11 of the best new artists we saw at The Great Escape 2024

Brighton’s annual new music pilgrimage faced plenty of challenges this year

With many artists pulling out due to the festival’s ties with Barclays, The Great Escape was still a place to discover plenty of ones to watch across a wide range of genres. Here are 11 of the best new artists and bands we saw at the 2024 edition.

Sila Lua (pictured above)

Performing as part of The Spanish Wave showcase, Sila Lua proved why she’s one of Spain’s most exciting artists right now. Stalking the stage at Dust in front of an unsuspecting crowd, the Madrid-based musician made her presence known while singing and rapping in her native tongue over industrial electronic beats. With tunes like ‘EQUILIBRIO’, it’s easy to imagine her breaking through in a similar way to Rosalia.

Elle Darlington

Performing at One Church as part of the Showcase Cymru event, Elle Darlington delivered a set that painted her out as North Wales’ answer to Ariana Grande. Veering between a Capella moments and upbeat bops like ‘Summer Crush’ and the infectious singalong ‘wish you would’, the 20-year-old British-Chilean artist’s fluttering vocal acrobatics demonstrated why she’s being tipped as a pop princess.

twst

On paper, a church doesn’t seem the best fit for the hard-hitting electronic beats of Welsh alt-pop artist twst. However, her show at One Church gave such sounds a unique backdrop. While the synths reverberated around the historic walls, she owned the stage with ease and held everyone transfixed. Using her synth pad to blend sounds from one song into the next, the range of her artistry was displayed: ‘off-world’ fused t.A.T.u.-like vocals with rolling breakbeats that rumbled out of the towering speakers, ‘Was I Ever Alone’ ended with pumping techno, ‘most viewed’ demonstrated her vocal talent, the tongue-in-cheek ‘sugared up’ recalled the witty lyricism and guillotine-dropping snares of Ashnikko, and the huge vocal of ‘catch me’ called to mind Rina Sawayama. Upcoming single ‘make u stay’, meanwhile, drew from the hyperpop shere, specifically artists like A.G. Cook. and Charli XCX. The ultimate church rave.

Fabiana Palladino

Having performed a stripped-back three-song set for a BBC6Music session earlier in the day, Fabiana Palladino took charge of Komedia Basement in the evening for a show with her full live band. Bathed in warm neon strobes, the XL signee’s set drew from her long-awaited debut album; highlights included the funk-infused ‘Mirror’, and the Haim-like Americana of ‘Shoulda’. “I’m gonna do a song that I wrote with Jai Paul called ‘I Care’,” she teased, before making everyone aware “he’s not here”. No matter – Palladino’s vocal was flawless throughout, particularly during ‘Stay With Me Through The Night’ when she and the band really got into the groove together. If Prince were alive, he’d be lining up to collaborate with Fabiana.

MRCY

Despite only putting out their first song in February, MRCY - aka the collaborative project of producer Barney Lister and vocalist Kojo Degraft-Johnson - brought the funk and gospel vibes to a packed Komedia Basement. Within seconds, the latter’s show-stopping vocal had the audience spellbound. Not only did he make it look effortless, but the entire band - which also included a flutist/guitarist/saxophonist, keyboardist and drummer - were incredibly tight. With songs as impressive as the tambourine-shaking ‘Powerless’, it’s easy to see why they’ve got a summer full of shows in the pipeline, as well as a headline gig at The Jazz Cafe in November.

HiTech

Owing to their show being removed from the schedule, Detroit trio HiTech played to a disappointingly small audience. Nonetheless, after pouring some Hennessy into the mouths of those up close, the room gradually filled up and they launched into their rowdy ghetto-tech-rap, regularly jumping among the audience and getting them to shout into the mic. As they worked every inch of the stage, it was clear that they don’t take themselves too seriously, falling about the place like the underground club world’s answer to Odd Future or Brockhampton. The performance - which ended with a teaser that they’re re-dropping their debut album - might have mostly consisted of words being shouting into a microphone, but there’s no denying the group’s frenetic energy.

Fcukers

With a lengthy queue of people still waiting to get in, Friday night under The Arch kickstarted with one of New York’s hottest acts right now: Fcukers. Jumping around in a jersey, the singer’s nonchalant vocal, steady drum beat, piano chords, neon strobes and hazy smoke quickly turned the room into a rave. Foregoing on-stage chat, they played banger after banger, including the deliriously addictive new single ‘Bon Bon’. Jumping around goofily and motioning the audience to put their hands in the air, by the time closing breakthrough track ‘Mothers’ hits, it’s clear why Ninja Tune have snapped them up. Fcukers are about to explode.

Frost Children

Unleashing their hyperpop-grunge onslaught under The Arch, Frost Children delivered a punky racket that contained elements of 30H!3, Skrillex and Nirvana. Aiming their guitar at the crowd like it was a gun while bouncing around energetically, the sonic barrage of ‘COUP’ set the head-banging tone with its maximalist electronic production, live drums and heavy riffs. And, with glitch-ridden fan favourite ‘FOX BOP’ and noisy chant-along ‘OBSESSED’, the US duo ensured their Brighton debut made a huge, if sonically bonkers, impact.

The Dare

One of the hottest tips on the line-up, enigmatic New Yorker The Dare really lived up to the hype. As the frontrunner in the indie sleaze revival, Harisson Smith brought a taste of his Freakquencies party to The Arch: dressed in a smart suit including white shirt and black tie, he was just about visible through clouds of smoke and strobes. Positioned between two synth pads at either side of the stage, he threw himself around, mic-stand held aloft, while drawing from his one and only EP’s, 2023’s brilliant ‘The Sex’. Throughout, his energy was just as infectious as the blistering bass erupting from the speakers. With hedonistic songs like ‘Good Times’ - which would undoubtedly be chosen to soundtrack a Skins episode if the iconic teen series was still a thing - it’s easy to see why the New Yorker has become one of the biggest names in underground.

samxemma

With a Spotify bio that simply reads ‘hot people make hot music’, samxemma might have been Dummy’s final discovery of the weekend, but we’re so glad we caught their Saturday afternoon gig. Bringing their party vibe to the Three Wise Cats pub - whose roof was adorned with sparkling Christmas tree lights while the stage was illuminated by neon spotlights - their combination of auto-tuned vocals, bass-heavy drops and fizzing synths made their influences clear. The energetic pairing of Sam on laptop and keyboard, and vocalist Emma (who regularly joined the crowd to get them amped up) recalled the collaborative friendship of A. G. Cook and Charli XCX, especially catchy tunes like ‘ice 2’ and ‘I Let You’. A great way to end this year’s festival.

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