London – With the chance to compete for a spot on one of the main stages at the legendary Glastonbury Festival this June, the annual Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition is a key portal to help unsigned artists based in the U.K. or Ireland reach a wider audience. The contest is supported by PRS for Music and the PRS for Music Foundation, who provide cash prizes for the winner and two runners-up. This year around 5,500 entries were lodged and, as Best New Bands’ London correspondent, I was once again one of 40 music writers commissioned to drill them down into a long list of 120 acts. Each act submitted an original song via a SoundCloud link, together with a video of a live performance, for the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition judges to review.
Listening to my quota of songs and watching the performances, I was struck again by the depth of largely unknown talent out there. Around one in every five entries that came my way ended up on a shortlist, while there were positive points about many other submissions too. However, quite a few fell into obvious traps. Submitting the same song twice – one recorded and one on video – is not the smartest strategy, especially if the live version does quite cut it. In contrast a video of a different song showed an extra dimension, while, irrespective of the live setting, decent sound quality helped a great deal in judging performance dynamics.
Essentially you look for a great song and an act with sufficient repertoire to show it can cut it on the live stage. My final three choices, for the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition, were the songs that shone after repeated listens from performers with the potential to excite a Glastonbury audience.
Race the Flux – “Big Fig”
The Math Rock staccato rhythms that open “Big Fig” immediately engage and the song’s clever, precise drum punctuation carries it all along splendidly until the chorus kicks in for the first time and neck hairs genuinely rise. I love the energy and passion that Race the Flux realises through its expansive sound, layered with great hooks and even echoes of prog masters Yes, in the extended coda; a band readymade for the big stage.
Wooden Arms – “Burial”
Okay, I’m a sucker for a mournful trumpet, but, then again, it’s hard not to be seduced by the embracing beauty that Wooden Arms radiate on “Burial.” The band’s blend of alternative and classically inspired music with violin and cello to the fore, and a touch of trip-hop percussion is subtly engaging and ultimately entrancing. Vocally emotive and pure with lush harmonies, there is an underlying tension to the song which finds release in the unexpected cacophony of the ending.
Marcus McCoan – “Indigo”
“Call Out” makes a quick impression and rapidly gets embedded in the psyche. Guided by Marcus McCoan’s smooth, warm tenor, the song is finely honed into a slice of classy pop that’s a hundred times better than the chart filler that dominates these days. He displays an impressive vocal range and control, while the instrumental track complements the singer’s accessible lyrics, never getting overblown. It’s a crowded beach for singer-songwriters but this one seems to have pitched up perfectly.
You can listen to the full list of 120 entrants, to have made it through Round 1 of the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition, on the Glastonbury Festival website now. She wasn’t in my batch of acts, but I was delighted to see that Louise Cunnane – aka Blooms - was also among them. Blooms was featured in my Best New Bands article “10 Songs You Might Have Missed in 2015.”
In the next couple of weeks, a judging panel, including Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, will choose just 8 from the 120 to do battle at the live finals at Pilton Working Men’s Club, close to the Worthy Farm festival site, on Saturday 9th April. This will determine the outright winner for the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition. Best New Bands will be there to bring you the results.
Tony Hardy
Tony’s great passion in life is music and nothing gives him more pleasure than unearthing good, original new music and championing independent musicians. His association with Best New Bands brings great opportunities for this. He also writes for Consequence of Sound and is a judge for Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition.
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