We’ve singled out our top pick of new PRS for Music members to have joined during the last three months. Meet some of the most exciting talents to register with the collecting society below...
Clean Bandit
‘So you think electronic music is boring? You think it's stupid?’ asks chart-topping British group Clean Bandit on their track Mozart’s House. Well, not in the capable hands of this fresh-faced foursome.
While the sound and title of the band’s second single perfectly captures their blend of classical strings and electronic beats, it’s their January release - Rather Be, featuring the vocals of fellow newcomer Jess Glynne - which has dominated 2014.
How? Well it’s the fastest selling single of the year after spending four consecutive weeks at number one in January. It’s also the first song by a British artist to hold the top spot for this length of time since Adele’s 2011 Someone Like You, selling in excess of 750,000 copies.
The song’s unstoppable success means that while the likes of Disclosure and Rudimental owned 2013, the so-called ‘Dostoyevskys of disco’, due to their Cambridge University education and classical approach to club music, are at the forefront of chart-friendly dance in 2014.
Brothers Jack (bass, keyboards) and Luke Patterson (drums), alongside Grace Chatto (cello) and Neil Amin-Smith (violin) make up the group who all connected musically at university back in 2008. The band’s rise through dance music’s underground began after Mozart’s House was picked up by Black Butter Records, an imprint which helped launch the success of fellow electronic students Rudimental and Gorgon City.
But the success of Rather Be and subsequent single Extraordinary has propelled them even further, meaning that anticipation is at fever pitch for debut album New Eyes. If the LP is anywhere near as popular as previous releases, their work combining the dancefloor with the classical concert hall will be complete.
cleanbandit.co.uk
Clean Bandit
‘So you think electronic music is boring? You think it's stupid?’ asks chart-topping British group Clean Bandit on their track Mozart’s House. Well, not in the capable hands of this fresh-faced foursome.
While the sound and title of the band’s second single perfectly captures their blend of classical strings and electronic beats, it’s their January release - Rather Be, featuring the vocals of fellow newcomer Jess Glynne - which has dominated 2014.
How? Well it’s the fastest selling single of the year after spending four consecutive weeks at number one in January. It’s also the first song by a British artist to hold the top spot for this length of time since Adele’s 2011 Someone Like You, selling in excess of 750,000 copies.
The song’s unstoppable success means that while the likes of Disclosure and Rudimental owned 2013, the so-called ‘Dostoyevskys of disco’, due to their Cambridge University education and classical approach to club music, are at the forefront of chart-friendly dance in 2014.
Brothers Jack (bass, keyboards) and Luke Patterson (drums), alongside Grace Chatto (cello) and Neil Amin-Smith (violin) make up the group who all connected musically at university back in 2008. The band’s rise through dance music’s underground began after Mozart’s House was picked up by Black Butter Records, an imprint which helped launch the success of fellow electronic students Rudimental and Gorgon City.
But the success of Rather Be and subsequent single Extraordinary has propelled them even further, meaning that anticipation is at fever pitch for debut album New Eyes. If the LP is anywhere near as popular as previous releases, their work combining the dancefloor with the classical concert hall will be complete.
cleanbandit.co.uk
Dracula Legs
Whether any members of this brilliant new garage rock band have ‘Dracula Legs’ is up for debate. What isn’t is the greatness of their name and the devilish stomp of their songs.
Now based in London, the group hail from various points around the globe - the great lakes of Canada, the mountains of Wales, the Black Country, even Essex, but these seemingly disparate backgrounds all feed into their ramshackle rockabilly.
Debut seven inch - Heartburn Destination and Cold Licks - was released via the Too Pure Singles Club back in April and conjures up images of the Handsome Family and Nick Cave duelling with banjos in the wilderness.
Unofficial cassette-only demo releases, including Songs To Slack To (which carries the strapline, ‘Fuck school and fuck iTunes’), have helped raise their outsider, slacker credentials even more.
Despite their sinister name, Dracula Legs are completely warm blooded. On their releases to date, these musical monsters deal in brilliantly ragged blues rock, which sounds not only alive but packs plenty of bite.
draculalegs.bandcamp.com
Whether any members of this brilliant new garage rock band have ‘Dracula Legs’ is up for debate. What isn’t is the greatness of their name and the devilish stomp of their songs.
Now based in London, the group hail from various points around the globe - the great lakes of Canada, the mountains of Wales, the Black Country, even Essex, but these seemingly disparate backgrounds all feed into their ramshackle rockabilly.
Debut seven inch - Heartburn Destination and Cold Licks - was released via the Too Pure Singles Club back in April and conjures up images of the Handsome Family and Nick Cave duelling with banjos in the wilderness.
Unofficial cassette-only demo releases, including Songs To Slack To (which carries the strapline, ‘Fuck school and fuck iTunes’), have helped raise their outsider, slacker credentials even more.
Despite their sinister name, Dracula Legs are completely warm blooded. On their releases to date, these musical monsters deal in brilliantly ragged blues rock, which sounds not only alive but packs plenty of bite.
draculalegs.bandcamp.com
Richard Birchall
Cellist, composer, arranger and lyricist – no wonder Richard Birchall is seen by many as one of the UK's most versatile young classical musicians. As a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Richard is a regular performer in many of the world’s greatest concert halls, while his solo and chamber work have adorned venues ranging from Wigmore Hall to the catwalks of London Fashion Week.
Richard also works regularly with the English Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and his own group of eight cellists, Cellophony. The octet is one of the UK’s leading cello ensembles and regularly performs. His future projects include a concerto for cello and chamber orchestra to be performed by Philharmonia Orchestra principal cello Timothy Walden.
richardbirchall.co.uk
Cellist, composer, arranger and lyricist – no wonder Richard Birchall is seen by many as one of the UK's most versatile young classical musicians. As a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Richard is a regular performer in many of the world’s greatest concert halls, while his solo and chamber work have adorned venues ranging from Wigmore Hall to the catwalks of London Fashion Week.
Richard also works regularly with the English Chamber Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and his own group of eight cellists, Cellophony. The octet is one of the UK’s leading cello ensembles and regularly performs. His future projects include a concerto for cello and chamber orchestra to be performed by Philharmonia Orchestra principal cello Timothy Walden.
richardbirchall.co.uk
Kim Ann Foxman
If you’re fan of leftfield electronic music, then you should already be well aware of the beats and bleeps of Kim Ann Foxman. After growing up in Hawai and relocating to New York, Kim initially hit the antennas of more switched on music bloggers via Andrew Butler’s Hercules and Love Affair project. She worked with the multi-limbed outfit on their first two albums before choosing to go it alone.
Even while in the much-loved disco house group, Kim never forgot her roots in underground dance, seizing every opportunity to promote parties and DJ. Working in electronic realms somewhere between disco and techno, she’s successfully forged her own solo path, collaborating with the likes of Maya Jane Coles and KiNK as well as remixing The xx and Max Essa. Kim’s schedule for the next few months is as rammed as the dancefloors she’ll be rewiring but if you're lucky you'll be able to catch her in a whole host of clubs and festivals from Istanbul to Ibiza...Plus new music is promised soon...
facebook.com/KIMANNFOXMAN
If you’re fan of leftfield electronic music, then you should already be well aware of the beats and bleeps of Kim Ann Foxman. After growing up in Hawai and relocating to New York, Kim initially hit the antennas of more switched on music bloggers via Andrew Butler’s Hercules and Love Affair project. She worked with the multi-limbed outfit on their first two albums before choosing to go it alone.
Even while in the much-loved disco house group, Kim never forgot her roots in underground dance, seizing every opportunity to promote parties and DJ. Working in electronic realms somewhere between disco and techno, she’s successfully forged her own solo path, collaborating with the likes of Maya Jane Coles and KiNK as well as remixing The xx and Max Essa. Kim’s schedule for the next few months is as rammed as the dancefloors she’ll be rewiring but if you're lucky you'll be able to catch her in a whole host of clubs and festivals from Istanbul to Ibiza...Plus new music is promised soon...
facebook.com/KIMANNFOXMAN
Benjamin Woodgates
Classical composer Benjamin Woodgates began his musical journey as a chorister at Chichester Cathedral. He perfected his skills with the piano, percussion and bassoon as well as singing before taking up a music scholarship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
After a stint as director of chapel music at the college, he moved to London and began working on his own compositions, honing his skills as an arranger, orchestrator and choral director. His talents have not gone unnoticed with his abilities being called on by the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the St Endellion Music Festivals, Dame Shirley Bassey and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.
Many of Benjamin’s choral compositions have been premiered by Aoide, a composer-led chamber choir he established in 2012 with fellow JAM composer Daniel Saleeb. More recently, Ben was nominated for the young composer prize at the Mayor of London’s London Music Awards and handpicked as one of 12 individuals worldwide to take part in the 2014 ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop.
benjaminwoodgates.com
Classical composer Benjamin Woodgates began his musical journey as a chorister at Chichester Cathedral. He perfected his skills with the piano, percussion and bassoon as well as singing before taking up a music scholarship at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
After a stint as director of chapel music at the college, he moved to London and began working on his own compositions, honing his skills as an arranger, orchestrator and choral director. His talents have not gone unnoticed with his abilities being called on by the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the St Endellion Music Festivals, Dame Shirley Bassey and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.
Many of Benjamin’s choral compositions have been premiered by Aoide, a composer-led chamber choir he established in 2012 with fellow JAM composer Daniel Saleeb. More recently, Ben was nominated for the young composer prize at the Mayor of London’s London Music Awards and handpicked as one of 12 individuals worldwide to take part in the 2014 ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop.
benjaminwoodgates.com
