2011 was a stellar year for Wild Beasts, with the release of their third, highly-acclaimed album, Smother (the follow-up to 2010’s Mercury-nominated Two Dancers)....

Roots Manuva has typified the sound of UK hip-hop for over a decade. 2001’s ‘Witness (1 Hope),’ has become something of an anthem....

Patrick Wolf is one of the world’s born performers and his latest album, Lupercalia is possibly the finest display of his craft....

The Felice Brothers take the age-old notion of wine, women, whiskey and song and take it up a notch....

Do they really need any introduction? Well, just in case; Toots and the Maytals are legends in the world of reggae, ska and roots music....

Factory Floor have been around since 2005 and the music press have been skittering on about them for a few years....

Ghostpoet (aka Obaro Ejimiwe) tip-toed his way gently into the nation’s collective consciousness last year, with the release of ‘Liines’ and ‘Survive It’....

The king of deep house comes to Beacons with a bag full of his finest soulful vibes....

Maya Jane Coles is a London-based producer and DJ. She ended 2011 perched at the top of pretty much every dance publication’s ‘Best Of’ lists....

Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis (ex-Numbers) formed Peaking Lights from a melting pot of influence....

Released in July 2011, It’s All True is Junior Boys’ fourth album; a soulful break-up album....

Errors have been knocking around Glasgow since 2004 and quickly found themselves a home on the city’s veritable Rock Action Records....

David Kennedy aka Pearson Sound (and also aka Ramadanman) has been a leading light in bass music of late....

Andrew Weatherall needs no introduction, he's known all over the world for his production and DJ abilities and his constant change in persona....

Lunice Fermin Pierre II has a lot of tricks up his sleeve but don’t be expecting anything resembling subtlety....

Cloud Nothings’ second album, Attack on Memory finds this Cleveland band in fine form, with a heavier take on the lo-fi pop of their debut....

Borne of Leeds’ stellar jazz scene, Submotion Orchestra bridge the gap between modern jazz and dubstep....

DJ Oneman has been credited by many as reinventing old school garage with his high-level DJ-ing skills....

South Londoner Jessie Ware has already cemented herself as one of the freshest talents to emerge from the UK underground....

Never one to do things by the book, Cass McCombs isn’t your average singer-songwriter....

Folk at its finest. Willy Mason’s songs are tales of dustbowl heartache, played out slow, strings howling in the distance....

Gross Magic is the nom de plume for Sam McGarrigle, a Brighton-based boy channelling the spirit of the happy slacker, with his carefree adolescent pop....

Glasgow-based producer Koreless makes 2-step that’s just as likely to break your heart as it is to wear in your trainers....

Cutting and splicing found sounds and field recordings, Clock Opera weaves these sounds into majestic, Elbow-like arrangements....

Manchester’s Darren Williams provides the blissed out soul; cutting and splicing  the world’s discarded record collections into something brand new....

The man behind D/R/U/G/S creates euphoric trance-tinged dance music that recalls a bygone era....

Bok Bok (aka Alex Sushon) likes a challenge. In 2007, he released his 69 Allstars mix; 69 grime tunes done and dusted in 60 minutes....

XXXY’s mother knows him as Rupert Taylor. The city of Manchester knows him as one of their finest label-hopping, genre-chopping producers....

The band formerly known as Christian AIDS (until a well-known charity put an end to the gag), Stay+ are a Manchester duo....

Jacuzzi Boys are, in their a three man “rock and roll party sexiness” machine (courtesy of recent Daytrotter session), from Miami Florida....

The sisters Thurlow are a sultry pair, with substance under all that style....

With a voice that belies his teenage years, King Krule is a dreamer....

Jam City has a home on Bok Bok’s Night Slugs label, who release his icy mash of grime, dubstep and house....

Signed to Warp Records, Kwes makes gentle, art-felt electronica that manages to sound both piecemeal and wholesome, all at once. ...

Frankie & The Heartstrings are a 5-piece band from Sunderland. Their first single, ‘Hunger/Fragile’ was released at the beginning of 2010....

Formed in 1998, near Loughborough, The Wave Pictures release their twelfth album, Long Black Cars, this year (on Moshi Moshi Records)....

Stopmakingme (aka Daniel Avery) has long since proved his worth as a DJ....

Having jolted the nation awake with the release of the brilliant ‘Two Islands’ last year, Outfit have been propelled from a clutch of Liverpool bands....

Vocalist Tessa Murray met songwriter Greg Hughes in a chance encounter stepping off a London train that had taken the wrong route....

They might hail from London but you’d be forgiven for assuming that Mazes had arrived on these shores via the beaches of California....

Theme Park are a band made up of twin brothers Marcus and Miles, plus friends, Louis, Oscar and Ben....

Weird Dreams emerged in a sea of hyperbole a couple of years ago. It’s one of those times that it’s OK to believe the hype....

Leeds’ Hookworms released their cacophonous debut EP last year, the spirit of three-chord rock and roll....

Eagulls are absolutely brutal. If you’ve seen them live - and you’ll remember them if you have - then you’ll know....

Willis Earl Beal is one of life’s born performers and his live shows are characterised by a serious intensity and unpredictability. You never know quite...

Mining an ‘80’s electro vein, Au Palais is a brother-sister duo (David and Elise) from London....

Adopting the affectionate nickname for their home town of Boscombe near Bournemouth, there’s more than a hint of the surf in their sound....

Three fresh-faced Aussies churning out three minute-three chord slacker jingles. BKC are a seriously fun live band, careering through their songs....

This Brighton-based trio are a three-man, multitasking wall of sound. Their ranging, spidery songs veer between gentle, layered melody and a raucous knees-up....

One of Leeds’ gnarliest exports, Blacklisters released their debut album on Brew Records in April....