By Andrew

Left.

I’m predicting a big year for Left., with growing support springing up out of the Inner West of Sydney’s hip-hop community. This is not surprising really, as One Day Crew label mates Spit Syndicate and Horrorshow regularly involve Left. Lead singer Sarah Corrie in their work. Plus she has a sexy voice to boot. Check out Nessun Dorma below.

Left – Nessun Dorma

Jimblah

Well the last couple of years for Jimblah have dragged him from the underground and into the spotlight, but after the brilliance and poetic insanity that was Phoenix, 2014 will be his year to shine. Another shining example of the depth Indigenous musicians bring to Australian hip-hop, Jimblah is passionate, intelligent and humble. Everything we need in a hip-hop artist, but never seem to get. Check out Fireproof below.

Madeon

Young, French and freaking awesome. Madeon is driving through dance music right now taking aim at everyone and doing it with a cheeky smile. The 19-year-old is one of the most dextrous and creative producers out there right now and the EDM community is just itching for him to release an album. He has stated that 2014 will be that year. Its blowing up time for Madeon. Check out his live recording of his wunderkind track Pop Culture below.

Shock One

Karl Thomas was a drummer and in high school when he met and formed a metal band (called Xygen) with Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen (the two who would later become Pendulum and eventually Knife Party) and Jay Burns. When Pendulum started in the early 2000s, Xygen finished, and so Thomas started making electronic music of his own, under the alias of ShockOne. He has also been making music with another hot property in Australia dance music, Phetsta. Check out Chaos Theory below (reminds me so much of the Jungle Gold period of Pendulum…)

Labrinth

You would think that being a voluntary signing to Simon Cowell’s record label SyCo would mean Labrinth is crazy or naïve but nothing could be further from the truth. Not only was the young man able to have his own creativity supported by one of the most influential people in the British music industry, but he has created his own label under them and gets to pretty much do what he wants. Expect more goods to come out of Labrinth this coming year, I think he’ll make his name known in 2014. Plus, this track features one of the best unknowns in modern music and another to secretly watch in 2014, Emelie Sande. Check out ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ below.

Chance The Rapper

This one should be no surprise to regular fans of Audiocracy. I’ve been talking about this guy for a while now, and although he is still very raw and unknown, 2014 will be when people won’t forget his name. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the James Blake collab he did below.

The Nerve

Born out of three of the best underground bands in the last 20 years of Australian rock, The Nerve are my pick for live show of 2014. Some people may remember Ezekiel Ox from Aus powerhouse Mammal and he is joined by ex member of Cog Lucius Borich, guitar wizard Glenn Proudfoot and Davarj on bass. Hopefully The Nerve don’t burn fast, burn bright like Mammal did and stay in the game longer than five minutes. 2014 will see them come hard and fast up and down the east coast with their furious live shows. Check out Down There for a better idea.

Bad Cop

I wanted 2013 to be Bad Cop’s year, but it pretty much was the year that never was. Instead of projecting the spotlight onto himself, he pretty much stepped back to allow collaborating artist Tkay Maizda to take his spot (read below). Australia has always had a strong underground dance music scene and alongside artists such as Knife Party, Shock One, Sampology, Surecut Kids and Dj Butcher; Bad Cop is sure in some good company. Check out Handle my Ego feat Tkay below

Remi.

This is definitely that start of the best year for Remi. After picking up the award for unearthed artist of the year (the same award which kicked off Flume’s career), Remi is sure to take it all in his stride. His laid back style reminds of others such as Tuka, Thundamentals and even Seth Sentry and Spit Syndicate. Check out his single Sangria below.

Tkay Maizda

As mentioned above, Maizda has hit the spotlight after standing on the shoulders of Bad Cop, but as a legit rapper in her own right, Maizda will strut her stuff in 2014 like nobody’s business. Check out Brontosaurus below.