Future Bubblers Academy announce live London showcase

20 February 2024 - Press release

15th March • Ninety One Living Room

Showcase for artists on the Gilles Peterson-backed mentorship programme run in collaboration with Arts Council England and the PRS Foundation. Future Bubblers Academy supports unsigned artists and industry professionals to develop their music and navigate the music industry

Pre-order tickets HERE

The Future Bubblers showcases have become a key tradition. It’s a chance to see live shows and DJ sets from a selection of new artists tipped as ones to watch by Gilles Peterson. This year we have four acts representing the 8th year of Future BubblersAcademy drawn from across England, and their music is just as diverse, ranging from live-rendered, Psychedelic Space-Soul to Alternative R&B. The acts are being mentored by singer-songwriter and previous candidate Yazmin Lacey, French-Senegalese artist anaiis, Kokoroko and Little Simz collaborator Miles James and XL Recordings Global Project Manager/A&R Theo Fabumni Stone.

The revised framework of Future Bubblers Academy provides a total 360-degree opportunity for creative and industry applicants to gain on-the-job experience and development across key industry pillars in addition to its core ethos. Candidates will be set real-life tasks and challenges across the following areas: Promotions and Marketing, Creating and releasing Masters, Live, and Everything Else You Might Need To Know (funding, sync, brand deals), all spanning over a year. 

Aided by their mentors, candidates will put their learning towards a series of tasks receiving mentorship from the Future Bubblers and Brownswood Recordings team behind the scenes. The re-brand enforces its priority to evolve with the climate of the rapidly evolving industry and continue to follow the mission statement of “testing boundaries and probing new directions”. 

Previous years’ candidates include Nottingham grime MC Snowy; soulful, Hull’s sample-heavy experimenter Revenu, and the stark, rhythmic incursions of producer Kayla Painter plus numerous other notable successes. As they continue strengthening their cultural importance, last year's collaboration with Tommy Jeans marked an All-star showcase, headlined by Odeal and A.G at Tommy Hilfiger’s London flagship store.

Check out the highlights from last year's showcase at The Great Escape here.

The candidates and mentors' bios are broken down below.

Bill Bilwala - Industry Candidate
Born and raised in Brixton Hill, Bill is passionate about the area he grew up in and uses it as a driving force for his personal growth and career development. Having spent 24 years immersed in the burgeoning musical and cultural hub that is South London, his surroundings have influenced the person he has become today, contributing to his ability to adapt to the changes that have come into effect over time. Bill has a love for curating his own playlists consisting of over 70,000 songs, which he monitors using spreadsheets to document new findings.

Ebony - Industry Candidate
A North London girl born and raised, Ebony's hometown is her main inspiration alongside family, friends, and self-discovery. Since introducing herself to the London nightlife scene, Ebony has used her exploration to evolve her musical knowledge and craft her personal taste. With music always being a part of her journey across different activities, she is ready to put complete focus on turning it into a life-long fruitful career. 

Shadeemus 
Hailing from Leicester, Shadeemus is a Psychedelic Space-Soul band with roots in Wales, Ireland, Nigeria, and Jamaica. Their heritage is reflected in their music and how they perform with additional inspiration from Leicester, a place that influenced them to start the band in rebellion to the lack of local Psychedelic Rock and Soul bands in the city. They cite themselves as a blend of "Gorillaz with Leon Bridges as the lead singer and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd on guitar." Their immediate vision is to expand their team, perform at established festivals and eventually work alongside Danger Mouse.

t l k
Developed within Bristol’s vibrant walls, producer and vocalist t l k leans deeply into the ethereal realm. Fluid in genre and form, t l k's works evolve from memory, dialogue, dreams and ongoing explorations into loss, selfhood and trauma-informed human behaviour. Their production blends a palette of electronic minimalism, ambient soundscape, skewed rhythms, experimental sound design, and neo-classical sensibilities to form something gently assertive, ever-evolving and "truly transportive" (BBC6). t l k’s distinctly ethereal vocals reside at the core of rich, undulating arrangements, with a modular pool of instrumentalists bringing an evolving energy to festival stages, vast churches, surround sound and DIY venues alike. Following their debut UK tour, they most recently opened the main stage at FORWARDS Festival, sharing a lineup with Aphex Twin, Bonobo and Erykah Badu.

"this music is going to reach people and places far and wide" - Nabihah Iqbal, BBC6 Music

O.K Asanda
Struggling to find musical influences in their hometown, Stockon-on-tees, O.K Asanda moved to Manchester, where he established a new lease of life and immersed themself into the culture. Citing his influences as Andre 3000 and D’Angelo, O.K produces his own music that sits between Alternative R&B and Soul soundscapes. His music paints vivid pictures of stories personal to him, covering experiences he or people around him have gone through, utilising the creative process as a medium to channel his thoughts and feelings.

JOIISOL 
Surrey-born and raised JOIISOL spent a decade living in the countryside in East Yorkshire before relocating to Wolverhampton in order to escape the isolated feeling. Following her move, she quickly immersed themselves in a melting pot hub for creatives and drew inspiration from the surrounding community. After completing a songwriting assignment in college, Joii's music teacher advised her to record the whole song, which triggered their musical curiosity. Her music combines R&B and Neo-Soul with hints of Electronic-Jazz using synths and vintage samples to create a nostalgic texture. Joii's long-term goal is to satisfy music lovers with a collection of songs that she dedicated to her fellow shy introverts and ultimately aims to put a smile on people's faces.

Anaiis - Mentor
French-Senegalese singer, songwriter and producer anaiis is fast becoming a notable force in the world of music, fashion and art. Occupying the sweet spot between music, fashion and high art, anaiis has collaborated and contributed to notable works of art with the V&A, Camden Arts Centre, Palais De Tokyo, White Cube, Julien Creuzet, JulianKnxx and more. In fashion, she has featured in a Paul Smith campaign, collaborated with Valentino for her noteworthy ColorsxStudio performance, was dressed in Alexander McQueen for her Harpers Bazaar feature, as well as brand collaborations with Dr Martens, Levis, Paco Rabanne’s Millions x Vice x NTS, and more. 

Ella Knight - Mentor
DJ, Singer and Promoter Ella Knight is in high demand for her tasteful selections across a broad range of Souful House, 90’s pumping House-Garage and Classic Disco. An accomplished singer since 2016 and an alumni of Gilles Peterson’s Bronwswood’s ‘Future Bubblers’ boasting an extensive catalogue of releases and features. Ella has recently broadened her output to DJing, performing legendary sets across London including The Cause, XOYO, Corsica Studios and more. A recent highlight is her high energy Boiler Room London performance, an unforgettable night which also featured Jayda D, Louise Chen and Heléna Star.

Miles James
Guitarist, Songwriter, Producer and Engineer Miles James has collaborated with artists such as Kokoroko Yussefdayes Little Simz to name a few.

Kaya Pino
Kaya Pino is a Music Supervisor working at King Lear in London. Current projects include ‘Dreaming Whilst Black (A24/BBC) and The Greatest Day (Mercury Studios).  Blending a deeply personal understanding of music’s effect on both audience and art form with an ability to create relationships between movement, musicality, rhythm and sound, Kaya takes an anthropological approach to music supervision. She started her career in advertising, and continues to work in the branding space alongside film, series and podcast projects.

Yazmin Lacey 
Yazmin Lacey is a singer-songwriter who knows something about coming into her own. Debut album Voice Notes is yet another record of those moments. It follows on from three stunning EP’s; Black Moon (2017), When The Sun Dips 90 Degrees (2018) and Morning Matters (2020), a trilogy of sorts, named in part by the settings in which they were written. Voice Notes is similarly inspired by something that helped the album spring to life. A long-held tool of her music-making and way of sharing melodies with collaborators, it’s a method of communication deeply special to her.  

Theo Fabumni Stone 
Theo Fabunmi-Stone is an A&R and global project manager at XL Recordings. His role is to discover & sign exciting new artists to the multifaceted iconic label. As well as developing global campaigns for their renowned roster, including artists such as Arca, BADBADNOTGOOD, Blawan, Makaya Mcraven, John FM and more. In addition to his work at XL Recordings, Theo is also a co-founder of the burgeoning indie label, Scenic Route. An imprint dedicated to promoting and nurturing emerging talent, providing a platform for artists to showcase their unique voices and musical styles. Developing promising new artists such as Nourished By Time, who he also manages.