Miike Snow feat. Lykke Li
Superproducers Miike Snow return with fellow Swede Lykke Li for the atmospheric and building arpeggiated synth tune Black Tin Box. It’ll appear on their second album Happy To You in March.

Tennis
First capturing the attention of bloggers in 2010 with their “couple live on a boat and make music while sailing the Atlantic” shtick, Tennis are back with a second album of more full bodied breezy indie pop songs. Set sail.
facebook.com/tennisinc

No Ceremony
Reverberating piano chords and twisted vocals combine to devastating and uplifting effect in HurtLove, the disintegrating new single from Manchester’s No Ceremony.

Iggy Azalea
She’s been called the Australian Nicki Minaj. She’s also been called the Australian Kreayshawn. She’s also been called a “femcee”. Let’s not utter that word ever again. Time will tell on that who she really ends up like but for now, enjoy her bad-attitude rap style on My World.

Santigold
Santi White is back with a block-rocking frenetic new single called Big Mouth in which she calls out Lady Gaga and appears alongside her awesome SG1 dancers in a crudely animated video. Santigold > M.I.A.

SlowPlaceLikeHome
Keith Mannion from Ballyshannon in Donegal is the lone creator behind SlowPlaceLikeHome, a project of rich instrumental electronic music which could be described as expansive, pensive and seductive. Music to watch fields by.

Alt-J
Described by one music blogger as “the dubstep of indie-rock” and counter-acted by The Blue Walrus with “pigeon-hole these Leeds boys at your peril”, Alt-J are actually ambitious in doing their own unique thing. One of this year’s ones to watch…

Canadian born folk via Alan Lomax field recordings from the young Al Spx, whose voice has a rich blues, soul and folk heritage.
soundcloud.com/coldspecks

The Beatles 8-Bit
After tackling the music of Kraftwerk in chiptune form, the Gameboy-obsessed 8-Bit Operators are back with a collection of Beatles covers called Wanna Hld Yr Handheld, Vol. 1 which focuses on the avant-garde and electronic side of the Fab Four.

Nujabes

Jun Seba, a Japanese producer who sadly died in a car crash last year has posthumously released his final album Spiritual State of uplifting instrumental music to much acclaim.
hypem.com/artist/Nujabes

WZRD

Rapper Kid Cudi has been immersing himself in punk rock of late and his WZRD project and collaboration with Dot Da Genius and Brake is the first taster of that absorption with its stoner rock histrionics.
Listen at Earmilk

Florence covers Drake
Florence Welch shows her love for the title track from the Canadian rapper’s North American chart-topping Take Care album. The original features production from Jamie xx as well as vocals by Rihanna. Florence’s version injects it with her typically airy orchestral arrangements.
Listen / Watch at When The Gramophone Rings

Darkside
Already acclaimed for his own solo ambient electronic compositions thanks to debut album Space Is Only Noise from earlier this year, Darkside sees Nicolas Jaar team up with his live guitarist Dave Harrington for a slowed-down disco funk side project.
Listen at Nialler9

Caveman
Fans of Grizzly Bear, Local Natives and generally, any type of North American alt-folk bands should investigate Brookyln’s Caveman and their debut album of rich harmonious chamber pop entitled Coco Beware. I’ll eat my mouse if they’re not selling out venues this side of the Atlantic by this time next year.
cavemantheband.com

Kool Thing
From Sydney and Dublin via Berlin comes Julie Chance and Jon Dark armed with synthesizers, guitar and an art-dance ethos. Listen to The Sign and wait for it to kick in. Gratifying.
bit.ly/koolthing

First Rate People
Someone Else Can Make A Work Of Art is a gentle and catchy dance-rocking tune from Canadians First Rate People. The technical term is an earworm. The whole EP is also a free download from Bandcamp and it includes the uplifting autotune-assisted Summer Job.
firstratepeople.bandcamp.com

The Antlers x The xx
While Rihanna and Drake are the latest artists to plunder from The xx, The Antlers provide an alternative and fresh take on the band’s hit VCR.
bit.ly/antlersxx

Members of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem team up with Planningtorock for a new musical project in the form of a distinctly bright pop band who release a very limited three-track EP this month.

bit.ly/newbuild1

Tennis

The nautical-loving Denver couple return from the high seas of, ahem the recording studio with new material from their second album, the delightful singalong Origins.

Listen at Gorilla Vs. Bear

Lethal Dialect

Irish rap continues to improve with this Blanchardstown rapper and his professionally-done video for the knowledge-dropping Keep It Real.

Emeli Sandé x Disclosure

Underage Londoners remix rising Scottish R&B singer Sandé and the result is a post-dubstepping club pop hit.

Listen at Soundcloud

Tipped by the always on the money pop blog and label Neon Gold, NYC producer St. Lucia’s We Got It Wrong sounds like the Pet Shop Boys put through a modern electro-pop filter.

Listen at Neon Gold

DOOM & Radiohead

Celebrated masked rapper teams up with Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke for the unfortunately-named Retarded Fren for Lex Records’ 10th anniversary album Complex.

Listen at Soundcloud

Factory Floor

Two Different Ways is a twisting and pulsing dark and long live band techno jam that sounds made for warehouse parties. The London trio’s single comes out via James Murphy and all at DFA Records this month.

Listen at Nialler9

Phantogram

A bumping pop song with iridescent brass samples and floaty synths, Don’t Move marks the return of New York duo Phantogram with their Nightlife EP.

Listen at Soundcloud

Already huge in his native Australia, Goyte’s single collaboration with Kiwi singer Kimbra Somebody That I Used To Know has racked up over 13 million views since July yet his album Making Mirrors isn’t released here until February officially. Check out the second single Easy Way Out, a Beck-esque fuzz number for a idea of Wally De Backer’s depth. Yes, that’s his real name.

Charli XCX

19 year-old London hopeful releases a second single of nuanced dark-gilded electro-pop with Nuclear Seasons, the verse of which sounds like No Doubt’s Just a Girl.

CharliXCX – Nuclear Seasons by charlixcx

The Dø

A French/Finnish duo who have had success in the French charts, The Dø are hoping their new second album Both Ways Open Jaws will do it abroad too. Have a listen to the tribal powerhouse of single Slippery Slope to judge for yourself.

Simon Bird

This Dublin-based 21 year-old producer from West Somerset in England has quietly released five EPs of high-quality ambient and electronic music. One to watch.

22 year old Trevor Powers’ album of bedroom lo-fi pop songs has reached far beyond his four walls with thanks to US music blogs and a piece in SPIN magazine. Check out some tracks on The Hype Machine.
bit.ly/youthlagoon

Goodtime

Dublin’s Goodtime John returns without the second part of his name and a new lilting twilight song called Behind This Sun taken from forthcoming album The Colours Of Darkness.
thecoloursofdarkness.bandcamp.com

Cities Aviv

Memphis rapper Cities Aviv’s track Coastin’ samples a song from the musical movie Hair and turns it into a breezy horn-filled rap track. Just chill…

Coastin by Cities Aviv

A Guy Called Gerald hip-hop mix

“The music from my teens”, is how A Guy Called Gerald described his two hour ’80s hip-hop mix which serves as a tribute to DJ Kool Herc, the original rap DJ.

A Guy Called Gerald Bboy 80′s hip hop by A Guy Called Gerald

Diplo and Switch return to their electronic dancehall project with artwork that nods to Don Draper and a tune which bangs like some kind of Dutch jumpstyle tune. Rugged and raw.

Major Lazer featuring The Partysquad – Original Don

Burial / Massive Attack

(Almost) anonymous dubstep producer Burial got his hands on two Massive Attack songs with their blessing and reworked them into 12-minute long dark gems.

ANR

It’s Around You is full-bodied electro-indie from ANR (Awesome New Republic), a duo born out of the South Florida warehouse party scene. What do you mean you’ve didn’t know that existed? Tut tut.

Jessie Ware

Having featured on records by SBTRKT and Joker, the young South London singer impresses on her own debut single Strangest Feeling with a super sweet and commanding vocal presence over skittering electronica.

Strangest Feeling by JessieWare

Azealia Banks
Upbeat club rap pop from a 19 year-old Harlem girl with attitude.
Listen at Nialler9

Stepkids
Psychedelic ’70s funk merchants from LA who are signed to revered hip-hop label Stones Throw, Stepkids are the brand new soul and funk swingers in town.
thestepkidsband.com

The Weather Station
Beautiful lilting British-style folk from Canadian Tamara Lindeman. Check out her most recent All Of It Was Mine album.
Listen at Hypem

DJ Izem
A French-Moroccan producer based in Ireland has just released a superb debut EP of Flying Lotus-style soulful hip-hop, dub electronica music. Stylish.
Listen at Nialler9

Rostam
While Vampire Weekend are between albums, Rostam Batmanglij (yes, he does have Batman in his name) shows off his Eastern and whimsical string side with the free download of Wood. Hands up if you can hear this in a Wes Anderson movie?
Listen at The Fader

New Look
Canadian duo take on Janet Jackson’s He Doesn’t Even Know That I’m Alive with considerable aplomb.

Janet – New Look by The FADER