with their latest single "Play" to serve as its B-side, the soft and sublime "Body Naked" is backed by lush and bassy guitar arrangements that are accompanied by the most minimal and yet deft drum patterns while lead singer/guitarist Lyla completely captures you and draws you in with her amazingly beautiful vocals. I dare you not to hit the repeat button repeatedly on this one...

LKT - "ALAYE"

From London, England, we make the six hour trip down to Lagos, Nigeria for our next addition to this installment of our Best New & Emerging Music series. Introducing Afrobeats crooner LKT with his massive new single titled "Alaye" which is sure to get you dancing or at least bopping your head uncontrollably wherever you hear it. Produced by Young B and laced with synth-heavy keyboard patterns and lush percussion drums, "Alaye" is a clever Afrobeats song and 100% dance floor filler complete with a fusion of Fuji and Hip Life elements that is sure to light up any DJ set across the globe.

TEEN DAZE - "TRETEN"

Vancouver-based Chillwave artist and musician TEEN DAZE continues to make a resounding impression on us with his latest single titled "Treten", off of his forthcoming debut album All Of Us, Together which is due out on May 22 via the good folks at Lefse. Taking a good two months to follow up from his debut single "Brooklyn Sunburn" which was released in January after he dropped the massive "Let's Groove" on us on New Year's Eve, Teen Daze represents all that is wonderful about Chillwave on this new single "Treten" and while critics may say it lacks "ingenuity" or whatever that means, "Treten" represents one of Teen Daze's purest forms of ethereal, spacious, melodic and ambient Electronica recordings to date.

NIKI & THE DOVE - "TOMORROW"

They are Swedish and they are signed to legendary Indie label Sub Pop! Two sure indications that Alternative Pop duo NIKI & THE DOVE are not only make amazing Pop music but that they are also the BUSINESS as far as new and emerging artists go in 2012. They certainly didn't need their BBC Sound of 2012 nomination to confirm or affirm this, Niki & The Dove are already stars. "Tomorrow" is the latest single - as premiered by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 - off of their forthcoming début album titled Instinct which is out on May 14. Containing the duo's now trademark sounds of lush synths, pounding drums and Malin Dahlstrom's soaring vocals, "Tomorrow" shows off the duo's incredible abilities to create some pretty awesome left-field and intelligent Pop songs.

JOHN WEST - "NOBODY"

It seems like we've been everywhere - UK, Sweden, Nigeria and Canada to be exact - in the world apart from the US on this feature so we're going to head over to Los Angeles, California to bring this Best New Music feature to an end. The LA-based and Mercury/Island Def Jam-signed singer and songwriter JOHN WEST has previously called upon rappers Big Sean and Pusha T to feature on his last two singles but on his brand new single titled "Nobody", he takes on the piano-led R&B milieu by himself and to great effects too, as he shows off his excellent falsetto, lush vocal texture and songwriting dexterities. Listen below:

So there you have it, our SIX picks for the Best New Music from the first half of March, 2012! If you think we missed a trick and there are some records out there we may have overlooked, do NOT hesitate to let us know via the C-section!

Until the Next Time...

Best New & Emerging Music: Week 8 & 9 // Week 6 & 7 // Week 4 & 5 // Week 3 // Week 2 // Week 1 // 2011