Alfie Templeman
BABii
Black Country, New Road
Eloise
Employed To Serve
Far Caspian
Gunship
Idles (pictured)
John Smith
Max Cooper
Poppy Ajudha
Puma Blue
Sainté
Snapped Ankles
Strawberry Guy
The Anchoress
Theon Cross
Violet Skies
Walt Disco
Yard Act

British music is undeniably a global export, 1 in 10 songs streamed globally are produced by British artists. But this number is not as high as it used to be. In 2015 the UK’s share of the global market was at 17%, now that has slipped to 10% today. This scheme is here to allow some smaller British artists to achieve their full potential overseas, by giving larger access to equipment, licensing, travel, and any other aspects of a band’s routine that allow their music to be heard in other countries. In 2020, the scheme generated £36 million in revenues. Put another way, for every £1 put in by the government, the artists generated 12x that amount. Geoff Taylor, the chief executive of the BPI, backs this by saying “The UK punches well above its weight as the largest exporter of music in the world after the US”.

In regards to boosting the UK’s music scene after covid, Taylor said “Labels continue to invest very heavily in developing new talent and they’re working on new ways to get artists out there. As an industry, we are working on new ways to bring new music to fans, but there’s no doubt it’s harder under a Covid environment.” He adds, “MEGS funding provides a crucial avenue for UK artists to invest early and develop audiences in markets that are traditionally expensive to break. For years, Idles’ renowned live show has been in demand across LATAM, and this support helps us meet that demand with genuine marketing and promotional activity and continue to grow their profile”.

Mike Freer MP, Minister for Exports at the Department for International Trade (@tradegovuk) praised the UK music industry, and reiterated the ambition to grow British music.

Read the story in full https://t.co/yY9GjZgxL6 pic.twitter.com/LPeDHhUhGD

— BPI (@bpi_music) November 18, 2021

The scheme tries to cover as much popular music as Britain has to offer. IDLES, Black Country – New Road, Yard Act, and Snapped Ankles all fall under the ever-increasing brand of Post-Punk. Eloise, BABii, and Sainté are all making moves in the realm of British Pop. Acts like Strawberry Guy and Gunship also offer their own takes on folk and synthwave that also prove that British music comes in many, many forms.

album to be pushed back into 2021. Not too concerned with Electro acoustic music since i won 80k online bingo

— Kai Whiston (@kaiwhiston) May 13, 2020

Fortunately for us, this turned out to be (surprise surprise) a red herring. The Bristol-based artist posted an abstract screenshot from a TikTok video yesterday, explaining that this accidental photo he had taken last August had inadvertently become the “creative starting point” for his next album, which he aims to release later this year.

last august this accidental tiktok screenshot of a bedroom wall became the creative starting point for my next album

the working title is ‘Quiet As Kept, F.O.G.’ & i’ll try and put it out this year

pic.twitter.com/PPxl6KQvWE

— Kai Whiston (@kaiwhiston) May 17, 2020

The post also stated that the working title for the album is ‘Quiet as Kept, F.O.G.’. In a photo reply he left below the original picture shortly after, Whiston revealed a private SoundCloud playlist of eleven tracks with their names and release date obscured, before asking fans what guest vocalists and producers they would like to see appear on the project.  

i’m opening up to more vocal guests and producers on this one . who would u wanna see on this ? pic.twitter.com/xswdnUEjWd — Kai Whiston (@kaiwhiston) May 17, 2020

If Quiet as Kept… does see the light of day in 2020, it will be Whiston’s first studio album since last November’s No World As Good As Mine. He’d be forgiven for taking the time off though; the young producer’s been busy in recent months. Aside from NWAGAM, September saw him release XYZ as a member of the Gloo collective, a trio of electronic musicians that includes fellow Brits Iglooghost and BABii (who recently performed a virtual b3b set in Minecraft). 

In the meantime, if you’re desperate for some more deconstructed club to compliment your deconstructed routine, Whiston put out a collection of nearly 150 of his samples on Bandcamp at the start of May. Preview the compilation via the embed below:

In an event that brought very literal credence to the idea we’re living in a simulation, virtual space gurus Open Pit teamed up with Anamanaguchi to deliver ‘Nether Meant’, a six hour online concert in aid of Good360’s COVID-19 relief efforts. Taking place entirely in Minecraft’s subterranean ‘nether’ realm, the concert surpassed its fundraising goal raising a total of over $8,000. As a result, Open Pit have promised a follow-up event in the near future. The concert’s name is also a play on “Never Meant“, the cult emo anthem by headlining act American Football.

Hundreds of digital avatars swarmed beneath the dancefloor, hit the bar, and wandered around the cloakroom and toilets replicated from the real-life Brooklyn nightclub Elsewhere.

#NetherMeant is this Saturday!

Join us at the @americfootball house on stage at https://t.co/NtZ5emWDCj,
a 1:1 scale virtual recreation of @elsewherespace.

Admission is free but donations will benefit the @Good360 Covid-19 Relief Fund.

Who are you most excited for? pic.twitter.com/AK8nGkYeVF

— Open Pit (@OpenPitPresents) April 6, 2020

Whilst the lineup was predominantly American, without the constraints of geographical convenience, the multinational roster included artists from France, Argentina, and Finland. UK Bass supergroup Gloo also provided a heady back-to-back set, with the British trio Kai Whiston, Iglooghost, and Babii melding together deranged art pop with deconstructed club.

The night culminated with cuboid figurines of the band American Football taking to the stage in a performance that blended studio recordings, live instrumentation and in keeping with the pixelated surroundings, bizarre 8-bit renditions of the songs “Never Meant” and the fittingly-titled “Stay Home“.

Watch the Twitch stream of the event below:

Watch #NetherMeant: April 11th, 5:30pm EST from OpenPit on www.twitch.tv