The Definitive Sound Of 2014 - Part 2

Following on from my previous predictions about the general state of and developments in music over the next year, I thought I'd highlight a few artists that you should definitely keep your eye on over the next 12 months, picking from mainly the electronic end of the music spectrum. Although some of the people are by no means new, for all of the artists involved, it's fair to say you can expect a few big things along the way! As in the reels of terms & conditions attached to every legal document, these ideas are not guarantees, just fairly accurate and lightly whimsical speculation. Here's to the future.

The Prodigy Finally Release 'Jetfighter'
Everyone's favourite big beat, electronic based stadium rockers The Prodigy have come a long way since their classic rave days, utterly rejecting any labels thrown at them in favour of a fresh, dirty, raw sound and 2014 should see the next evolution of this beast. Snappily titled 'How To Steal A Jetfighter' in the interim before any official announcements, has had so many teases, hints, headline shows and photos of Hugo Drax dolls that the wait is nearly unbearable. However, current internet whisperings seem to suggest a return for Keef, Maxim and Liam on fine form, along with a fair few headline gigs on the way.

Electropop Becomes the new Nu-Garage
Where 2013 was all about flashbacks to the 90s, this year is heralding the rise of what should finally be an acceptance of my preferred mode of pop music, dreamy and ambient electropop. Bands and singers such as Alpines, Say Lou Lou, LIGHTS and Little Dragon should flourish in a new wave of female based talent, while M83 might crack out a few new tunes (or at least raise awareness that he's done whole albums worth of quality before Eric Prydz remixed Midnight City). Seriously, Saturdays = Youth is the most underrated / underlistened piece of uplifting nostalgia to grace electronic music in such a long time.

Enter Shikari Will Conquer The World
Three albums in and still spreading their sonic rays of excellence across all they survey, Enter Shikari are known for a raucous live show and the ability to write songs however the fuck they want. Their also a band that never stops writing, (in between albums 2 and 3, we got a remix album with 3 new tracks and 2 new singles with remixes to boot,) and post A Flash Flood Of Colour they set about some new tracks with gusto, the blistering, blink and you'll miss it Paddington Frisk a personal favourite. What we know about their new album is this; it'll be heavy, it'll have electronics, it will probably kick ass. That's good enough for me. Or it'll be a 90 minute Acid Jazz meets old school hip hop meets metallica concept job. It'd still probably kick ass though.

Flo Rida Will Launch Beamz: (ReFloed)
For those who didn't catch the beauty of the Beamz By Flo, it was proof that a talentless rapper can't sell a second rate theremin that has admittedly worked wonders in psychological recovery help sessions (but not as much in your next family gathering), and that the internet can make a company attempt to reverse it's own marketing given enough derision. I'd like to see some new, multi beamed, refloed, maybe an ICEfloe brand that can provide the internet with some new targets to satirize. Or maybe a new celebrity endorsement, such as Limp Beamzket, Justin Beamzber or FloorBeamz.

Music Videos Continue To Tie In Liquor For Songs Marketed To Kids
Cause whats better than the idea of a generic party, sipping on bottles, promising a sweet 16 where you can drink up all of the (Insert unobtainable brand of expensive alcohol). Perhaps the idea that in reality, music should not be a business with paid endorsements to pour gratuitous levels of drpepsicokefantupspritpepper across a screen but a genuine art form, interested in more than the paycheque on the executive's desk. The joy, emotional response and inspiration that music as an art form provides is what makes it wonderful. It's a universal reaction, regardless of genre, from the crooning of Prince, the riffs of Queen, Muse & Slipknot, to listening to the full 10 minute mix of Strobe, at 2am and finding philosophical enlightenment.  More art, less corporatism, please?

Reading Festival Will Be Awesome
If not, having missed last years stellar line up, I'm going to be gutted, since it's already pretty much a permanent fixture in my diary! Plus, Arctic Monkeys are headlining, so I shall look good on that dancefloor.