My Top Five Unsigned Artists of 2018

As 2018 comes to a close, I want to take the time to reflect on some of the great unsigned or independent talent I have discovered throughout what has been an interesting musical year. This list is in no particular order, it is just a list of unsigned artists I have discovered and really admire.

1) Orla Gartland

You would’ve seen two features of Orla Gartland for the blog this year. I reviewed her latest release “Between My Teeth” recently and also featured her on “Artist Spotlight” when I first discovered her. Since I last wrote about her, she is doing extremely well, releasing new content regularly as well as touring for the rest of the year, I’m excited to see what 2019 holds for Gartland and will be following her career closely.

Listen to “Between My Teeth” HERE.

2) Harry Cash

48363143_1831417893653339_2486844231126089728_n — Photo Credit: GEth

Musician & Producer Harry Cash has started to make a bit of noise recently as a solo artist, deciding to release a single “Beauty” which was his first solo release in five years. With the help of the mysterious, yet clever “GEth”, Harry has been able to gain lots of exposure and create a big buzz behind his music, receiving requests for signed photos from across the world as well as having regular airtime on local radio. Who knew that gaining himself a new girlfriend would spark such a creative fire inside of him!

Watch the official music video for “Beauty” shot by Reiss Beckford Media and GEth Films HERE.

3) Harry Adams

Another “Harry” who caught my attention this year was the intriguing Harry Adams. The most recent winner of the “Undiscovered Live Music Project” in Essex, Adams has gone on to release a brilliant single in the form of “Accessory” and perform lots of live gigs around London and hopes to continue her studio work across 2019. I for one, am looking forward to seeing what tricks Harry has up her sleeve!

Watch the music video for “Accessory” HERE.

4) Past Kings

Past Kings are a 4 piece indie rock band hailing from Essex. They are perhaps the most fresh faced band outfit to feature on the blog, still gelling together and honing their crafts as individuals and as a band. Nevertheless, they certainly made an impression on me, especially with their original material and arrangements. They have been rather quiet recently but do have gigs booked and recording time planned so be sure to keep an eye out for these lads!

Stream their latest track “Night Time” HERE.

5) Fortify

Last but by no means least are Easycore band Fortify. These guys caught my attention when they supported my friends “Fyresky” at Chinnerys, Southend a while back. They too have been in the shadows recently but we are assured it is for a good reason! I intend to go and watch a few of their live shows next year whenever the chance comes up!

Listen to their E.P “Valhalla” HERE

Track Review: Between My Teeth – Orla Gartland

45256731_10156053624817956_1111880467868549120_o — The cover for Between My Teeth

I have spoken about this young and exciting singer-songwriter from Dublin in previous posts on the blog. I raved about her, and to my excitement she recently released a new song named “Between My Teeth.”

Between My Teeth is a song about a topic I’m sure we can all relate to, in Orla’s own words “it’s a song about trying to save someone; balancing the urge to help with the urge to run.” I don’t know about everyone else but I felt that!

45208142_10156052955682956_6301618678601351168_o — Orla Gartland

Along with a relatable song topic, Orla has once again crafted some clever and catchy lyrics to compliment a stripped back yet full sounding instrumental arrangement, this seems to be a bit of a Gartland trademark. When friends ask me to describe the song (I talk about it a lot) I say it is Poppy but unique. In fact, that is exactly how I would describe Orla’s entire sound.

You can tell how meticulous she has been when working on the song’s arrangement and production, but you can also hear the chaotic process that every songwriter goes through, its as if I can hear all the rough takes, all the screwed up bits of paper (or deleted phone notes) and I really appreciate how its all come together to create one of the most unique sounds of 2018.

I really hope that Orla starts to get airplay on mainstream radio soon, I honestly think that this crazy, soulful musician from Dublin is the burst of hope that the music scene has been waiting for.

Check out “Between My Teeth” Here:

Follow Orla on Social Media:

Tweets by orlagartland

https://www.orlagartland.com/

https://www.facebook.com/orlagartland/

Artist Spotlight: Orla Gartland

30806097_10155636725892956_8209371980293910883_o — Orla Gartland

Orla Gartland is a 23 year old singer songwriter from Dublin, Ireland. She started to try and build a career for herself at 14 by trying to convince the various bars in Dublin to let her perform, declaring “please! I’ll only drink Squash!” Unable to convince any of the landlords to let her perform, she took to the online medium of Youtube and began posting covers of the songs she liked to listen to.

Gradually, she noticed her videos becoming more and more popular, with audiences constantly demanding new videos. Once she had gained a following, Orla began to post her own original material. This proved to be just as popular as her covers and enticed her audience to not only stay, but grow, she now has 11.5 million views on her videos to date.

38740200_10155863701927956_9044203992883658752_n (1).jpg — Orla performing at a festival. Photo Credit: Phoebe Fox

I stumbled across Orla completely by accident this morning. There I was scrolling through Facebook when I came across her track “Why Am I Like This”, I was immediately drawn in from the first frame and as the song progressed, I could see the talent oozing from this young genius, she’s only 3 years older than me and certainly puts me to shame!

Deciding to delve deeper into Orla’s social media, I then discovered her latest single ” I Go Crazy.” Once again, I was blown away by this woman’s lyrics and musicality, to say I’m hooked is a gross understatement, Gartland’s music is going to be on a constant loop for quite some time in my house!

Orla is performing various live gigs in the UK and Europe (some as tour support for Hudson Taylor) and I recommend you get down to one of the following UK dates:

Wednesday 28th @ KOKO London – Ticket link
Thursday 29th @ The Haunt Brighton – Ticket Link

It’s no shock to me that Orla is rapidly becoming more popular, will she be a charting artist soon? I hope so! If you need some fresh music to listen to, do yourself a favor and google “Orla Gartland” – you will not be disappointed!