BBC Sound of 2014 - The Longlist

The BBC Sound of 2014 Longlist has been announced and the top 5 artists will be revealed in the next couple of days.

The longlist is:

• Banks
• Chance The Rapper
• Chloe Howl
• Ella Eyre
• FKA Twigs
• George Ezra
• Jungle
• Kelela
• Luke Sital-Singh
• MNEK
• Nick Mulvey
• Royal Blood
• Sam Smith
• Sampha
• Say Lou Lou

The list is heavy on solo artists with only one 'band', the duo Royal Blood. Arguably Say Lou Lou and Jungle can be tenuously added but that is about it...2014 is all about 'individuals'.

The stand-out talent in this year's fifteen is the brilliant Luke Sital-Singh with a trio of impressive EPs: Tornados, Old Flint and Fail For You. His vocals and songwriting skills from 2013 are clear to see. The gorgeous angelic soundscapes of Say Lou Lou also impress although their back catalogue is limited, while Sampha shows promise with Dual. Sam Smith is an incredible vocalist but the songs have yet to appear.




Royal Blood, George Ezra and Nick Mulvey stand-out as everyone else falls into the same category: over-produced, unemotional R&B. Banks adds a dark edge and Chloe Howl brings the ladette charm (No Strings is excellent) but it's all very uninspired this year.