BBC Sound of 2012 – a quick-start guide

The BBC’s annual self-fulfilling prophecy was published last night, with writers, radio producers, DJs and assorted other pundits all explaining who is going to be A Big Deal next year.

Of course, sometimes things don’t quite go to plan (paging Mona) – but broadly, you can expect to be hearing rather more of the 15 acts on this list over the course of the next year. The odds of familiarity are even higher this year because, for reasons best known to themselves, the voters have decided to nominate a handful of bands who are already a certifiable Big Deal.

But who are the others?

ASAP Rocky

Smoked-out weed-hop practitioner falling somewhere between Lil Wayne and cLOUDDEAD.

Azealia Banks

Potty-mouthed Harlemite responsible for the runaway smut-hit of the year.

Dot Rotten

Bazooka Riddim man turned dapper but off-kilter grime MC.

Dry The River

Painfully overwrought choral faux-folk.

Flux Pavillion

The soundtrack to a thousand suicide-inducing suburban nights out.

Frank Ocean

Odd Future man poised to outsell Tyler 10 to 1 with what Hipster Runoff would describe as “slow” “jams”.

Friends

Laughably entertaining, instrument-swapping Brooklyn slink-poppers.

Jamie N Commons

Gomez 2.0.

Lianne La Havas

Eliza Doolittle + Buena Vista Social Club = Lianne La Havas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYDhQdzo4Io

Michael Kiwanuka

Deceptively entertaining Sly Stone-aping ’70s revivalism.

Niki And The Dove

Wilfully theatrical Scandi-synth brilliance.

Ren Harvieu

Roy Orbison-covering lounge blah.

Skrillex

Tween-step abomination and Nazi collaborator. Sorry, I mean Korn collaborator.

Spector

Karaoke Pulp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMV8-cp_y34

Stooshe

Major label marketing department zeitgeisty ‘inner-city’ crossover nonsense.