If pop music is all about timing, then Christopher Duncan appears, at least at first, to be in trouble. A July heatwave seems a spectacularly ill-suited release date for songs such as Say or Silence and Air, which boast choral passages so wintery you can practically hear Britain’s transport infrastructure collapsing. Then again, Duncan doesn’t appear to be interested in typical working methods. The 25-year-old Glaswegian is a classical composer who studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and in this debut he incorporates complex choral work into more pop settings. He seamlessly merges interweaving vocals with the sounds of pastoral English folk and lush, 4ADesque dreampop. On He Believes in Miracles and the title track, both of which have a psychedelic shimmer, you realise that Duncan is just as comfortable when creating music to suit sunnier climes, making this a magical record for all seasons:

Known for honest, self-reflective songs as well as captivating lyrical works of fiction and an intimate live show, Andy Shauf is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing emerging songwriters.

His latest release, The Bearer of Bad News, explores themes of uncertainty, curiosity and spirituality. The unsettling stories told on The Bearer of Bad News came as Shauf wrote both at home and on the road. Musically, the record took shape in his modest home studio in Regina, Canada, where Shauf spent 4 years recording each song himself.

Jamie XX is the mastermind behind The XX. In Colour is his first solo record and an absolute masterpiece. Every song is perfection. You want to dance? Check this version of Loud Places  out – recorded for the French TV channel Canal+:

If there was one big moment at Glastonbury this year. Just one single moment out of many – TrendEngel would like to pick Rag’ N’ Bones acoustic performance of The Bitter End on BBC Three. Just amazing. This is a different performance but just as good:

Yes, sure – He is  the guitarist of The Strokes. Albert Hammond Jr describes his third solo album as “a love letter to my past self”, and it’s not hard to link latest cut ‘Losing Touch’ with his tales of drug excess. “Pop your confusion into my arm/Left with a contusion and a vein full of scars”, he sings over muted guitars. After that, a high-pitched, fuzzed-up melody needles through, bringing this impassioned break from the past into furious life.

The lead track from Holy Holy’s debut UK EP ‘The Pacific’, ‘Impossible Like You’ comes over like Midlake’s back catalogue being artfully mined by the iconic Master Musicians of Joujouka (a Moroccan group noted for their part in Stones founder Brian Jones’ ‘…Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka’ LP). Feather-soft harmonies flutter over rolling Moroccan riffs courtesy of Brisbane’s Timothy Carroll and Melbourne’s Oscar Dawson. Be prepared for yet another summer of love.

Describing herself as a “dreamer and a thinker,” Aurora started making music when she was just nine years old. Now 19, she’s dropped a number of wonderfully delicate tracks. This little girl from Bergen in Norway is ready to conquer the world. TrendEngel had the privilege to see her perform at The Great Escape in Brighten the other day. All acoustic in a an overcrowded  tent. The audience was glued to every word she sang and whispered. Magic.
This is why Aurora is having a magic aura:

Well, the comparison is rather obvious. If you are 17 and from New Zealand and are about to conquer the world there has to be a parallel drawn to Lorde.  At least when it comes to song writing and quirky looks Aldous Harding is an easy comparison.

Aldous Harding got her start in Lyttelton, a port town on the outskirts of Christchurch. There she has kept sailors in check with cheek and a strong-songed tongue. She caught the ear of locals Ben Edwards and Delaney Davidson playing under her own name, Hanna Harding, alongside band The Eastern
Aldous Harding’s lead single, ‘Hunter’, has been characterised by Harding as a ‘gothic fairytale’. This is folk music, simple and bleak with Harding’s fragile coo reminiscent of retiring, 60s-era folk singers Vashti Bunyan and Linda Perhacs. ‘Hunter’ seems to occupy a place outside of time, opening with the refrain, ‘He’s a hunter, he’s a good man/Be brave when he brings you nothing home’ and closing with a vision of blood streaming down a river. While Hunter grabbed all the headlines TrendEngel wants to give you the chance to get to know another side of Aldous: Stop Your Tears off her debut record:

The Big Moon is a all female London quartet whose sound is built upon tight harmonies, strong guitar interplay, and exuberant energy. Formerly known as The Moon, their debut single under the new moniker, “Sucker”, will be released on Hard Up Records in June.