Best New Artists of the Month (July)

A new batch of rising artists bound for big things. This month features KennyHoopla, Hope Tala, ICECOLDBISHOP, Velvet Negroni, 100 gecs, and more.

Best New Artists July 2019 Lead
P&P Original

Image by Sho Hanafusa

Best New Artists July 2019 Lead

Listen to highlights from all the best new artists of the last few months in the Best New Artists playlist on Spotify.

At Pigeons & Planes, we always like being early. Who doesn't? With Best New Artists, the issue of timing is always something we consider, and sometimes we realize that maybe we jump the gun. Like, last month we included Baby Keem after a brief interview with him in 2018 and a handful of great new singles. Then he dropped his excellent new album DIE FOR MY B*TCH, and this month would be the perfect time for inclusion in Best New Artists. Should we have waited a month? It's something we still argue about, but sometimes we find something we like and just can't wait to share it, and being early is still being better than being late, right?

So here we are again, with a new batch of rising artists who probably haven't even peaked yet. Enjoy, and keep an eye out—some of them will probably do something great by the time we're working on next month's Best New Artists feature.

KennyHoopla

KennyHoopla

It's impossible to guess where KennyHoopla is going next. The Cleveland-born, Wisconsin-based artist cites The Drums and Passion Pit as influences, was a competitive breakdancer in high school, and his small catalog so far is appropriately all over the place. His most recent few songs are his best yet, and the evolving sound is starting to lay the foundation for a genre-agnostic artist with ambitions beyond following the latest trends.

"I want to make a new nostalgia and set up a good template for music moving forward," KennyHoopla explains. "I want to push the bar of music, which I guess is corny but also not because a lot of people don’t give a fuck and want to stay in their own little world. I want to grow with the world, in real time, and be an artist people can grow with."

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Hope Tala

Hope Tala

Hope Tala is taking off right now. The 21-year-old artist from west London only started writing and recording her own songs as part of her high school curriculum, but quickly fell in love with the process and kept working on music. Not much more than three years later and she's racked up millions of streams, collaborated with Raveena, and been played on Pharrell's Beats 1 radio show by Mikey Alfred of Illegal Civilization.

During that same time, she's also graduated from university with a degree in English Literature, and both her reading and the sounds of neo-soul, R&B, and bossa nova inspire her own music. "Lovestained" is Hope Tala's standout song so far—as she told Rolling Stone, “This is the song I wanted to find, the lyricism that I wanted to find. It feels like this was a landmark in my songwriting trajectory.” 

Look out for a lot more from Hope Tala in 2019, including an EP scheduled for release in August.

ICECOLDBISHOP

ICECOLDBISHOP

Los Angeles’ ICECOLDBISHOP doesn’t have much music out, but what is available is animated, ferocious, and a clear indicator of an artist with a singular style. For proof, just listen to “Irate (Freestyle),” which he recently performed for COLORS. The track barely clocks in at two minutes, but BISHOP reels off enough different flows and deliveries to make it feel like you’re hearing an entire collective. One second he’s spitting menacing bars with dizzying speed and technical skill, then the next he affects the calm tone of a prayer, even while still roasting his adversaries. A handful of SoundCloud loosies, including the recently released “TEN” and a scorching “NUMB NUMB JUICE” flip that rivals ScHoolboy Q’s original. L.A. has no shortage of ascendant rap talents right now, and even with his short discography BISHOP has proven he deserves to be mentioned in the first breath of that conversation.

"The whole point of my current journey was to cover an extensive amount of ground without showing all of the cards in my hand," ICECOLDBISHOP tells us. "Straight grinding it out and maximizing resources available. Now, I’m ready to show the world that we're working with a full deck. I’m ready to unveil an unadulterated perspective of what it's like to be a young nigga from South Central, Los Angeles."

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100 gecs

100 gecs

As soon as Dylan Brady and Laura Les’ debut album as 100 gecs, 1000 gecs, kicks off, it’s immediately apparent that a huge amount of talent is involved. And then a sudden Skrillex circa 2012 dubstep drop happens, and it’s no longer clear what these two are going for. While it might be off-putting for some listeners, this is exactly the type of goofy and wildly inventive shit that makes 1000 gecs such a unique record. “Hey you little piss baby,” the album’s most immediate track “money machine” starts, before diving into a catchy chorus about “big boys coming with the big trucks.”

Together, Dylan Brady and Laura Les are pure chaos, shifting between brilliance and comedy in a mere moment. It’s two friends having a blast, but it’s also a showcase of what they can pull off. An anarchic assault on the ears, the duo has crafted shitposting in the form of music and they did it beautifully. That’s not to say it’s purely a comedic listen, but it’s hard not to listen to it without grinning maniacally. If aliens ever invade earth, 1000 gecs is the first album humans should show them.

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Velvet Negroni

Velvet Negroni

Jeremy Nutzman, the Twin Cities musician behind Velvet Negroni, has already experienced a career that's difficult to pin down. In just a few short years under the name, Nutzman has been sampled by Kanye West and Kid Cudi, opened for Bon Iver, and has signed with indie powerhouse label 4AD. But before that, he already amassed a reputation across Minneapolis and Saint Paul for his often goofy music as Spyder Baybie Raw Dog, and his obtuse soundscapes as Pony Bwoy. Negroni, however, is nothing like those other projects, channeling the sparse compositions of hometown hero Prince.

Produced by Psymun, Elliott Kozel aka Tickle Torture, and Nutzman himself, Neon Brown represents an evolution in sound for the adventurous songwriter. He previously showed what he was capable of as Negroni with his debut full-length TCOD, but there's a distinct refinement on songs such as "Confetti" that showcase how much more he has to offer. Nutzman utilizes so little in the way of instrumentation that his voice sits up-front, bare and almost confrontational. With distinctive vocals and some wildly inventive songwriting on display, it's evident why Tame Impala have recruited him to open on their tour.

Velvet Negroni's Neon Brown album is out August 30 via 4AD.

Los Retros

Los Retros

19-year-old Mauri Tapia, the engine behind Los Retros, is the latest old soul to join the Stones Throw roster. His music, inspired by vintage Latin American alt pop and surf rock from his hometown of Oxnard, CA, uses breezy guitars and understated vocals to convey weighty messages about unrequited love, mortality, and the sweetness of human connection. First earning serious attention with the dreamy, wistful duet “Someone To Spend Time With,” Los Retros followed up with the Retrospect EP, six tracks that showcase an artist with a grasp on his sound and subject matter well beyond his years. Though his charming, homespun tunes are consistent with the modern bedroom pop wave, Tapia has the wisdom and wit of the ‘70s and ‘80s acts who inspired today’s scene.

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cehryl

Cehryl

Hong Kong-raised singer songwriter cehyrl has been making promising music for years, but with her latest release, the gorgeous Slow Motion, she’s mastered her sleepy indie pop sound. Confessional but at times cinematic, it’s a record that’s potentially star-making. “Heat Wave,” an obvious highlight, is a perfect distillation of what makes her music worth diving into. A gentle guitar glides over stripped-back, digital percussion, while her hushed voice paints a vivid picture of a perfectly shot coming-of-age film.

It’s very much a bedroom-produced sound, but the songwriting sticks within that scope, drawing the listener to come as close as possible. An antidote to all the big-budget records that dominate streaming services, cehryl’s latest effort is more A24 than it is Marvel. Regardless of what comes next for her, she’s already delivered a record worth treasuring.

Pip Millett

pip millett

Pip Millett debuted with the smooth and soulful "Make Me Cry" in 2018, and her releases since then have been steady. With momentum built from the music and an impressive COLORS session behind her, the singer from Manchester in the North of England released her impressive debut EP Do Well in June.

As well as the four new songs, Pip released a music video that includes parts of all four songs. Of the project and video, she explains, "I want listeners to connect with what I’m saying. Emotionally, the songs on the EP are up and down—I’m not just expressing one feeling. I think that the video helped to show that difference between them: each video gave a different mood, and I love that KC Locke [the director] has been able to do that, whilst still connecting it all as one."

Watch the video below and listen to the Do Well EP on all streaming platforms now.

Y2K

Y2K

Pigeons & Planes has been covering Y2K for years. It all started with remixes of already popular songs, and slowly but surely Y2K established himself as one of the best behind-the-scenes producers doing it right now. It was a steady growth, and then "Lalala" happened. The song is a collaboration with bbno$ that came out at the very end of June, and it's already on the Billboard Hot 100. Y2K isn't technically a "new" artist but this feels like a new chapter, and the now fast-rising artist has the experience and skills to take full advantage of it (even though he admits he didn't see it coming).

"I knew 'Lalala' was a hit, but you can’t predict something blowing up as much as it did," he tells us. We also had to ask about the intro to the song, a funny little behind-the-scenes conversation about forgetting the melody to the song. "The ‘did I really just forget that melody’ bit really did happen," he says. "I thought it was a fun way to introduce the song so I moved it to the intro. We actually almost took it out at one point."

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Maude Latour

Maude Latour

Maude Latour is making irresistably catchy pop music, but her goal is to do more than just make fun songs you can sing along to (although she wants that, too). The artist—who's lived all over the globe but mostly represents NYC—has plans to make the world a better place, but instead of trying to explain it all, here are her words, edited for brevity:

"I believe we are on the cusp of a consciousness revolution, where we have the potential to fundamentally alter our human experience to one of love and peace. There is something magical that happens when a crowd sings the words to songs. There is something magical that happens inside of you when you dance your heart out... This is the foundation of the revolution, spreading humanity.

"My mission isn't limited to the music. The music is the easiest way to communicate who I am and what I believe in: it's the medium for the political and spiritual message. To be 'sick of small talk,' to stop being on your phone, realizing that being alone isn't being lonely, telling your crush you like them, making a pact to never grow up, being 'star sick' on the hugeness of the universe. All of the themes come together to build this picture of the revolution. I do believe my friends and I (and my generation) will change the world."

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HAWA

HAWA

We talked to HAWA for the first time in 2018, when she was just 17 years old and had just released "Might Be," but the young artist already had what seemed like a lifetime of experience. She traveled the world as a classical artist—the New York Philharmonic even performed her compositions—but by the time she was 15, her interests started changing. She craved creativity with less structure, and what she's making now reflects that. It's modern, unpredictable, and according to HAWA, this is just the start of it.

"The new music that I’m about to have out is gonna be even better than the last," she says. "Just wait on it. I’ve been sleeping in the studio every night and drowning out the noise around me to get this right. Sorry if I left you on read, ladies."

Read our full interview with HAWA here.

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Rexx Life Raj

Rexx Life Raj

Rexx Life Raj is all about growth and personal development, but he’s also unafraid to take it to someone who’s acting deeply out of pocket, as he does on one particularly hilarious string of lines from his recent single “Rich” (“You would do whatever for the life, looking headass / Spark some mid in Walgreens for the hype headass”). The Berkeley artist is a dexterous rapper and a gifted singer with a graceful delivery that seems to hover just above the beat on songs like “Time” and “Handheld GPS.” His new En Route EP showcases his versatility, from soulful, yearning romantic (“Heaven”) to heady, poetic rhymer (“G O D”) to, as we covered before, droll lyricist who you’d better hope doesn’t have you in his sights.

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