The Hope & Ruin might well be the place to visit in Brighton on Wednesday 24th January 2024 if you are into discovering the most exciting emerging artists and ones-to-watch for next year! Promoters ‘Hidden Herd’ will be running their monthly showcase event that night and this time around will feature the talents of Nukuluk, Polite Bureaux, Nina Kohout and Own World.
Let’s meet the artists…..
Nukuluk
Nukuluk is an experimental hip-hop and electronica collective based in South London. Their chaotic sound draws off a series of eureka moments during studio play, a broad church of influence and a symbiotic relationship within the group. Alien field recordings, warped bass drones and clattering percussion come together to create otherworldly production landscapes, serving as stages on which vocalists Syd and Monika can battle it out. The five-piece, featuring members of Blue Bendy and Legss in their formidable arsenal, have combined to gain a reputation for fearless creativity, which has garnered them support from Jack Saunders on Radio 1 and backing from publications like NME, DIY, Dork, Clash, So Young, Fred Perry Subculture, Crack and Dazed. Over recent years, they’ve graced the stage at a host of renowned festivals too, including Pitchfork Music Festival, The Great Escape Festival, End of the Road Festival, Visions Festival and Reading and Leeds.
Polite Bureaux is the creative alias of Joe Smith, a genre-bending artist originally hailing from London but raised in Bradford. Fusing bass lines and broken beats with alt-electronic production and brutally honest lyrics, Smith’s unique concoctions have swiftly established him as one of Brighton’s most exhilarating newcomers. While he attributes his way with words to the diabolical truths of John Cooper Clarke, his sonic explorations draw inspiration from the likes of Underworld and Peter Hook from Joy Division. Over the course of an exciting 2023, Polite Bureaux performed at The Great Escape Festival, supported Benefits at Chalk and Trigger Discipline at The Hope & Ruin, and unveiled his brilliant recent single, ‘BODYROCKER’, which received airplay from Melita Dennett on BBC Music Introducing.
Brighton-based Slovakian artist Nina Kohout is a boundary-pushing sonic storyteller who seamlessly intertwines the eerie atmosphere of ancient Slovak folklore with classical music elements and dark electronica. Following on from her critically-acclaimed debut EP ‘Pandemonium’, recent single ‘Little Butterfly’ was once again chosen as KEXP Radio’s Song of the Day and also garnered support from Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 6 Music. Live, Nina’s impressive performance history includes captivating audiences at the 800-capacity Kino Šiška in Slovenia, Liveurope Festival in the Czech Republic, Ahoi! Pop Festival in Austria and renowned European showcase festival Eurosonic in the Netherlands. She also recently supported Zola Jesus in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava.
London-based project Own World formed in 2022 and features Joe Sigee (vocals/guitar) and Holly Hardy (drums) alongside two members of R&S Records alumni Vondelpark, Matthew Lawrenson (synths/backing vocals) and Alex Bailey (bass). Subsisting on a diet of XTC, Arthur Russell and YMO, the four-piece’s hazy and nostalgic creations emerged from several years of analog synth experimentation and a series of retreats to a mountainside cottage in Wales. Since the beginning of 2023, Own World have unleashed three outstanding singles, expertly mixed by pioneering electronic artist Lxury and Domino producer and Nilüfer Yanya collaborator Wilma Archer. ‘In Style’, their hypnotic debut release that dropped in January, was featured on Slow Dance Records’ compilation of emerging artists.
Tickets for this event can be purchased HERE.
