Two local musicians have been named on the BBC Sound of 2014 longlist, which is designed to identify the best new upcoming talent in the music industry.
Luke Sital-Singh, 25, from New Malden, and Sampha, 24, from Morden, made it into the top 15 list voted for by 170 notable music critics, journalists and media personalities chosen by the BBC.
Mr Sital-Singh said: “I’m chuffed to bits to be included on the list. Even the long list is pretty short when you think [about] how many artists there are in the world.
“It’s amazing to be picked out from the ocean of great talent out there.”
Luke Sital-Singh’s guitar based singer-songwriting has earned him comparisons to the likes of Bon Iver and the BBC have described him as: “A new talent who already has the sound of greatness to him.”
In November, he performed at Kingston-based Banquet Records to launch his third EP, Tornadoes, with a full album expected in 2014.
Meanwhile, Sampha Sisay, who goes under the mononym, Sampha, enjoyed a huge breakthrough this year, collaborating with hip hop star Drake and performing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in New York.
Sampha featured on two songs, Too Much and The Motion, from Drake’s LP, Nothing Was The Same, which has already sold over one million copies worldwide.
The BBC has described his vocals as ‘gentle yet impacting’ and he released his second LP, Dual, this year.
There will be stiff competition for a place on the top 5 shortlist against the likes of Sam Smith, who has already featured on a UK number 1 single, and Californian artist, Banks, who opened for The Weeknd at a sold out O2 Arena last week.
The 2014 winner will be named on 10 January while previous winners of the poll include 50 Cent, Adele and Jessie J.
