Writer-producer Joel Compass must’ve graced a dozen Ones to Watch lists already, as tastemakers queue up to tip his songwriting skills and pop prowess.
But it’s not all empty hype – the 21-year-old Londoner has already proved his merit through his own solo work (top pick being last autumn’s Run featuring Pusha T) plus work with artists including Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts, John Legend and Rita Ora.
In the same way that Disclosure derobed leftfield electronica to deliver an intelligent form of mainstream dance, Joel is twisting the British R&B template in interesting new directions - and winning plenty of plaudits along the way.
Not content to stick with his notable singing ability and songwriting nous, Joel is also proving a force behind the mixing desk, combining credibility with huge commercial appeal.
He first pricked ears with the debut track Back To Me, which had over 30,000 SoundCloud plays and 150,000 YouTube views in just one week and attracted coverage on Hypebeast, Clash and The Guardian to name a few.
The following Astronaut EP was released last summer to huge acclaim on the Black Butter label - home to Rudimental, Kidnap Kid and Gorgon City. The spacious four track offering revealed that Joel has as much in common with US artists like Miguel, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and Maxwell as he does with the current crop of British electronic producers.
With Outsiders/Polydor gearing up to drop Joel’s debut album early this spring, and Zane Lowe and MTV tipping him for big things, expect to hear a lot more from this star-in-waiting over the coming months…
joelcompass.com
But it’s not all empty hype – the 21-year-old Londoner has already proved his merit through his own solo work (top pick being last autumn’s Run featuring Pusha T) plus work with artists including Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts, John Legend and Rita Ora.
In the same way that Disclosure derobed leftfield electronica to deliver an intelligent form of mainstream dance, Joel is twisting the British R&B template in interesting new directions - and winning plenty of plaudits along the way.
Not content to stick with his notable singing ability and songwriting nous, Joel is also proving a force behind the mixing desk, combining credibility with huge commercial appeal.
He first pricked ears with the debut track Back To Me, which had over 30,000 SoundCloud plays and 150,000 YouTube views in just one week and attracted coverage on Hypebeast, Clash and The Guardian to name a few.
The following Astronaut EP was released last summer to huge acclaim on the Black Butter label - home to Rudimental, Kidnap Kid and Gorgon City. The spacious four track offering revealed that Joel has as much in common with US artists like Miguel, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and Maxwell as he does with the current crop of British electronic producers.
With Outsiders/Polydor gearing up to drop Joel’s debut album early this spring, and Zane Lowe and MTV tipping him for big things, expect to hear a lot more from this star-in-waiting over the coming months…
joelcompass.com
