Liberty Music’s Ones to Watch @ Great Escape 2017

It’s nearly that time of year again, when the seaside town of Brighton, becomes a home to Europe’s largest music conference and new music festival, The Great Escape. Hosting the Alternative Escape showcase, GRL PWR, at Hotel Pelirocco – a diverse line up of mind-blowing females in music – Liberty Music PR have handpicked their top six acts to catch over the weekend at this year’s festival.

ADAL

Having played TGE last year as Phantom Runners, the ‘future pop’ collaborator is back again, this time premiering his new enigmatic moniker – ADAL. Expect modern pop that blends 80’s classics with 90’s RNB. Playing our GRL PWR stage, ADAL will be joined by 2016’s winner of the Women Make Music Award – Michelle O’ Faith, making it a performance not to be missed.

Catch Him: Thursday 18th, 20:00, Hotel Perlirocco

Cassels

Cul-de-sac Oxfordian brothers, Jim & Loz Beck, channel their youthful frustration and boredom into the music of Cassels. Signing to Big Scary Monsters, and emerging on the scene with a sound that integrates introspective and poetic lyricism with raw garage rock – we hope that TGE propels their unique sound of spoken word vocals and heavy instrumentation to the wider world.

Catch Them: Saturday 20, 15:30, Brighthelm Centre

Surma

Hailing from Leiria, Portugal – DΓ©bora Umbelino is the one-woman act known as Surma. Equipped with childlike vocals that echo Bjork, and a producer ear for found-sounds, Surma’s electronic fusion of rock and jazz results in an identity outside of familiar formulas. With her debut album being released this autumn, Surma’s exotically minimal and sonically rich TGE show is set to be an intimate affair to remember.

Catch Her: Friday 19th, 13.40, North Laine Brewhouse

NEWGEN

With Grime music’s recent re-birth, the genre soon became the noise of the youth. It was no surprise then when the Grime dominated TGE last year, with the likes of Skepta, JME, & Stormzy gracing the stage. This year the brainchild of GRM Daily’s Caroline Simoniescu-Marin, and XL Recordings comes to the festival. New Gen, originally a playlist that grew into a live night and radio show, is a project that captures the fast-changing London urban scene, handpicking new sounds that marriage grime with R&B.

Don’t Miss Out: Friday 19th, 23:00, Patterns (Upstairs & Downstairs)   

First Breath After Coma

Another Portuguese export, First Breath After Coma, who take their name from fellow post-rockers Explosions in the Sky, have a musical maturity that belies their youthful years. Their most recent album – ‘Drifter’ is a firm nod to Mogwai-esque post-rock, leaving the listener to dream and drift into sheer epicness. We can’t wait for the TGE audience to see this unmissable talent, and sink their teeth into their prestigious and anthemic raw sound, of one of the high hopes for Portuguese music.

They Play: Friday 19th, 15.20, North Laine Brewhouse

Jacques

Not all artists decide to give a TED Talk on why they have an unusual haircut style; then again Jacques is not an ordinary artist. His self-described ‘Transversal Techno’ merges Berlin Techno with French Touch, while is haircut is a challenge to shame, and an attempt to boost self-confidence. With a sound as unique as his appearance, incorporating nature recordings into kick and snare dance-beats, Jacques visit from across the Channel is not to be unseen, and is one of the late-night gems on TGE calendar.

Catch Him: Thursday 18th, 23.15, Komedia Studio

The Great Escape 2017 takes place in Brighton over three days, 18th-20th May 2017, showcasing 450 emerging artists from all over the world in 30+ walkable venues across the city.

Tickets and further information: www.greatescapefestival.com