Who: English sisters Annie and Georgie Hockeysmith conjure their ethereal, arthouse electronica from a caravan on a farm in Falmouth, Cornwall. The duo first displayed a knack for unconventional song structures and stormy washes of psychedelia with their first-ever single, a double A-side pairing glitchy, piano-enriched yarn "Let's Bang" and hollowed-out haunter "Now I Want To." Released last summer through Hockeysmith's very own Backabelly label, the 2013 twofer serves as a prelude to the ladies' upcoming debut EP.Sounds Like: Warpaint, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody ValentineWhere to Start: "But Blood," a bewitching swirl of sub-bass roar, nimble melody, and gnashing feedback that can be found on Hockeysmith's forthcoming EP, due out through London's Double Denim Records
Who: A Brooklyn-based, Chicago-raised producer who stacks regionalized dance ticks and tricks on top of one another, crafting a singular though familiar wide-eyed type of party music. (He is perhaps best known for the stuttering futuristic beat for Mykki Blanco's "Wavvy"). Grime, Bmore club, footwork, and the slippery sounds of mainstream hip-hop and R&B all course through Brenmar's beats. Yet, despite his very modern awareness of where music for the club is headed, he's got a pop savvy that recalls early, baby-sampling Timbaland in its ability to be wildly experimental and unabashedly catchy at the same time. His new mixtape High End Times Vol. 1 casts cutting edge vocalists (Ian Isiah, Junglepussy, Sasha Go Hard) over bleeding edge beats.Sounds Like: Girl Unit, Mykki Blanco, TimbalandWhere to Start: "Hey Ladies (Get Up)," an unsparing banger featuring Jersey club chanteuse Uniique, off the High End Times Vol. 1 mixtape.
Who: A noise-punk five-piece from Syracuse, New York, led by the ferocious intensity of frontwoman Meredith Graves. In the last six months, Perfect Pussy’s intrigue has moved beyond the novelty factor of their unprintable name, a deliberate feminist fuck-you meant to disarm, onto the hardcore frenzy of their tersely exuberant live performances. Last year, the upstate band unleashed the four-track demo of I have lost all desire for feeling, a cassette-only document that was so thrilling, Captured Tracks will release their full-length Say Yes To Love on March 17.Sounds Like: Riot grrrl 2014Where to Start: "I," a layered-noise rebel yell from their demo release.[videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]
Who: Kyle Austin is a New York beatsmith whose unbalanced take on boom-bap suggests that he may have cut many of his samples — Middle Eastern reeds, drum-circle breaks, a doleful verse from the High Priestess of Soul — while perched on the prow of a ship on the high seas. Also known as High Priest, of '00s backpack-vanguardists Anti-Pop Consortium, Austin introduced the HPrizm project in 2012 with a one-sided, 20-minute, single-track EP that blazed a serpentine trail through jittery footwork, ambient drone, and post-industrial techno, sounding more Demdike Stare than Big Dada. This year's KUSH and AKHI EPs, part of an ongoing series of Bandcamp releases, are more recognizably hip-hop. Heavily rooted in North African and Middle Eastern sources, and improvised and recorded in real time, they also don't sound much like anything else in rap music right now.Sounds Like: Death Comet Crew, RZA, Anti-Pop ConsortiumWhere to Start: AKHI, his worldly new five-track EP.
Who: A mysterious Miami-based eccentric who proudly dresses like it's 1991 ("All I rock is vintage," he boasts on his track "Wrong Way") and squawks and squeals as much as he raps. Cashy has an ear for beats that lean towards warped yacht-rock and experimental electronica — beats that are provided by his producer Purp Dogg, the guy best known for hissing blaxploitation honker and Drake-remixed "We Made It." His absurdist mixtape Platinum Plus rejects the sprawl of most hour-plus mixtapes, running just 20 minutes long, housing Migos-level hooks ("Stupendous, stupendous!", "I'm gettin' to the money, momma ain't raise no dummy") and Def Comedy Jam-style laughs.Sounds Like: A$AP Ferg, Gucci Mane, Juicy JWhere to Start: "Wrong Way," an ambient-trap track full of snarling threats and hilarious ad-libs.[videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]