Tinashe
Tinashe Kachingwe may first have come to prominence via her recurring role in so-bad-it’s-just-bad sitcom Two And A Half Men, but her musical output has been nothing less than stellar. With the cool understatment and sparse musical framework of Aaliyah, the singer’s down-tempo R&B is like a female equivalent of Frank Ocean’s style. Like Ocean, she has a DIY aesthetic (her recent mixtape Amethyst was recorded in her bedroom) that makes her stand out massively from the tribe of rent-a-sirens who clog up the post-Janet Jackson market.
Wireless, 4 July
Ibeyi
Look, I know French-Cuban bands made up of 20-year-old twin sisters who sing in the Nigerian language of Yoruba are 10 a penny, but trust me, Ibeyi really are the best of the bunch. Signed to XL at the start of last year, Ibeyi are playing both the Nice jazz festival and the German dance fest Melt!, which hints at the breadth of their appeal.
Glastonbury 24-27 June (exact date tbc), Latitude 18 July, Womad 24 July, Secret Garden Party 25 July
Rae Sremmurd
Siblings are a big theme this summer, actually. Rae Sremmurd are the hottest, most adorable rap duo to come out of America’s dirty south in a generation. Neither of the brothers, Swae Lee and Slim Jimmy, has celebrated his 21st birthday yet, but they can already count Nicki Minaj, Young Thug and Pusha T among their collaborators. Basically, imagine if PJ & Duncan were from one of the most dangerous housing estates in Mississippi and made filthy trap-influenced tracks about kush, girls and how many condoms they have.
Wireless 5 July, Reading 28 August, Leeds 29 August
Sophie
If you’re confused by, or oblivious to, hyper-trendy post-ironic label PC Music, this could be your way in. Once you get over the fact that Sophie is a man in his 20s, even though his songs all feature female vocals, he starts to make sense. Yes, his music is full of E-number blips and dizzy, unfamiliar beats but, like a safe word in a dungeon, he’s also able to end the charade and take you to a familiar space, with tunes so clearly rooted in golden-era UK garage that you know how to dance to them.
Field Day 6 June
Wolf Alice
Like your first half-written novel, Wolf Alice have been knocking around for years – a cool bunch of interesting characters who never quite had a purpose. Then earlier this year they released Giant Peach, a sort of disillusioned grunge number but with haunting Shirelles “oohs” and LCD Soundsystem drums, and suddenly everything just fell into place. Catch them pretty much everywhere this summer, while they’re still in hardback.
Glastonbury 24-28 June, Calling 4 July, T in the Park 12 July, Latitude 18 July, Reading 29 August, Leeds 30 August
Kiasmos
A Bafta-winning classical composer, Ólafur from rural Iceland and his mate Janus from the Faroe Islands don’t seem like obvious choices when it comes to making life-affirming electronica, but Kiasmos have a debut album full of stunning, atmospheric soundscapes and unexpected twists. It doesn’t obviously lend itself to a live show, yet there’s something kind of thrilling about watching two incredibly nerdy guys jumping up and down as the tracks slowly build and eventually kick off – like taking a hearty walk up a country hill and then running down the other side.
Latitude 18 July
