The Great Escape 2013: Ten To See

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Fish & Chips, Ice-Creams, Ghost Train Rides and arcade games on the pier, Brighton offers up a classical get-away on any normal weekend of the year – this coming weekend, however, is anything but normal. As hundreds of revellers prepare their schedules, the seaside town prepares itself for The Great Escape Festival. We’ll be down their alongside just about every exciting new band to have emerged in the last 12 months and while we’ll mostly be running around like headless chickens attempting to see everything, there is no need for you to because our soon to be writers-on-the-ground Dan Carson and George O’Brien have kindly decided to take you through a little run-down of the sites must see recommendations. Get your programs out, get highlighting.

London Grammar

The London three-piece arrived at the beginning of the year with the quite stunning ‘Hey Now’ and have been carefully making their way towards the limelight they deserve since. Utilising one of the most haunting and distinctive vocals to surface in British music for some time, alongside flickers of dance-floor beats and touching guitar punctuation, London Grammar are producing genuinely beautiful music that translates seamlessly to the live stage. George O’Brien

Rainy Milo

South-east London teen sensation Rainy Milo dropped her charming R&B rooted debut mixtape Limey last autumn with her sweet runny vocals alone proving enough to secure a place on our 2013 ‘Ones to Watch’ countdown. With a bold, ballsy follow-up EP – Black & Blonde – in the bag, all eyes will be on Rainy to evoke the sass and soul of her records in the flesh. Dan Carson

Wolf Alice

Wolf Alice have never been far from our minds since ‘Leaving You’, with its memorable slide-guitar hook, arrived late last year. Crunchy riffs and proper punchy drums accompany a versatile vocal that enjoys subtly and attitude in equal measure; the North London quartet are yet to put a foot wrong. George O’Brien

Blue Hawaii

Blue Hawaii’s 2010 journey around Central America planted the little kernels of trop-pop brilliance which flourished on debut EP, Blooming Summer, and again on their elegantly choppy full-length, Untogether. Formed of Braids’ Raphaelle Standell-Preston and partner Alex ‘Agor’ Cowan, the Montreal duo are a shoe-in to provide the concentrated hit of intricate Canadian dream-pop every emerging music festival needs. Dan Carson

YADi

If we ever needed an answer to Scandinavia’s electro-pop dominance, this could well be it. Her suitably named track ‘The Blow’ is filled with addictive melodies to echo Icona Pop, while tracks like ‘Unbreakable’ embrace the sounds of her Algerian heritage, adding depth and interest without a pretention or compromising on accessibility. Multicultural, unusual and eye-catching, YADi is effortlessly cool. George O’Brien

Sinead Harnett

Having played a supporting role to Disclosure and Rudimental over the past year, London vocalist Sinead Harnett recently popped the cork on her solo career with the effervescently crackling ‘Got Me’. The smoky-toned chanteuse will be out to prove she’s no pawn in the future-garage game. Dan Carson

Mausi

Responsible for major summer soundtrack contender, ‘Move’, the Newcastle via Milan quartet are full of frenetic fun. Disco-dancing rhythms, glistening synth lines and moreish melodies bring to mind the guilty pleasure-pop of Alphabeat, while their recent mash-up of Solange’s ‘Losing You’ and Destiny’s Child’s classic ‘Say My Name’, prove Mausi are as inventive as they are pure unadulterated joy. George O’Brien

Chlöe Howl

Cherubic of face and acidic of tongue, precociously talented pop star Chlöe Howl has enjoyed a whirlwind 2013 so far. The 18-year-old’s free-to-download Rumour EP captured a budget-booze flecked snapshot of teenage life; endearing her to a legion of new fans and Radio 1 DJs in the process. Dan Carson

Brolin

Minimalism is the key to Brolin’s work. The masked UK producer combines little more than twitching manufactured beats, gentle synthesised keys and whispered vocals to create entirely understated R&B. ‘Reykjavik’ provides the best example of what he is capable of – with its longing cries and relentless rhythm the track is as chilling as its title suggests and is awash with ambiguous emotion. George O’Brien

D E N A

Hailing from Berlin – by way of Bulgaria – Denitza Todorov aka D E N A piqued our interest back in summer 2012 with the delightfully trashy video for ‘Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools’. Gimmicky promo aside, the Kitsune single indicates an M.I.A. straddling, hip-hop heart of gold beating under her DGAF façade. Dan Carson

The Great Escape takes place in Brighton from 16-18 May. Tickets are now sold out.