Sound of 2014 BBC Music Sound Of

Hello. I'm Annie Mac, and this is The Sound of 2014, where I will be

introducing you to 15 of the most exciting new music acts in the world.

Over the next half-hour, we will be meeting some of those people,

we will be exploring their lives up to this point

and, most importantly, we will be hearing their music.

We'll also be talking to some previous winners,

Haim and Ellie Goulding.

Right now, though, let's go behind the scenes of BBC Radio 1

and meet the 15 acts on the list.

# This moment has caused

# A reaction... #

You know him already from his work with Disclosure and Naughty Boy,

but just in case you haven't guessed, here's a taste from his latest EP.

# Oh, you take me to nirvana... #

Sam Smith, let's talk about the last year

and some of the highlights that have been going on for you.

Obviously you did Later... with Jools which was a big moment.

- Let's talk about that experience. - I look scared on that.

Like, I had my phone trying to play the beginning note

so I wouldn't forget it.

# Now I got you in my space

# I won’t let go of you... #

You're on this list because there's high hopes for this debut album

and what's on it. People have heard enough of your music

to know it's going to be special.

Tell us a little bit about what we can expect on the record.

Em, I've never been in a relationship ever, never had a partner,

and I wanted to write an album for people

who go through that unrequited love, people who are lonely.

I hope this album is the voice that I never had, if you get what I mean.

This... I never had bodies of work that would speak to me in this way.

Another great vocalist and songwriter who's already given us collaborations

with Tinie Tempah and Rudimental amongst others,

the untameable Ella Eyre, and this, her first solo venture, is Deeper.

# I can't see it, I don't feel it

# I need to dig a little deeper

# I can't say that I won't say it back

# I need to dig a little deeper... #

# Don't think about it too much Too much... #

He's collaborated with Drake and SBTRKT,

and it's a pleasure to see him on the BBC Sound of 2014 list.

It's the incredible Sampha.

# Don’t think about it too much Too much, too much, too much... #

He's been named one of the hottest new MCs by Rolling Stone magazine

and now he's made it onto the BBC Sound of 2014 list.

Hailing from Chi-town, Chicago, it's Chance The Rapper.

# ..to me for, like, 20 pounds

# I think my English's getting real, real bad

# ..said I'm real, real bad

# No sprechen Sie dumb But I'm real, real good

# Dark-skinned Mike But I still feel bad... #

- George Ezra, how are you doing? - Brilliant, thank you.

Obviously, you're not completely new to a lot of people.

People will have seen you perform live

and you can claim Glastonbury as an experience you've already had.

I mean, tell us, how was that?

That was my first festival I ever played. Which is... That's weird.

# Give me one good reason

# Why I should never make a change

# And, baby, if you hold me

# Then all of this will go away... #

I'd never been to Glastonbury,

so for my first time to go to Glastonbury

and my first festival to play to be Glastonbury was quite strange.

# If you just say the words I'll up and run

# Oh, to you, oh, you... #

It felt like everyone was on my side. It was really nice.

And it's the first time that

I could see people singing along to songs and I was...

It was brilliant. But that means a lot of the footage is me grinning!

# Give me one good reason

# Why I should never make a change... #

One of the great things about this list

is I know that we'll have so much more time to catch up

as music gets finished and sessions get booked and everything else,

so basically prepare yourself for more me.

- Brilliant. - Good to see you.

Thank you.

And this is Kelela.

Featuring a fantasy team of cutting-edge producers,

her mixtape Cut 4 Me came to the fore in October 2013.

# Taking me higher

# Come back... #

# Cry your eyes out... #

Hailing from south-west London, it's Luke Sital-Singh.

# We all hurt

# We all lie

# And nothing stays the same... #

# It feels better in the dark

# It feels better in the dark... #

Better in the Dark

by Swedish-Australian twin sister act Say Lou Lou.

# Nothing can come between us... #

# What if I never even see you Cos we’re both on a stage... #

And fresh from LA is Banks.

# Don’t tell me listen to your song, because it isn’t the same

# I don’t wanna say your love is a waiting game... #

# I've seen a day

# No more to pay... #

And this is Nick Mulvey.

This is a song we've lived with and loved on this show for a long time.

And to be playing it in relation to the BBC Sound of 2014

is a great feeling.

# You see me waiting

# Always waiting to get paid

# Darling, we cannot give it too much away... #

# So come on over

# When I touch, you start bleeding

# So come on over

# There's no God and I don't really care... #

Thank goodness you guys are on it,

for many reasons, one of which, we think you guys make the most

glorious melodic racket, so, Royal Blood, congratulations.

- Thanks very much. - Thank you.

# There's no God and I don't really care... #

A lot of people think there's guitars on the recordings.

But it's just Ben hitting his drums as hard as possible

and me playing the bass.

# Mmmm, Papi pacify

# Pacify my love... #

There is nothing predictable about the BBC Sound of 2014,

and this certainly rings true for the remarkable FKA twigs.

# Mmmm, Papi pacify

# Pacify our love, love

# Ooh, ooh, ooh, won't you clarify?

# Clarify our love... #

# I know I can't get you home... #

Hailing from west London, Jungle.

# Yeah

# I know I can't get you home

# No, no

# I can't feel the heat

# No... #

# Tell me, am I the type... #

And, for me,

no list of remarkable new music talent would be complete without him.

He's the incredible MNEK.

# Should I carry on?

# Or should I say no more?

# All of the things running through my mind... #

# I'm just tryin' to work out

# How to be like myself

# I'm just tryin' to work out

# These cards I've been dealt... #

Chloe Howl, where did music feature into your life,

when did it come a priority for you?

Em, I guess, well, I was always singing from when I was tiny,

from when I was, like, a toddler.

But I think when I got to about 13 was when I first started,

like, trying to write songs and learning to write songs, and I think

that was kind of the moment I was like, "This is what I want to do."

# I'm just tryin' to work out

# These cards I've been dealt. #

So interesting to meet these artists just on the cusp of success,

just when anything can happen to them.

Now, let's find out a bit more

about how these acts actually get on the list.

To do that, we are going to introduce to you

just a couple of the 170 people who vote.

Butterflies in the pit of your stomach, that's the kind of feeling

that I get when I hear something new that I really, really like.

And recently I got that feeling

the first time that I heard MNEK's collaboration with Gorgon City.

# Oh, I'm ready for your love

# I'm ready for your love

# Yeah, yeah

# I'm ready for your love I'm ready for your love... #

Even though he's, you know, written and produced for the likes of

The Saturdays, he's collaborated with Duke Dumont,

he's collaborated with Rudimental, he's written for pretty much

every big artist out there at this moment in time,

or produced or worked with them,

this is still very much stage one of MNEK.

# This is when I lose my balance

# This is when I lose all control... #

He loves his chicken, we love our chicken,

we've shared lots of chicken together.

We're chicken lovers.

# The challenge I can call my own... #

I met MNEK when I think he was, like, 15.

We got along, started making music together

and immediately realised that this guy is a bit of a prodigy.

At 15, he was making beats and writing songs.

Really quickly. So he's kind of been a long-term collaborator for us.

He's still really young now, isn't he?

- 19. - Only just turned 19.

You wouldn't believe it.

# ..Fall

# I think I'm about to fall... #

People think I'm a new artist

but really, I mean, I have been doing it five years.

And, I guess, in that five years,

I have kind of grown up in the industry almost.

# ..Dee da ah-ah ah... #

Patience is a virtue because, you know,

I'd so many times that I really wanted to just get on with my career

and get on with me being an artist, and really I wasn't ready until now.

Uh, and it was, like, my management and the people round me saying that

your time will come.

BACKING SINGERS: # ..Deeper and deeper... #

My favourite way to find out about new artists is through other artists.

# I promise I can grow tall

# When making love is free... #

FKA twigs,

I think she's amazing in her song Water Me.

I remember when the video came out,

I just, like, couldn't stop crying looking at it.

# ..I, I, I, I, I

# I, I, I, I, I... #

# And the ghoulish entities

# They'll come floating through the wall... #

Oh...Sampha.

# ..Ghostly enemies

# They'll come floating through your door... #

We've seen him with SBTRKT,

we've seen him a bit with Jessie Ware,

we've seen him with Drake now,

and Sampha, just Sampha by himself,

is enough for me. I can't wait to see what he does in 2014.

# ..Whoo-oo-ooh... #

HE FREESTYLES

# I've been waiting all night for you to... #

The first time I heard Ella, I was like, "Ooh..."

It gave me a little sort of funny feeling in my stomach,

um, that hopefully wasn't trapped wind.

# ..Tell me that you want me... #

I remember when she first came to the studio

and started singing and I was just like, "Wow."

# ..Tell me that you need me

# Tell me that you want me... #

And what's great about Ella is that she sounds like

a southern 1960s soul singer,

and then you see her and she's, you know,

a 2014 west London girl.

Right, let's go absolutely mental on this!

# ..Tell me that you need me... #

The very first Live Lounge we did was...

it was really early on when I first started working with the boys.

# ..Tell me that you want me... #

And it was amazing cos I had no stylings

and I was wearing this jumper from my mum's wardrobe.

A lot of people were backing me up and going,

"But it's not about what she wears, it's how it sounds."

And it was really encouraging from such an early stage for me.

The adrenaline was incredible.

It was wicked.

# ..Yeah, yeah, yeah. #

# You made a fool out of me

# Took the skin off my back, honey

# Don't breathe when I talk

# Cos you haven't been spoken to... #

I voted for Royal Blood because they are one of the best bands I saw live.

# ..A bullet with your name on it... #

And Out Of The Black is just the most incredible riff,

noise, passionate feast of a song

I've heard for a while and I love it.

MUSIC ENDS

We spoke to some previous winners, as well as some of this year's nominees,

to find out what life is like when you're one to watch.

# I know it's gonna be

# Oh, it

# Oh, ee-ee, ooh-ooh, be-ee... #

Bearing in mind I went straight from, like, just writing songs on my guitar

in a bedroom to travelling the world and doing interviews,

and being photographed, and I didn't really understand what was happening,

it's quite hard to take all that stuff in,

in the beginning.

# ..But I don't think I need you

# Oh, ooh-ooh. #

# For ever I try to make it right

# But together we saw the end in sight

# I'm tired of fighting the good fight

# If you say the word then I'll say goodbye... #

We have a really big connection to

- The Sound Of... - 2013.

- ..2013 because... - We won.

..we won.

It's still so crazy, I think, to us that we actually won it.

We heard about it. We had a sister hug, and then

we went right back into the studio.

- We've got to make this record. - Now we really have to

- finish our record. Let's go. - Huzzah!

# ..For ever we try, for ever we try

# Huh

# For ever we try

- # For ever we try... # - Yeah!

I kind of feel now that we're like seniors now.

- Yeah, it's like we graduated. - It's like we graduated and now,

2014, the freshman class is here.

# ..The pieces while you watched me... #

I have a Zane Lowe session at Maida Vale Studios,

which I've been excited about since I found out I was going to do it.

And then tonight I'm opening for The Weeknd at the O2 Arena.

# ..You'd say, "Baby, don't go"... #

Hi, guys.

Everything that I've ever written about,

it's been so personal to me

but now it's like it's out. I feel like I'm just

opening myself up to everyone.

That's a huge change for me.

# Baby, don't go

# I didn't know

# I'll change, I swear

# I'll change, I swear

# Baby, don't go

# I'll make you wait

# I promise I'll be better All of these things. #

# Oh, did you steal my name Oh, you jack of all trades... #

You forget that there's however many people listening to the radio

and it's not just iTunes or my mum playing the CD, or whatever.

You know, having somebody like Zane and the other DJs playing Budapest

and Did You Hear The Rain, it's brilliant.

# ..Oh, did you hear the rain?

# Oh, the rain? Whoo... #

# Calling, calling, calling, yeah

# I'm calling, calling, calling... #

Huw Stephens played me in the very early days and that's...

Yeah, that's when I felt like things were going quite well.

# Oh, lies, lies, lies

# L-l-l-lies, lies, lies

# Little lies. #

The first line of your third take...

Mm-hm?

- ..was out of this world. - Really?

RECORDING: # You've got your... #

Things have changed a lot from a year ago.

My whole life is a lot more fast paced.

- They're done? - Absolutely.

Thank you.

The team B!

A year ago, I was working at this perfume place

where you made everything fresh.

I was like a chemist.

It was like...

I was, like, making... making perfume and writing music.

And now I'm playing at the O2 Arena.

I feel, like, emotional looking at it.

That's crazy!

I just can't believe I'm playing there tonight.

# Tell me that you need me Tell me that you want me, yeah... #

The best part about what I do is to perform live, you know.

I learnt a lot from being on tour with Rudimental.

And that's where I'm happiest.

That's where I love to, like, exert a lot of energy

and to be able to interact with the audience

and get to see their reactions and see what they think about it.

And it's just good fun.

# Hey-ey, ey-ey, ey

# Hey-ey ey-ey, ey... #

# I'm latching onto you... #

I never went to festivals as a kid, ever.

My first ever, ever, ever experience of a festival

was singing Latch.

- # Oh, oh, oh - # Latching onto you

# I won't let go

# I won't let go of you

# I won't let go, I won't let go... #

Yes, that was crazy. The festival's a massive new world for me.

# ..I won't let go I won't let go, oh... #

BANKS: We're at the O2 Arena right now.

I'm about to open for The Weeknd.

When I walked out for the first time, I was overwhelmed

and I'm about to go on in, like, 15 minutes or so,

I'm about to play for thousands of people.

At the O2 Arena!

I'm nervous.

And I'm excited.

But I'm confident and I feel...

empowered and I'm just going to soak it all up.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

There you go. That was BANKS. She will be touring the UK

in March, if you want to see her live.

Now we cross to some people

who would like to keep us a little bit more in the dark.

SAMPLED NATURAL SOUNDS

I know nothing about Jungle.

WOMAN: When you type them into Google,

you don't get a lot, I'm afraid, about them,

so they're quite mysterious I think.

I know they're a duo.

And whether they're two guys, two girls, a guy and a girl,

I don't know. Animals? I don't know.

MAN: I've heard their live performance

is like nothing you've ever seen.

MAN 2: I'm the lighting designer for Jungle.

The way I light the band is backlit

because they want their identity hidden.

When you can't see them, you don't get any information about

them as people whatsoever. It's just all about the music.

MAN 3: Yeah, they're all tiny little girls doing head spins.

MAN 2: Yeah.

MAN 3: But then they developed really quickly

and then became rollerblading African-Americans.

# I'll knock you down

# Roller kids

# Go down, groove you

# Won't you?

# Under the rock

# Down by the beach

# No, I'll not break you

# Want me

# Ooh, ooh-ooh... #

We don't really know what they look like.

Yeah. It's still quite a mystery.

It's a mystery. The backlighting was very good.

Everything - like the atmosphere, the light as well - was really great.

I was just right in front, as well,

and I'm really looking forward to see them grow.

Well, I hope they play Glastonbury.

FUNKY ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTAL BREAK

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thank you.

The Sound Of list is so incredibly varied and colourful

in terms of the music and the people this year,

and I can't wait to see where they go from here.

That is it from me. Thank you for watching. I'll see you later.