Vronsky
My own band here in London plays great folk songs. I'm not the best person to evaluate this, since I'm bound to be partial. Still, this is a great band and you should listen to it and come to the gigs! We're not on Spotify yet, but we will be soon.
King Crimson
Unfortunately the greatest progressive rock band that ever existed is not on Spotify. At least their first album In the Court of the Crimson King is a fantastic piece of music. Truly original sounds and melodies. There are a lot of quiet parts in their songs, so this is best to be listened to focused and with good stereo equipment.
The Art of Amputation
This great starting band surprised me as they were playing as a warm up band for Woodpigeon at the Shacklewell arms a few weeks ago. Their indie sounds are carefully produced and even live, their vocals sounded pretty good. Definitely look forward to see how their career will evolve.
The Rope & the Colt
I was introduced to this band a while back when they played with Vronsky on one of our gigs. Their folk songs are fairly interesting with great melodies. Looking forward to hearing some more of these guys.
And now for the Spotify list. The bands are listed below and the link to the playlist is here: London
Blur
Blur was the first britpop band I fell in love with. Soon after came Pulp, Oasis and Suede, but Blur started it for me. Parklife and Great Escape really hit hard for teenager me, when I still mostly listened to 70's hard rock. This started my fascination with British pop culture and indie music.
Suede
Suede was the last of the Britpop's top four that I got excited about. I mean, I did like their hit songs early-on, but I never really listened to whole albums. When I finally did, I was really impressed how great the whole albums are...well, at least the first three albums. Dog Man Star is the best one in my opinion with it's massive string arrangements and dark melodies.
Kula Shaker
I've liked Kula Shaker since the first time I ever heard them. Their britpop sounds mix with rock and Indian influences beautifully. Both of the first two albums are fantastic, but the second album has even more innovative approaches in its melodies and sounds and therefore I prefer that a bit.
Sleeper
I found Sleeper too late. The whole britpop movement was over when I found out about this great band. The sound is close to that of Blur's, but the female diner gives another kind of feel to the music. I was first introduced to the band by their version of Blondie's Atomic in the film Trainspotting.
Echobelly
I'm not exactly sure if Echobelly is from London, but I suspect so. The lead singer was born in India and they also have a Swedish guitarist, so I don't really know where this band should be placed. Musically Echobelly is pure Britpop with upbeat indie disco songs.
Elastica
Elastica is one of the most heavy sounding Britpop bands out there. It was founded by two former members of Suede. Their debut album is not on Spoitfy, but it's fantastic blend of rock and Britpop with true attitude.
Skunk Anansie
I never really thought about Skunk Anansie as something I would listen to for a long time. I had heard many of their songs on MTV in the 90's, but it wasn't until fairly recently that I saw the beauty behind the songs that change from aggressive rock songs to more gentle ballads. One of the most legendary 90's bands.
The Tears
This comeback band joining Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler was highly anticipated, but I think they disappointed a lot of people. The album didn't really have that many great songs and the sound was closer to Suede's worst album New Morning than the brilliant early albums. Still, as a curiosity, this band deserves to be on this list.
Coldplay
Coldplay started their career really strongly with their debut Parachutes. The fantastic album was followed by almost as good second album, but after those two albums of great atmospheric pop the band few too big and started to sound like U2, which really isn't a good thing. Now the latest albums are too bad to even listen to. Still, the first two albums are an unforgettable part of London music history.
Bernard Butler
The guitarist on Suede's first two albums left the band and started making his own music. His high and clear voice is pretty fantastic even if it's not as original as Brett Anderson's. His first solo album, People Move On, has some really great songs. Mainly ballads.
The Rolling Stones
One of the most legendary bands ever to exist. I've never been a fan of the Stones' albums, but they have some fantastic individual songs. I think the reason, I've never become a huge Rolling Stones fan is that their music is more about attitude than the quality of their songwriting. They do have great singles, but in my eyes, that's it.
Manfred Mann
This band has been forgotten by many younger generations, but in the 60's they were considered to be one of the greatest British bands with the likes of The Kinks and The Who. Their music is mostly a bit boring, but they have few exceptionally great songs in there.
The Kinks
One of the great bands of the 60's, the Kinks has influenced a hoard of indie pop bands in the later decades. They are mostly known for their few hit songs, but I really encourage people to listen to their whole albums, since they've really made some great concept albums and songs that are just waiting to be discovered by later generations.
Cream
Eric Clapton's most interesting band, Cream, has some amazing guitar-work, psychedelic sounds and hippy rock attitude. This band to me proofs that Eric Clapton has not always mare adult oriented rock, but even he was once young.
Procol Harum
Procol Harum is mainly known for their hit song A Whiter Shade of Pale. it's a great song, so I have nothing against that fact. Rest of their songs are not quite as catchy, but you just might find some other interesting songs as well.
David Bowie
Not many people have had as huge influence to the music world as David Bowie. He started off making excellent hippy songs, but there was always a more grand and innovative touch in his songs. then he moved to be this mystical character making amazing music from another world and changed the way music was made. He started the glam-rock movement and produced many excellent albums for other artists of the time.
Roxy Music
I've never been a huge fan of Roxy Music, but some of their songs represent the great glam-rock attitude and I have to include them to the greats of that musical style. The sounds are more alternative than many other glam-rock bands'.
T. Rex
T. Rex was one of the heaviest, but at the same time most pop-oriented, glam-rock bands. This band is more than anything else, about the attitude. I can barely imagine how their live shows have been at the time of their prime in mid-70's.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd is one of the most influential and original bands of all times. They started off with some psychedelic hippy sounds and moved on to more space-like sounds paving the way for experimental synthesiser bands and progressive rock. Pink Floyd in my mind is more about albums than individual songs.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin's garage-blues-rock had many changes during their career. They always went on to come up with new sounds and styles. My favourite moments from them are not the ones you usually hear. I really like the blues ballads on the first albums and experimental No Quarter on Houses of the Holy.
The Who
The Who started of with pretty basic hippy rock, but in the 70's their music evolved into skilful stadium filling rock with great melodies and rock attitude. Who's Next is their best album with amazing amount of great songs. Roger Daltrey has one of the best rock yells of all times.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Even though Jimi Hendrix himself is not from London, his band was formed in London. He's obviously one of the best guitar-players ever to have lived. The music has influenced many bands from different styles such as progressive rock, garage rock and blues rock.
The Pretty Things
This band is often forgotten when talking about the great hippy rock bands. Their pop-rock with psychedelic influences should not be forgotten though. S.F. Sorrow is an exceptional album full of fantastic songs.
Elvis Costello & the Attractions
One of the forerunners for punk. Even though Costello's music was way too melodic and skilful to be punk, his strong English accent and attitude must have been influencing the rise of punk. His first few albums are absolutely fantastic.
The Clash
In my view, The Clash is probably the best band of punk's first wave. Their first two albums were pretty straightforward punk but the subsequent hit record London Calling really made a difference. it's still one of the most legendary albums and for all the good reasons. Mixture of different styles has given birth to quite unique sounds.
Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols was probably the most aggressive of the first wave punk bands. Their political lyrics and off-key singing was something that no-one had heard before. They changed the whole world of music by breaking the myth that bands had to be really skilful in their playing to make great albums.
Public Image Ltd.
Usually referred to as post-punk or new wave, PIL's music took punk's off-key attitude to new and innovative directions. Their music is noisy and non-melodic at many places, but still they managed to attract people with something completely new. This Is not a Love Song is a fantastic song.
Madness
Punk gave birth to many weird musical styles, one of which was ska music combining elements of punk and reggae. Madness is one of the best examples in this musical style. Their first few albums are great party music using amazing horn sections.
Billy Idol
Billy Idol is everything what the 80's music stands for. The sounds could not be more typical for the decade. He has few amazing individual songs, but his whole albums have never really impressed me that much.
Bloc Party
One of the greatest indie groups of early to mid 00's. Bloc Party's first two albums made music history by combining dark post punk revival sounds to more danceable beats and poppy melodies. Silent Alarm is one of the greatest classic albums of last twenty years.
Fanfarlo
Although this band has a Swedish singer, the band was formed and is based in London. Their indie rock is pretty basic when it comes to the sounds, but their melodies and songs carry great emotions making this one of my favourite modern indie bands. Reservoir is an amazing album.
Allo Darlin'
Allo Darlin' is a masterful group in upbeat indie-pop. Their songs sound very similar at first, but once you get to know the songs you begin to enjoy the little nuance differences and those beautifully simple melodies.
Veronica Falls
Much like Allo Darlin' Veronica Falls knows how to make catchy pop melodies and attract cool hipster crowds. There is nothing exceptionally unique in their sound, but the simple pop melodies make me love their sound.
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers is one of the best melodic indie-pop bands ever. their music is based on catchy melodies and choruses that make you want to dance and sing along. Excellent music for bright summer evenings and soundtracks for everyday life.
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield has used many different influences in her music from county to folk and from soul to rock. Her best moments, in my opinion, are in the seductive soulful songs such as the world famous Son of a Preacher Man.
Emmy the Great
Emmy the Great is one of the most interesting woman singer-songwriters nowadays. Her songs range from up-beat pop songs to melancholic and beautiful ballads. Her voice is full of honey and soft storytelling capabilities.
Denai Moore
I only just heard of Denai Moore couple of months ago when she was performing as a warm-up act for James Vincent McMorrow in Barbican. Her beautiful singing voice, dark melodies and simple piano backgrounds were even more interesting live than her fantastic recordings.
Amy Winehouse
For a long time I did not really care for Amy Winehouse. Her soul sound resembled me too much of all the horrible MTV stuff out there. But when I listened to her music a bit more, i really understood what this was all about. Her voice is unique and the songs are a great modern interpretation of old soul classics.
Lily Allen
I'm not really that much of a fan of Lily Allen, but I decided to add her on the list anyway because of her strange music that plays by the rules of commercial pop music but still manages to be different than the heartless MTV pop.
Charlotte Gainsbourg
This half French half English actor and singer has worked with French band Air on Air's albums but also made her own solo albums in collaboration with them. Her singing voice is her strongest asset, but the songs are not too bad either.
Rebekah Delgado
This singer-songwriter is really not that well-known anywhere, but I managed to see her live with some other artists on couple occasions and her great piano-driven songs and fantastic voice attracted my interest. After releasing one album I can only predict a bright future for this fantastic singer.
Daughter
Daughter is difficult to categorise. The etheric singing voice and delay-filled guitars are otherworldly. The songs do not have strong hooks or catchy melodies but the general sound mixing traditional instruments and various effects makes the sound very interesting.
Kate Bush
Probably the highest pop voice out there. Kate Bush's sound is completely unique. The songs are artistic and theatrical and above all soars the unearthly voice. The first albums are the best ones in my opinion, but the later albums have some interesting stuff as well.
Keaton Henson
One of my favourite recent artists. Henson's breaking and delicate high voice is really unique and his minimalist quiet songs are filled with emotion. His album Birthdays is a masterpiece combining really silent and clean electric guitars with amazing exploding noise parts here and there.
Elton John
Elton John's career really took a turn at some point towards even more syrupy songs. His early 70's stuff is fantastic blend of beautiful piano ballads and glam-rock aesthetics. For those of you, who only know him through Lion King, I suggest you give a chance to albums like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Bill Fay
Bill Fay made couple of folk albums in the 70's but wasn't really remembered by many. Those albums are difficult to find anywhere anymore. Few years ago, however, he made a new album after decades of silence and that album is quite fantastic piece of piano-heavy melancholic and apocalyptic sounds.
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention has for some reason gotten the status of a band that many people think about when talking about folk. The medieval type of songs are not necessarily brilliant, but they do have some good songs even so. This is truly English folk rather than Americana.
Cat Stevens
I've always known about the existence of Cat Stevens, but it was only recently I listened to any of his music besides the obvious hits. He has some great folk songs. Especially Tea for the Tillerman is a great album.
Dan Michaelson and the Coastguard
One of my recent favourites. The deep baritone voice sounds amazing on top of the melancholic melodies and carefully produced clean electric guitars and pianos. Blindspot is an exceptional album, even if the songs sound fairly similar at first.
Queen
One of the most well-known bands in the world. Freddie Mercury's voice is one of the best that ever existed. I like especially the 70's stuff, but they managed to make some good songs after that as well. Queen has soundtrackted our lives substantially.
Ed Harcourt
This singer-songwriter draws most of his influences from American singer- songwriter music. The most striking feature is Harcourt's amazing raspy singing-voice. The songs have instrumentations from piano to electric guitars and from violin picking to weird effects. He is exceptionally good live.
Lightspeed Champion
This singer-songwriter made endearing indie-pop with a lot of string arrangements and innovative melodies. I was shocked to find out that the same person behind Lightspeed Champion is the current artist Blood Orange, who's music I really couldn't care less. Lightspeed Champion also has some amazing and funny lyrics.
Goldheart Assembly
This indie band can be mainly defined as melodic indie rock/pop. The melodies are often melancholic and the production is bigger than on most of the indie performers' albums. This is a fairly new familiarity to me, so I don't yet know how my relationship with this artist will evolve.
Dave House
Dave House makes great indie-pop-rock influenced by skate-punk of the 90's. His album Intersections was my gateway to his music, but the rest of the albums are good as well. Really well-made singer-songwriter stuff.
America
This great Americana-folk band is mainly known just for their song A Horse With No Name, which is often mistaken to be Neil Young's song. I don't blame people, since this is a great song and does sound a lot like Neil Young. Still, I encourage people to listen to other stuff from them as well, since it's not just about that one song.
Luke Sital-Singh
One of my newest findings. Sital-Singh plays intimate singer-songwriter music with melancholic melodies and beautiful melodies. This guy may just end up being one of my new favourites. He doesn't have a full album yet, but there are three EPs to choose from.
Sam Lee
This singer-songwriter's music sounds very American. His folk songs have strong roots in Americana folk and country. There are some great string arrangements and vocal harmonies in his songs. His voice is nicely raspy.
Dry the River
This dreamy band makes beautiful music with high-pitched vocals and big melodies. The grandness of the sound is spectacular. I bet they would sound amazing live. if they just have what it takes to reach that big sound of theirs on stage.
Turin Brakes
One of my long-time favourite artists play folky pop music with amazing melodies and spectacular vocal harmonies. I only saw them live few months ago for the first time and I was afraid I might be too late, but they really had a great show. Some of the most beautiful songs on this planet are made by these guys.
Mumford & Sons
For some reason I hear that liking these guys music is embarrassing. I have no idea why. They may be a bit mainstream, but their fast banjo-driven folk explosion is really great stuff and I for one will not complain if this is mainstream compared to all the other crap that's out there.
The Rifles
The Rifles make beautiful, yet a bit commercial folk-pop. A lot of their songs are greatly written, but I would appreciate a bit more tuned down production. I bet this would sound a lot better with more acoustic instruments.
Peter and Kerry
This duo has strong influences from American singer-songwriter greats such as Sufjan Stevens and Ben Kweller. The voices sound good together and the electronic aspects mix neatly with more traditional instruments.
Noah and the Whale
This band's first two albums were great pop with some relaxing ambient/post-rock influences sounded fantastic. There was an otherworldly calm atmosphere in their songs that took you away from this world. Unfortunately they messed things up on their third album and started to make soulless radio-pop.
Still Corners
I'm not usually a big fan of electronic music, but Still Corners mix electronic sounds to some acoustic instruments and come up with some quite amazing songs. The Trip is especially beautiful piece of work by them.
Hot Chip
One of the last years' greatest electronic acts. Their sound is very unauthentic but the melodies are great and the songwriting pretty good. Even though I would probably prefer these sounds a bit more authentically produced, Hot Chip definitely has its moments.
Pet Shop Boys
This is one of the most well-known electronic acts in the world. In the 90's I couldn't understand why anyone would want to listen to this since it had no "real" instruments. Later on I have been drawn to the great vocals and dark and futuristic melodies. Definitely one of the best artists in this genre.
Jamiroquai
There's something extremely 90's about Jamiroquai. their funky danceable pop-songs sounded like no other band. Their first and third albums were quite unique and great, but unfortunately they didn't manage to make the same sound happen on their other albums.
The King Blues
This is one of the weirdest bands I've ever come across. Their songs mix influences from reggae, ska, punk and pop. The result is endearingly original. The singer's accent is really strong and weird. Just listen to the song Chimp in a 3 Piece Suit. The lyrics are very political and great as such.
Mystery Jets
This band makes echoey indie-pop with high vocals and clean guitar-sounds. The style is very typical for the 00's. The songs have nice rising tempos and catchy choruses. As a curiosity, I think it's worth mentioning that this band is from Eel Pie Island.
The Libertines
Pete Doherty's led garage-punk band has everything you might expect from this style of music. Strong accent, buzzing guitars and fast melodies and simple guitar-riffs. The first album is great but already the second album was considerably weaker.
Dirty Pretty Things
Fairly average, very British sounding, indie rock band. There are a lot of garage influences and lo-fi sounds in this rowdy rock band's music.Good for party times though. I'm not really that familiar with the band's career as a whole.
Virals
This indie rock group is only at the beginning of their career, but it sounds really promising. The sounds are rough and garage-styled. There are also a lot of influences from 80's alternative scene and shoegaze.
My Vitriol
This band sounds very 90's. The overly-produced hard rock sounds are a bit corny, but for those of you who like hard rock sounds and progressive elements in it, this is a fairly good band. I was a bit too late to like this band fully.
Placebo
Placebo was one of my favourite bands at my early adulthood. Their dark and melancholic melodies and angst-filled attitude were just perfect in an age where I was a bit uncertain of myself and was suffering from teenage existential crisis. The first two albums are still really good and nostalgic.
Bush
Probably the only proper English grunge band. The melodies are darker than those of Pearl Jam, but otherwise this band represent similar sound world. I only found this band quite late, so I never lived through it in my teenage angst when I was really into grunge. Still, pretty good stuff!
Savages
Modern 2014 version of the above angst-bands. Savages have dark and gloomy melodies, buzzing guitars and fast drumming with Joy Division style bass lines. I would only hope a bit more melodic approach, but it works quite well even in its current aggressive form.
Spearmint
This band belongs in the same group with 90's britpop. It's not as good as the best britpop bands at the beginning of this list, but they have their moments. Catchy melodies and similar sound are a sure treat for all you britpop fans out there.
Spector
Spector's music is a mixture of soft punk and pop-rock. Their songs have really catchy melodies and choruses just scream you to sing along and jump up and down. I saw them live warming up Suede and they made an instant impression.
White Lies
This sound is really mid 00's. Larger than life dark sounds and a deep baritone referable to bands like The Killers. The first album is a good example of the kind of music that combined the indie aesthetics with more mainstream dance rock style.
Duologue
This band can only be compared to late Radiohead recordings. Everything from the singing voice and clanking effects remind me of Amnesiac era Radiohead. Duologue is only a bit more pop and bit less innovative.
Blue States
Blue States remind me a lot of Moby. The sounds are very similar. Combination of funk and soul influences in melodic pop. I don't know that many songs by the band, so I can't speak for the whole career, but at least the Season Song is great.
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren has mainly made really weird artsy music. I'm not sure if I actually like many of his stuff. The first time he really made an impression though was his song About Her featured in Kill Bill vol. 2.
Goldfrapp
I don't normally like anything that sounds like Goldfrapp. It's far too dance-oriented and too pop. Still there is something in these songs that appeal to me. Maybe it's the beautiful singing or the fact that the production is much better made than on your average MTV pop.
The XX
The XX is one of the most original sounding bands of the recent years. Their hypnotic and silent echoey pop is great for relaxing. They were the closing act for a Finnish music festival some years back and the calming atmosphere in the moonlight was a perfect ending for tiring three days of music and standing up.
Death In Vegas
Death In Vegas is difficult band to approach. I really like some of their ambient-like calming songs and some of their more psychedelic jams, but then again, there are also a lot of songs with boring melodies. I think you just have to pick the songs you like and listen to those, since whole albums are always a bit disappointing, unfortunately.
Smoke Fairies
Smoke Fairies have a lot of potential when it comes to their dreamy sounds resembling trip-hop of the 90's. Some songs are more aggressive than that with emphasis on electric guitars. The band hasn't yet made an outstanding album, but I think there may be one coming up at some point.
Trembling Blue Stars
This band from the 90's has been overlooked by many. The clean guitars are the only feature that separates their hypnotic music from buzzing shoe-gaze bands. There is something very similar at least to bands like James, but on the other hand also to bands like Mazzy Star.
Talk Talk
I found this 80's band truly when I was making my last blog about best albums on certain years. Their early career is not remotely interesting to me, but Spirit of Eden really appeals to me with its quiet and subtle melodies and sounds.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
One of Damon Albarn's more folky projects. This project has some innovative sounds and rhythms typical for Damon Albarn, but there are also a lot of traditional acoustic instruments used. The stores are about London as well.
Tunng
Tunng's music is difficult to categorise. They make somewhat psychedelic melodies, but the sound is very beautiful and quiet. I guess the most influences are found in 60's pop bands such as The Zombies. Turbines is a fantastic album.
Shy Nature
Shy Nature is on the danceable side of indie bands. Their music could be described as experimental pop. There's definitely danceable beat, but the melodies don't follow the customary patterns. This is one of my new finds so I don't really have much to say yet.
Bombay Bicycle Club
This hipstery pop-rock group has some psychedelic elements and some dance elements in their jam filled hit songs. I haven't really listened to their music enough to make up my mind of them, but I do like a couple of their songs a lot.
Klaxons
Klaxons play fairly hipstery hit-driven pop-rock. Their choruses have catchy hooks and the rhythms are easy to dance to, but the melodies are more innovative than in your average radio-pop band. I'm reminded at parts by Of Montreal.
Younghusband
Youngusband combines dance beats with 80's post punk and new wave aesthetics. I guess in that sense their idols could just as easily include bands such as OMD or Depeche Mode as they could include bands like Joy Division and Jesus and Mary Chain. They also have the sounds of modern indie pop bands.
The Big Pink
Mainly known for their hit song Dominos. The Big Pink combines electronic sounds to industrial sounding slow beats. The sounds are big like explosions. The whole albums are not necessarily that genius, but they have some great songs.
Pale Seas
This starting band draws their influences from grandiloquent and echoey indie pop. Clear electric guitars mix with acoustic strumming and doubled vocals are filled with echoes. It'll be interesting to see how this band's career evolves.
Public Service Broadcasting
This band is truly original concept of electronically influenced sounds and jams with public service broadcasts spoken over them. I don't know if this concept will last over many albums, but Inform, Educate, Entertain is a great piece of music.
MJ Hibbett & The Validators
I saw this singer-songwriter the first time about two years ago. He's almost more a stand-up comedian than a musicians. the lyrics are full of comic observations of nerdy things like old computers, dinosaurs, but also of the rise of indie and about The Smiths. Funny stuff with some punk-folk lo-fi sounds.
The Times
This early 80's punk post-punk band is all about London. Their album This Is London has some great stories about London and the miserable features of this great city. Some of the songs are really catchy and brilliant.
Wire
This alternative rock band from late 70's paved the way for 80's alternative scene mixing punk sounds to more melodic structures and innovative little quirks. The first two albums, Pink Flag and Chairs Missing, are timeless classics.
The Sound
Dark and gloomy post-punk in the footsteps of Joy Division. This 80's band sounds to me most like the post punk revival bands of the 2000's. I only found the band quite recently, but it has risen to be one of my favourite post-punk bands of the 80's era.
Iron Maiden
Even though I don't really listen to a lot of Maiden anymore, I just had to include this band on the list. As a pre-teenager, Iron Maiden was one of the coolest bands ever with their monster album covers and progressive rhythms and guitar solos.
Motörhead
The badass rock band Motörhead is not exactly my kind of music, but their rowdy rock songs, such as Ace of Spades has a certain attitude that one can only appreciate. Lemmy Kilmister is definitely a character.
Uriah Heep
As a teenager, i was really into 70's heavy bands and Uriah Heep with their melodic and catchy songs appealed to me. Their crazy high vocals are a bit strange, but that just gives them originality. Their best song is the 16 minute masterpiece, Salisbury.
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