In this feature, The Most Radicalist pick out their favourite emerging artists opening up stages across the globe.

For this edition of Festival Finds, we're flying out to Sicily for Ypsigrock Festival, which promises to be like no other. The festival takes place in Castelbuono, a medieval village set in the scenic hills about an hour away from Palermo and a short twenty minute drive to the Mediterranean sea. For a weekend in August (9th to 12th), this sleepy village will play host to global musicians and music fans flocking from all over the island, Italy and further afield. Festival goers can expect the best of Sicilian hospitality combined with unique performances in historic courtyards, cloisters, pine woods, desecrated churches and the iconic castle’s square.

This year, this boutique festival has booked headliners The Jesus And Mary Chain, The Horrors, and Aurora, although here at The Most Radicalist, we’re all about the newest sounds and so our festival picks look at the must-see smaller acts who would be well worth seeing at any event, but especially in the castle home of Ypsigrock.

Discover our Festival Finds - Ama Lou, Her, Kelly Lee Owens, Shame, Blue Hawaii, and Confidence Man - below.

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AMA LOU



We’ve been on the tail of Ama Lou ever since the North Londoner made her impressive debut ‘TBC’ in 2016. Then she was just 18-years-old, but her age is irrespective of the British artist's conscience as her songwriting is unafraid of approaching deeper, more serious issues that affect our society, such as oppression of minorities. This moral agency is coupled with a desire to push the boundaries of genre and production. Her music has travelled from the twitchy electronic R&B of ‘TBC’, to the soulful tenderness of ‘Not Always’, to the eclecticism of ‘Said It Already’, and lastly to pop tendencies of ‘Lost My Home’. Ama Lou is an artist who’s grown up around the influences of London’s R&B scene, her classical training and all the offerings from the online world that young creatives have access to. Each of her songs pertains a relevant, unavoidbable message based on her own experience as a young person of minority heritage living in a sprawling metropolis, against a backdrop of balanced, beautiful R&B and pop influenced music.



HER



This is sure to be one of the most emotional, heart-rendering performances of the festival and not for the reasons you’d usually expect. Her’s music isn’t overtly designed to evoke the buried hatch of feelings we all store away - their music is fresh, sexy and built around slick, slow-jazz rhythms. However, anyone who has been following Her since debut single ‘Quite Like’, when this project was still in its anonymous genesis, you’ll know that the band was struck with tragedy last year. Sadly, one half of the duo Simon Carpentier passed away after a long and private battle with cancer. The loss is commemorated by remaining band member Victor Solf in a song called ‘We Choose’, through which the musician’s energy continues to live on. It will certainly be a powerful experience to hear Solf’s dedication to his friend and long-term collaborator in a live setting, bring that presence from the studio in Paris to the sage in Sicily. Through tracks ‘Quite Like’, ‘We Choose’ and many more, Her add that chic French touch to Ypsigrock’s lineup.



KELLY LEE OWENS



Speaking with the organisers behind Ypsigrock Festivals, one of their first recommendations for an artist to see this year is Kelly Lee Owens, the London-based Welsh musician who swapped indie-rock for dream-pop and ambient techno in a much acclaimed debut album. The self-titled record takes the listener on a journey through meditative soundscapes, deft production and creative arrangements that smoothly introduces club beats appealing for newcomers and the most seasoned ravers alike. If this is your first introduction to Kelly Lee Owens, then we’d like to turn your attention to album track ‘Lucid’, which is the perfect example of her hybrid style. Beginning with orchestral violins, the song expands into dreamy electronica and Owens’ floating, reverb-soaked vocals; the tension is kept at arm's length until the last moment, where the dance beats break through into murky overtones and space-age synths.



CONFIDENCE MAN



Confidence Man make music for letting go of your inhibitions. Their album Confident Music For Confident People is a hedonistic melting pot of early LCD Soundsystem, Le Tigre, Beck, Hot Chip, and Jagwar Ma. Far from sounding like a dizzying mix, Confidence Man is an exhilarating kaleidoscope that alters your usual perception in favour of an optimistic outlook. The Melbourne outfit is made up of four characters Janet Planet, Sugar Bones, Clarence McGuffie and Reggie Goodchild and they’ve built up a mighty reputation for raising the roofs (figuratively and literally) at a string of festivals. We can only hope that the castle is left standing once Confidence Man are through with their high-octane performance.



SHAME



South London rockers Shame are a refreshing dose of youthful and raw post-punk that sounds like a combination of Fat White Family and The Stone Roses. Far from old school bravado, Shame are aware of their newness, although their approach shows a maturity beyond their years. As charismatic frontman Charlie Steen says of popular single ‘One Rizla’: “Embracing insecurity as a strength is what this song is about. It's the first song we ever wrote as a band and I think that's reflected in the simplicity of it. It's honest and raw, whilst attempting a stab at number one in the pop charts across the eastern hemisphere.” We suspect you may have to take any statements made by this British band with a pinch of salt, especially listening to songs like ‘Dust On Trial’, a grungy death rattle that hardly seems fit for today’s charts, but perfect for the open-minded audiences of Ypsigrock Festival.



BLUE HAWAII



Blue Hawaii aren’t ones to toot their own horn, instead allowing their fans to organically find their music, and once found, you won’t be able to draw yourselves away from their magical folk-pop. Back in 2010, the pairing of Raph Standell-Preston (also the lead singer in the band Braids) and Agor (aka Alexander Cowan) quietly released their debut EP, Blooming Summer, and since then the Montreal bandmates have continued to refine their soothing sound. Tinged with disco, dream-pop, tropical house and indie-folk, you can’t help but appreciate Blue Hawaii’s bold and well-handled variation. One moment you're transfixed on the delicacy of ‘Try To Be’, then you're grooving on down to ‘No One Like You’, before going back to gentle, melodic contemplation with ‘Get Happy’. If you're looking for diverse listening experience over the festival weekend, you can’t afford to miss Blue Hawaii.

-Hannah Thacker