Spotlight on... New Scottish Music in 2023

Last year was undeniably a great year for Scottish music. After taking the top spot in our 2021 Scottish Albums of the Year list, Hamish Hawk went on to to be shortlisted for the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year Award and he’s got a new album – Angel Numbers – due on 3 February. AiiTee and BEMZ received another nod from The SAY Award last year too, with BEMZ going on to receive wider recognition in the wider UK music scene with a win for best Breakthrough Vocalist/MC in the end of year 2022 DJ Mag Awards.

Rebecca Vasmant received her first nomination for a SAY Award with her debut album With Love, from Glasgow and Fergus McCreadie helped put Scottish jazz on the map with a SAY Award win and a Mercury Prize nomination. TAAHLIAH's Angelica won in the Best Independent EP/Mixtape category at the 2022 AIM Awards, and Kapil Seshasayee continued to dazzle with his politically charged, Bollywood-inspired album Laal, sure to be a contender for the 2023 SAY Award.

Other artists continued to excel throughout 2022, with the likes of Lizzie Reid, SHEARS, Billy Got Waves, Russell Stewart, Theo Bleak, AMUNDA, Medicine Cabinet and Echo Machine seeming to go from strength to strength, with the latter pair heading out on massive tours supporting Franz Ferdinand and Placebo respectively.

We’ve no doubt that all of these artists will continue to grow in 2023, but here we want to shine a spotlight on some other (mostly new) talent worth keeping your eyes and ears peeled for this year.

Berta Kennedy
Last October, Greenock’s Berta Kennedy was crowned the Sound of Young Scotland at the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year Award. The producer and singer-songwriter combines alt-pop and R’n’B to create something that sounds truly exciting. Her new EP is due this spring. Photo: Megan Henderson

Carsick Charlie
We were fortunate enough to get a sneaky first listen to the debut single, Finn, from the indie-folk project of Joseph Innes in December. Featuring sublime vocals from Bailey Greig, we are obsessed. Innes already has a stack of shows lined up this winter, as he heads out on tour across Europe with American outfit Florist. Photo: Honey Welch

Casual Worker
Influenced by the cold wave bands of the 80s, Glasgow’s Eve King and Hamish Wickham released their debut EP (Mousetrap) as Casual Worker in September 2022. Their warm and fuzzy electronics paired with King’s sublime vocals are simply outstanding. Their next EP is planned for February. Photo: Tammy Dyson

Humour
Formed during one of the many lockdowns of the past few years, Glasgow’s Humour are flatmates Andreas Christodoulidis, Jack Lyall, Ross Patrizio, Lewis Doig and Ruairidh Smith. They released their unhinged yet captivating post-punk debut EP, pure misery, at the end of November. Photo: Craig R McIntosh

KLEO
KLEO has been on our radar for a wee while now, but 2022 saw her step into the spotlight with a nomination for the Sound of Young Scotland at The SAY Award. With an epic new single at the end of 2022 from this half girl/half android singer-songwriter and producer, KLEO is one to watch for 2023. Photo by Nate Cleary Photography, styling by Saija Salminiitty Cleary and make up and prosthetics by Made Up By Samuel

naafi
Originally from Fife, naafi wrote some of TAAHLIAH’s award-winning Angelica EP, even providing vocals for the euphoric Brave; she also produced The Healer from Alliyah Enyo’s (also one to watch tbh) 2022 Echo’s Disintegration album. naafi has new mixes and original music planned for 2023, and what we’ve heard so far is stunning. Photo: Adam Stent (@saltyclam)

No Windows
The keen-eared among you may have caught this teen duo at Connect festival last August, or maybe at their sold-out headline show at Sneaky’s in December. Consisting of high school pals Morgan Morris and Verity Sangen, their shoegaze-indebted debut EP Fishboy is just the beginning. Photo: Rory Barnes

Psweatpants
Inspired by artists like Skepta, AJ Tracey and Vince Staples, rapper Psweatpants received nominations for Best Hip Hop artist at the 2022 SAMAs as well as a nomination for the Sound of Young Scotland at The SAY Award. Following a smattering of singles in 2022, and a support slot with BEMZ, Psweatpants is excited for 2023, as are we. Photo: Ellen Jennifer (@mac_eyee)

Queen of Harps
Scottish/Malaysian-Chinese rapper and harpist Anise Pearson, aka Queen of Harps, is doing something wholly unique on the Scottish music scene, creating a genre she calls ‘hip-hop-harp’. Following a well-received headline performance for AMPLIFI in December, Pearson plans to release her debut EP in 2023. Photo: Zindzi Hudson

Redolent
Redolent are hardly new kids on the block, but developments in 2022 saw the band grow to a five-piece, develop their own midi night (we should catch up if ur around) and sign to Columbia Records. So far, they’ve plans in 2023 for appearances at SXSW and The Great Escape, with a new EP due soon. Photo: Rory Barnes

Rosé Chrissy
Rosé Chrissy is Glasgow's answer to Cardi B. She played her first Edinburgh show as part of AMPLIFI back in October, and Chriss has so far only released two singles, with her latest (Savage) being an absolute banger and full of ‘hot girl shit’ energy. We’re excited to see how she grows in 2023. 

Sean Focus
Originally from Zimbabwe, Edinburgh-based Afrocentric artist Sean Focus has been putting out music for some time, and last summer was spotlighting others with his GRDN Sessions series. At the end of last year Focus headlined The Caves, released his bouncy album, A Good Time. A Great Time, and released a collaborative single with BEMZ, the mighty Raging Bull. Photo: Rod Penn

Terra Kin
Glasgow 23-year-old Terra Kin released their debut single, Flames, in October last year, followed swiftly by their debut EP, Too Far Gone. The record combines very humble and spacious compositions with a rich alt-jazz vocal that oozes with warmth and maturity. Photo: Kai Gillespie

Uninvited
Uninvited are Taylor-Ray Dillon, Gillian Dhlakama, Bex Young and Fiorenza Cocozza. Together, the four make infectious grunge-indebted pop-punk, and with both a SAMAs and Sound of Young Scotland nomination under their belt, the band have plans for a new EP in 2023 and are heading out on tour with Nova Twins. Photo: Sam Nahirny