Five emerging artists we can't wait to see live in London: From Alfie Templeman to Dutchavelli

Looking up: Taylor Skye and Georgia Ellery of Jockstrap
Maxwell Granger
Jochan Embley21 July 2020

It looks as if the moment all music fans have been waiting for is almost upon us. From August 1, the Government has given the green light for indoor gigs to return, provided the audiences are socially distanced.

It means that, for the first time in what feels like forever, venues will be able to do what they do best: host top-notch live music. There are still some hurdles to overcome — the Music Venue Trust has questioned whether many venues will be ready to stage an event by next month, and have called on the Government to provide subsidies to make up for the lack of income as a result of reduced capacities.

So, while there still might be a way to go in some cases, we can now at least start to think with some purpose about which artists we’re particularly excited to see live. Here, we’ve picked out five emerging acts, each of which are bound to own the stage once they can get back out on the road.

We’ll catch you at one of the gigs.

The best albums of 2020 so far

1/11

Alfie Templeman

We’re not sure what the sound of the summer will turn out to be in 2020 — maybe it’s the sound of tutting when someone isn’t wearing a facemask in Tesco? — but in any normal year, Alfie Templeman’s latest EP would stake a fair claim. Happiness In Liquid Form sees the 17-year-old wonderkid gobbling up a sugar-sweet medley of pop, funk, disco and soul, producing something deliciously fun. There’s plenty more to enjoy in his breezy bedroom-pop back catalogue, too.

Dutchavelli

“This guy looks like his parents slept with him when they were scared.” “When Dutchavelli goes to a club, he checks the bouncer’s ID.” “His dad’s name is Dutchavelli Jr”. Those are the first three comments on the YouTube video for Dutchavelli’s Only If You Knew. They’re obviously jokes, but it’s fair to say the Clapton rapper has a fearsome reputation — partly thanks to his looming physical figure, partly down to his cement-mixer vocal, and also because of his shoot-to-kill lyrics. He’s one of the most exciting UK talents to make it big in 2020, and we can’t wait to see how it all goes off at this next gig.

Squid

Brightonian five-piece Squid have been building hype for some time — early singles The Dial and Houseplants from 2018 and 2019 respectively showed how they could enliven post-punk tropes and give them a weird new shine. They were set to cement the hype with their biggest ever headline show at Scala in April but, obviously, that didn’t happen. They’ve been keeping the excitement up in the meantime, signing to Warp and releasing some killer new singles. That rescheduled gig in King’s Cross will be a must-see, especially when you find out Squid are one of those rare beasts: a band with a drummer who’s also the lead singer.

Jockstrap

Jockstrap’s music is created by chucking disparate noises at each other — whether that’s old-school balladry, disintegrating classical strings, electronic bleeps and squelches or a monstrously mutated vocal — and capturing the sparks. The duo of Taylor Skye and Georgia Ellery (the latter plays violin in Black Country, New Road, another exciting new outfit) met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and they put all that learned knowledge to thrilling use in entirely unconventional ways. Their latest EP, Wicked City, was superb — it’ll be fascinating to see how it all plays out live.

Lynks Afrikka

You can tell from the off that Lynks Afrikka doesn’t want to be taken too seriously. First off, there’s that name. And then there’s the title of their debut EP: Smash Hits, Vol 1. But it’s also that humorous side that makes Lynks Afrikka — the alter-ego of producer and performer Eliot Brett — so piercing. His avant-pop bangers tackle everything from gender conformity to the shackles of traditional career progression, never without a smirk. The live shows are a brilliant mash-up of music, stand-up, drag, theatre and more, the kind of bombastic spectacle we’ve missed during lockdown.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in