My ones to watch for 2010

11. Goldhawks

I’d be quite surprised if these West London dudes don’t make big indie-radio rotation impact in 2010. When I posted ‘Where in The World’ back in April last year, I said they could be massive in six months. I’m extending that by another six months. They seem to have signed to Universal recently. At the moment, the band are over at Eurosonic and are also down to play an NME awards show in London. Oh, and the lead singer sounds like Bono so do with that what you will.

Goldhawks – 1996

12.Cloud Control

As with many others on this list, it was one track that made me sit up and take notice. On this occasion, that track is ‘Gold Canary’ – a wander through folk and handclap-laden pop territory. Sounding like Fleet Foxes and Local Natives with a twist of synth goodness, this Sydney via Blue Mountains four-piece are due to release their debut this year. We featured this song in MAP back in October if you were paying attention.

Cloud Control – Gold Canary

13. O Emperor

O Emperor are from Waterford and Cork and are definitely ones to keep an eye on. ‘Po’ was featured in December’s MAP post and I described it thusly “an unassuming number that reveals itself on multiple listens thanks to its snaking ephemeral guitar lick and a vocal that lodges in your brain for 24 hours at a time.” Anyway, their other songs suggest the band could be closely aligned with the likes of Grizzly Bear for their rich arrangements and harmonies (see ‘Heisenberg’). They are currently on a tour of the UK and Ireland with Alessi’s Ark and Sons of Noel and Adrian which hits Whelan’s this Saturday. Below’s performance is taken from When Under Ether.

O Emperor – Po

14. Jay Electronica

If there is one name in hip-hop I need to hear more from, if there is one name in hip-hop I’m placing my hopes on, it’s Jay Electronica. He’s already gifted us with the Just Blaze-produced ‘Exhibit C’, (featured on our latest podcast) one of those tunes which just slays your mind when you hear it, prompting rewind after rewind. Jay is not your ordinary MC/producer. He’s married to Erykah Badu for a start. He visited Tibet on a pilgrimage and has made a percussionless 15 minute piece of music based on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

So far this year, a Jay Electronica mixtape has already been dropped called Victory which serves up where Jay is at right now with guest appearances from Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

Download: Jay Electronica – Victory mixtape

15. Sam Amidon

The man that played the best show I saw in Dublin last year returns with a new album I See The Sign on the 1st of March now April 16th/19th in the UK. The taster song for the album, ‘How Come That Blood’ (also on the podcast) is a multi-layered stringed percussive wonder with Sam’s simple folk take leading the charge.

The other reason for his placement here is the Whale Watching tour which hits the National Concert Hall in Dublin on April 21st. On the night, Amidon and his labelmates from the Icelandic label Bedroom Community, Nico Muhl, Ben Frost and Valgeir Sigurðsson will be collaborating on each other’s songs. The video below explains it all. Tickets are €25 from here.

MP3: Sam Amidon – How Come That Blood

Niall Byrne

Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.

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