for somebody who was born and raised just a few miles away. I can see the Wembley arch from my house. It is a dream come true.”
Another Londoner making waves this year is Little Simz, curator of Meltdown at the Southbank Centre. “It felt really important to invite a visionary who could bring deep integrity and a real sense of generational impact to the programme,” says Jane Beese, head of contemporary music at the venue. “Little Simz was undoubtedly that person. It’s been incredible to watch her over the past few years. She is creatively fearless and is always pushing into new territory on her own terms.” Simz, who will also headline her first arena shows in London and Manchester in October, is blazing a trail, says Beese. “Simz is showing the next generation what’s possible, not just as a performer,
“Central Cee selling out venues like The O2 is a real achievement for him and the team”
SHAUNI CABALLERO, SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING
but as a curator, a storyteller and a creative leader,” she says. The same could be said of Central Cee, who made his bow at The O2 in the wake of No.1 album Can’t Rush Greatness. Shauni Caballero, senior director, creative at Sony Music Publishing has been part of the rapper’s close-knit team from a very early stage, and is elated at his live impact. “Central Cee isn’t the first UK rapper to go on an arena tour and he won’t be the last, but selling out venues like Alexandra Palace and The O2 is a major achievement,” she says. “Live is also where Cench and the team have really shown their artistic capabilities. Having Sexxyy Red, Asake and Lil Baby, who are some of the biggest artists in the world, fly in to come out for him is nothing short of legendary and has put a huge spotlight on the UK rap scene. As more global stars show their support for him, the more we’ll see other international artists championing UK rap stars.” Such examples add up to a healthy situation right across the board, from hip-hop, to indie, to pop, to rock. “I think it just has to be good,” says Emma Banks when asked whether genre comes into play. “One week, everyone is all, ‘Rock is dead’ and the next minute there’s Sleep Token and Ghost and all of these artists doing huge business.” “It’s always been a slow burn for rock acts to get to arena level, but you look at acts like Bad Omens, Architects, Parkway Drive, Gojira, Ghost, they’re all arena-level acts now,” says Kamran Haq. “Those are the next bands that will make the step to top headliner status.”
That heavy rock bands can sit next to mainstream pop acts on festival bills is proof of how pop music has reinvented itself as a genre, one that Emma Banks says forges a strong emotional connection with its audience.
“Artists like Olivia Dean, Chappell Roan, Gracie Abrams, Charli, Dua Lipa, they are singing about real things,” says Banks. “I think young audiences are really enjoying the honesty that they are getting from their idols.” Alongside pop in its shapeshifting, varying forms, Steve Homer says there are also a lot more guitar bands coming to the fore than there were a few years ago.
“There are more people forming that gang together, when you look at Fontaines DC and how they’ve gone through the gears, or acts like Turnstile, there’s definitely a lot more guitars out there, which is not a bad thing in my view.” Arguably the breakthrough guitar act of the past few years is Sam Fender, who continues his stratospheric year with a run of sold-out stadium shows this month.
62 | Music Week
musicweek.com
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