The Future of Music 2023

Beyoncé also had the killer single for the year - the TikTok dance inspiring earworm that flooded the internet this year - of course touched by God of Disco - one Nile Rodgers - one of the most captivating choruses of all time.

1. Beyoncé - Cuff It / Break My Soul / Alien Superstar / Virgo's Groove / Summer Renaissance
2. Muse - Kill Or Be Killed / Won't Stand Down / Compliance
3. DJ Double CC + Azealia Banks - New Bottega
4. 4s4ki + gu^2 - Punish
5. Two Shell - Home / No Reply / Memory / Pods / Ghosts
6. Charli XCX - Beg For You / Baby / Used To Know Me / Constant Repeat / Hot In It w/ Tiësto
7. Weeknd - Sacrifice (SHM Remix) / Out of Time / Less Than Zero
8. FKA Twigs - Honda (ft Pa Salieu) / Papi Bones (ft Shygirl) / Jealousy (ft Rema) / Killer
9. Jockstrap - Debra / Jennifer B / Greatest Hits / Concrete Over Water
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Spitting Off The Edge Of The World / Wolf / Burning / Fleez

I've slightly changed the format this year - where in previous years I've done a longlist often of over 100 artists - while this year I decided to limit to circa 20 - where I ended up with 22 - to give the outliers a chance to appear higher in ensuing years.

As an example I think I first mentioned Fred Again in 2017 to 2018 - while in the meantime he's got fully solo - as well as producing killer tracks for Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Brian Eno, Roots Manuva and Swedish House Mafia even. You can think of him as being the new Calvin Harris somewhat! 

Brian Eno actually encouraged him to o solo - and he's produced a slew of killer 'soulful' dancefloor / house tracks as part of this 3-part sort of mixtape album series - Actual Life 1-3.

I said in the intro that this year's crop of upcoming artists had a very 'Soulful' and contemplative output - still hopeful, but not quite as exuberant as last year.

BBC named a number of artists I've already covered - including Cat Burns, Nia Archives and Piri & Tommy - where Gabriels have already had a killer album out which has been very well received - so several of those don't quality for 2023.

BBC namde FLO has top - who very much remind me of a sort of UK style TLC outfit. While I do feel they need a little more variety in their output - and they've still to produce a proper club banger as far as I'm concerned. BBC's favourite only ranks 5th here - but obviously all that is somewhat arbitrary and subjective to a degree.

Fred Again is the most inspirational for me - and that's why he's top!

As always I've tried to be as eclectic as possible - while 2023 is very much typified by a sort of modern R&B and Pop sensibility.

• Ladytron - Time's Arrow [January]
• Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You [February]
• Orbital - Optical Delusion [February]
• 100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs [March]
• Depeche Mode - Memento Mori [March]
• Fever Ray - Radical Romantics [March]
• Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd [March]
• Bat for Lashes - The Dream Of Delphi [TBC]
• Grimes - Book 1 [TBC]
• Rihanna - R9 [TBC]

A curated release schedule for the year - featuring yet more of my favourite artists!

• Anti-Flag - Lies They Tell Our Children
• The Arcs - Electrophonic Chronic
• Ava Max - Diamonds & Dancefloors
• Avatar - Dance Devil Dance
• Ayumi Hamasaki - Remember You
• The Bad Ends - The Power And the Glory
• Bass Drum of Death - Say I Won't
• The C.I.A. - Surgery Channel
• Circa Waves - Never Going Under
• Dave Rowntree - Radio Songs
• Deathprod - Compositions
• Ella Hooper - Small Town Temple
• Elle King - Come Get Your Wife
• Fireworks - Higher Lonely Power
• Fran - Leaving
• Fred Hersch / Esperanza Spalding - Alive at the Village Vanguard
• Fucked Up - One Day
• Gabrielle Alpin - Phosphorescent
• Gas Coombes - Turn the Car Around
• Guided by Voices - La La Land
• Hardy - The Mockingbird & The Crow
• The Id - The Inner Sounds of the Id
• Iggy Pop - Every Loser
• Inhaler - Cuts & Bruises
• James Yorkston, Nina Persson & The Second Hand Orchestra - The Great White Sea Eagle
• John Cale - Mercy
• Jordan Davis - Bluebird Days
• July Talk - Remember Never Before
• Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars
• Kimbra - A Reckoning
• King Tuff - Smalltown Stardust
• Ladytron - Time's Arrow
• Låpsley - Cautionary Tales of Youth
• Liela Moss - Internal Working Model
• Lukas Graham - 4 (The Pink Album)
• Mac DeMarco - Five Easy Hot Dogs
• Måneskin - Rush!
• Margo Price - Strays
• Meg Baird - Furling
• Moby - Ambient23
• The Murder Capital - Gigi's Recovery
• New Found Glory - Make the Most of It
• Obituary - Dying of Everything
• Orbital - Optical Delusion
• Riverside - ID.Entity
• Run the Jewels - RTJ QU4TRO
• RuPaul - Black Butter
• Ryuichi Sakamoto - 12
• Sam Smith - Gloria
• Samia - Honey
• Sightless Pit - Lockstep Bloodwar
• SG Lewis - AudioLust & HigherLove
• The Smashing Pumpkins - Atum: Act Two
• Tyler Hubbard - TBA
• Uriah Heep - Chaos & Colour
• VV - Neon Noir
• We Are Scientists - Lobes
• White Reaper - Asking for a Ride
• You Me at Six - Truth Decay
• YoungBoy Never Broke Again - I Rest My Case

• The Academic - Sitting Pretty
• Adam Lambert - High Drama
• Algiers - Shook
• All Out War - Celestial Rot
• Amber Arcades - Barefoot On Diamond Road
• Andy Shauf - Norm
• Anna B Savage - in|FLUX
• Begonia - Powder Blue
• Big Brave - Nature Morte
• Black Belt Eagle Scout - The Land, the Water, the Sky
• The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Your Future Is Your Past
• Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You
• Chase Rice - I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell
• David Brewis - The Soft Struggles
• Dope - Blood Money Part Zer0
• The Church - The Hypnogogue
• Civic - Taken by Force
• Colony House - The Cannonballers
• Delain - Dark Waters
• Ellie Goulding - Higher Than Heaven
• Gina Birch - I Play My Bass Loud
• The Go! Team - Get Up Sequences Part Two
• Godsmack - Lighting Up the Sky
• Gorillaz - Cracker Island
• Hope D - Clash of the Substance
• In Flames - Foregone
• Inhaler - Cuts & Bruises
• John Frusciante - . I : & : I I .
• Jonatan Leandoer96 - Sugar World
• Kelela - Raven
• Korn - Requiem Mass
• The Lathums - From Nothing to a Little Bit More
• Lucero - Should've Learned by Now
• Maps - Counter Melodies
• The Men - New York City
• Paramore - This Is Why
• Philip Selway - Strange Dance
• Pierce the Veil - The Jaws of Life
• Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Land of Sleeper
• Pile - All Fiction
• Pink - Trustfall
• Posh Swat - Posh Swat
• Quasi - Breaking the Balls of History
• Raye - My 21st Century Blues
• Rebecca Black - Let Her Burn
• Robert Forster - The Candle and the Flame
• Ron Sexsmith - The Vivian Line
• Secret Machines - The Moth, The Lizard, And The Secret Machines
• Shania Twain - Queen of Me
• Shame - Food for Worms
• Sløtface - TBA
• Steel Panther - On the Prowl
• Sunny War - Anarchist Gospel
• Tennis - Pollen
• Tiësto - Drive
• The Waeve (Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall) - The Waeve
• Xandria - The Wonders Still Awaiting
• Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World
• Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy

• 100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs
• August Burns Red - Death Below
• Babymetal - The Other One
• Black Honey - A Fistful of Peaches
• Bury Tomorrow - The Seventh Sun
• Chelsea Grin - Suffer in Heaven
• The Cold Stares - Voices
• Dawn Ray'd - To Know the Light
• Depeche Mode - Memento Mori
• DMA's - How Many Dreams?
• Dutch Uncles - True Entertainment
• Enslaved - Heimdal
• Fever Ray - Radical Romantics
• Frankie Rose - Love as Projection
• Haken - Fauna
• The HIRS Collective - We're Still Here
• Jen Closer - I Am the River, the River Is Me
• Kele - The Flames pt. 2
• Kate NV - Wow
• Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
• Liturgy - 93696
• Luke Combs - TBA
• Macklemore - Ben
• Miley Cyrus - Endless Summer Vacation
• Mimi Webb - Amelia
• Mo'Ju - TBA
• Ne Obliviscaris - Exul
• Nakhane - Bastard Jargon
• Otherwise - Gawdzillionaire
• Pop Evil - Skeletons
• Rival Sons - Darkfighter
• Ron Gallo - Foreground Music
• Rotten Sound - Apocalypse
• Severina - Sorry
• Story of the Year - Tear Me to Pieces
• Tanukichan - Gizmo
• Van Morrison - Moving On Skiffle
• Willie J Healey - Bunny

• Esben and the Witch - Hold Sacred
• Gabriels - Angels & Queens (USA)
• The Hold Steady - The Price Of Progress
• Kid Koala - Creatures Of The Late Afternoon
• Louis VI - EARTHLINGS
• Metallica - 72 Seasons
• Natalie Merchant - Keep Your Courage
• Neil Gaiman & FourPlay String Quartet - Signs of Life
• Overkill - TBA
• Powerwolf - Interludium
• The Smashing Pumpkins - Atum: Act Three
• Teleman - Good Time/Hard Time

• BRADIO - TBA
• Gord Downie and Bob Rock - Lustre Parfait
• Lewis Capaldi - Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent