What were your top music discoveries of the year and why?

These are mine, in no particular order:

1) Harts

Best debut album I've heard in a long time. The kid's probably going to have a long and great career ahead of him.

2) Laura Mvula

Beautifully crafted album, different, refreshing. Whenever I wanted something chill to listen to she was one of my go-to's this year.

3) Camille

She's been around for a while, but I just discovered her this year. French, extremely unique style, she has creativity oozing out of her pores. She has an album in english as well. If you took traditional french chanson and made it beautifully schizophrenic, that'd be her.

4) Asegir

We had a thread here about favorite non-english musicians and someone posted this guy, and when I checked him out I loved his voice and style.

I only had one exciting musical discovery in 2014 - Avery Sunshine. Nice to know there are still a few artists out there doing some good ole down-home soul sangin'!

FKA TWIGS

SUN KIL MOON

LIARS

ARIEL PINK

TIMBRE TIMBRE

My Brightest Diamond

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Honeyblood

Glindathegood said:

My Brightest Diamond

Shara is great. I've been a fan since the first album and have seen her live many times.

Top five artists I heard for the first time this year:



Temples


FKA Twigs


September Girls


Haunted Hearts


First Aid Kit

Harts

Great thread.

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I discovered Jarle Bernhoft early in 2014 after coming across this YouTube video of him with a loop machine:

https://www.youtube.com/w...orLAolNCtY

Bought his first album, Ceramik City Chronicles. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

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His follow-up 2-disc set, 1 Man 2 Band, is great. 1 disc of him live, solo, and another with a full band.

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After another studio and live disc, he dropped Islander this summer. It's up for bet R&B album at the Grammys.

.

.

Give Bernhoft a shot - you'll be glad you did.

[Edited 12/31/14 16:48pm]

sexton said:

Glindathegood said:

My Brightest Diamond

Shara is great. I've been a fan since the first album and have seen her live many times.

I saw her live this year too. She was amazing. She did this great cover of Fever and came down into the audience.

Two other bands I discovered this year were Radkey, 3 African American teenagers who are also brothers who do punk/alternative rock and Mormon Crosses and White Lung too 90's alternative influenced bands who did a joint tour together.

[Edited 12/31/14 17:47pm]

This is more an "enriched discovery," since I've owned Goldfrapp's stuff for years. But I have been absolutely swooning lately by the musicality I'm suddenly noticing in this band's catalog.

I decided to really listen to Seventh Tree in early December, and that album is so rich with thoughtful lyrics, arresting compositions and chord progressions, brilliant vocal phrasings, etc. that I feel like I could spend several more months slowly unpacking it one song at a time. And the band's appreciation for visual aesthetic, too, serves all the more to deliver not just a sound, but a perfect trippy, '70s English countryside mood to the entire project. Just lovely.

[Edited 1/2/15 9:16am]

Lammastide said:

This is more an "enriched discovery," since I've owned Goldfrapp's stuff for years. But I have been absolutely swooning lately by the musicality I'm suddenly noticing in this band's catalog.

I decided to really listen to Seventh Tree in early December, and that album is so rich with thoughtful lyrics, arresting compositions and chord progressions, brilliant vocal phrasings, etc. that I feel like I could spend several more months slowly unpacking it one song at a time. And the band's appreciation for visual aesthetic, too, serves all the more to deliver not just a sound, but a perfect trippy, '70s English countryside mood to the entire project. Just lovely.

[Edited 1/2/15 9:16am]

Seventh Tree is my favorite album of theirs. I find Tales Of Us to be almost as equally sublime.

sexton said:

Lammastide said:

This is more an "enriched discovery," since I've owned Goldfrapp's stuff for years. But I have been absolutely swooning lately by the musicality I'm suddenly noticing in this band's catalog.

I decided to really listen to Seventh Tree in early December, and that album is so rich with thoughtful lyrics, arresting compositions and chord progressions, brilliant vocal phrasings, etc. that I feel like I could spend several more months slowly unpacking it one song at a time. And the band's appreciation for visual aesthetic, too, serves all the more to deliver not just a sound, but a perfect trippy, '70s English countryside mood to the entire project. Just lovely.

[Edited 1/2/15 9:16am]

Seventh Tree is my favorite album of theirs. I find Tales Of Us to be almost as equally sublime.

I love the cinematic feel of Tales of Us. It's sort of like the sophisticated older sister of Felt Mountain. I'm guessing you've seen the short film. If so, how was it?

Seventh Tree is just amazing. Even something as small as the way Alison pronounces the word "Dream" in the chorus of "Road to Somewhere" -- is just... wow. I've come across MikeMantronik's old threads about the album, and it breaks my heart I am too late to contribute to those discussions.

Best new artist-breakthrough 2014

SAMPHA

This was the track of the year.

Also discovered SBTRKT, their last album had some great songs (also feat Sampha on vocals)

AND

MNEK

Released 4 of the best songs of 2014. 4 soul & r&b classics.

Like Sampha, MNEK composes the melody & sings his songs

[Edited 1/3/15 3:41am]

Ariane Grande
Taylor Swift
Drak...

yeah, just kidding, Harts all the way, #1.

Definitely Harts.

Country singer Tami Neilson

Kimbra, all day!

benjaminira said:

Kimbra, all day!

I just heard the Harts album too after everyones posts. Damm!

benjaminira said:

Kimbra, all day!

I just heard the Harts album too after everyones posts. Damm!

Jacob Banks

Maxine Ashley

Lammastide said:

sexton said:

Seventh Tree is my favorite album of theirs. I find Tales Of Us to be almost as equally sublime.

I love the cinematic feel of Tales of Us. It's sort of like the sophisticated older sister of Felt Mountain. I'm guessing you've seen the short film. If so, how was it?

The short film was just a collection of video clips for six of the songs from the album. I don't believe there was any unifying theme to them beyond all looking very dreamlike. "Annabel", if I remember the running order correctly, was the final video and had the most impact. The videos were followed by an in-studio live performance. It was cool seeing Goldfrapp on a giant cinema screen.

All of these, by the way, are available for purchase on iTunes minus the video portion of the live performance--which in my opinion loses something when that visual element is removed.

FKA Twigs

Jack Garratt

Jessie Ware

Raury

Estere

Fabienne

Wet

Oh Wonder

Eliot Sumner

For me -strange enough- it was the Talking Heads. I've always known them and grew up during their heyday but back then their music never really clicked with me. This year a good friend of mine had discovered their albums after knowing them for at least 30 years and played me two of their albums. Like him I was instantly sold, and I am a big fan of them eversince!