For the past year we’ve been reaching out to friends of NME to take part in our Home Sessions series – stripped-back performances from bedrooms, gardens, and, er, wherever Remi Wolf lives, showcasing artist’s latest releases. These sessions may well be some of the few performances these musicians were able to partake in during the past year.
The launch of our NME 100 list – essential new music for the upcoming year – provides yet another opportunity for you lot, avid new music fans, to meet the future of music with some banging live performances. We’ve gone from Bradford to Melbourne and Zurich in this collection of live sessions from NME 100 alumni – expect Depop shoutouts, literal garage-rock mania and much, much more.
Baby Queen
Who: Sharp, sugary alt-pop smashers that dissect modern life from 23-year-old Bella Latham
What NME said: “Baby Queen is a thoroughly modern artist as her effervescent tunes fuse the pop hooks of The 1975 with glittering production, coupling them with her satirical, drawling vocals.”
Look out for: As she airs two songs from recently-released debut EP ‘Medicine’, two photos of her hero Taylor Swift adorn the walls; little wonder that parallels can be drawn between her own songwriting and that of Taylor’s narrative-led diary entries.
Bad Boy Chiller Crew
Who: Bradford boyos quickly becoming icons for a new rave-loving generation
What NME said: “Garage lads BBCC are endearing goofballs who make megabangers packed with their screwball sense of humour (from breakout song ‘450’: “PC Plonker drives like my grandad”) that will make you long to get mashed.”
Look out for: A brand new song from the lads, ‘Clothes’ opens up their two-song performance. What a treat.
Enny
Who: Slick, soulful and spellbinding bars from one of London’s top rap prospects
What NME said: “Determined to be a positive force in the UK music scene, the rapper and singer is aiming to inspire those who understand the struggles of living in a world where your voice isn’t heard – when the rest of the world ignores us, Enny speaks for us all.”
Look out for: Coming live and direct from a cosy chair in the Total Refreshment Centre in Hackney, the Londoner showcases the slinky ‘Vibeout’ as well as ‘Peng Black Girls’, one of last year’s freshest debuts.
Holly Humberstone
Who: “Existential yet optimistic indie-pop from Grantham’s rising songwriting star”
What NME said: “Humberstone’s sound is just as new and exciting to hear when it’s bolstered by synths and drums as it is when it’s stripped back to just her tender vocals and an acoustic guitar.”
Look out for: For this performance, it’s the latter. Having toured massive venues with Lewis Capaldi – including Wembley Arena, gulp! – we catch Holly halfway up the stairs for her performance. Eat yer heart out, Robin.
Priya Ragu
Who: Experimental electro-pop that defies borders and genres
What NME said: “Co-created with her rapper brother Japhna Gold, it’s a compelling taste of their ‘Raguwavy’ sound, which honours ‘90s legends The Fugees as much as the pair’s Sri Lankan heritage.”
Look out for: Debut single ‘Good Love 2.0’ carries an unmistakable groove, and it’s put to good use for their cover of ‘Ey Sandakaara’, from the 2016 film Irudhi Suttru.
R.A.E
Who: Feel-good ‘90s rap from Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition winner
What NME said: “R.A.E (which stands for ‘Rising Above Everything’) is the serotonin shot that your 2021 playlist needs. Determined to take us back to the heady days of ‘90s R&B and hip-hop, the MC’s uplifting flows and nostalgic videos land somewhere between a UK version of Nickelodeon’s Kenan & Kel and Salt-N-Pepa’s ‘Push It’.”
Look out for: The sheer confidence dripping from every bar – there’s little surprise R.A.E.’s live performance bagged her a slot at the next edition of Glastonbury.
Romero
Who: Bold power-pop straddling emotional drama and riotous fun
What NME said: “Their riffs might be front and centre and turned up loud, but this Aussie bunch can’t hide their big pop hooks. Frontwoman Alanna Oliver possesses a voice that’s rich and subtly theatrical, adding both an air of class and urgency to the walls of sound that have already scored Romero a hefty slice of attention, despite only having shared three songs so far.”
Look out for: The Melbourne band tear through ‘Honey’ at a simply astonishing pace – it’ll make you miss pogoing at a sweaty club immensely.
Rose Gray
Who: The rave-lovin’ wordsmith making euphoric soul-pop
What NME said: “Noting Primal Scream, Massive Attack and Saint Etienne as key influences, East London’s rave-pop queen Rose Gray is making carefree music for the downtrodden. Blending her entrancing, soulful vocals with dancefloor melodies and catchy pop hooks, Gray injects a breezy optimism into tracks like ‘Same Cloud’ and ‘Save Your Tears’.”
Look out for: It’s not much, but the eye-boggling backdrop emboldens the psych edges heard on debut EP ‘Save Your Tears’ as Gray’s hypnotic vocals are matched with by colourful visual palette.
The NME 100: Essential emerging artists for 2021 – read and listen to the full list