NextGen Fund Round Five Recipients

Alexander West is a 24 year old part-time radio presenter and event host. A lover of all kinds of new music, from hip-hop and metal, to jazz and pop, his dream job is hosting Radio 1's Future Sounds.

Alexander will be using their NextGen Fund to launch an event project called 'You Shouldn't Have to Travel Into London to See Great Live Music', where local acts will play gigs in Alexander's home county of Berkshire.

Bailey P is a 20-year-old DJ/Producer who taught himself how to DJ at 14 years old.

Bailey is looking to fund a music video for their single 'Slaps Like' with the NextGen grant.

Call Me Vee is a cultural worker, musician and radio producer/presenter based in London. They work across different mediums including music, podcasting and radio to explore Black life, culture and its expression. Their practice is informed by my understanding of history as a radical tool for political education, creative thinking and imagination.

Using the NextGen Fund grant, Call Me Vee will amplify their No Signal Radio show, Wake and Make, and curate an event that showcases artists and creatives that have come on the show during the year.

ELATRASI is a British-Moroccan singer-songwriter, vocalist and self-taught pianist.

She is going to create a cinematic, orchestral debut EP called 'EMERGENCE' that unapologetically celebrates being a Disabled, neurodivergent, Arab Muslim woman in this world. The NextGen Fund will be used to create and release two singles from the EP.

Eleanor Kate is a singer-songwriter with a degree in Music Performance from NTU.

With the Youth Music NextGen Fund, Eleanor will write, produce, record, mix, master, promote and release of five indie-pop/folk singer-songwriter tracks as part of an EP.

F.witch is a 19-year-old singer-songwriter based in Brighton. Using her Youth Music NextGen Fund grant, F.witch will work with a professional music video maker to produce a music video for her song 'Ice Cream On Mondays'. The video aims to generate new fans for F.witch's music and to create more opportunities within the music industry.

Reuben Cottrill is on a mission to create positive change within his community as the founder of Fyah Kamp, an online music platform that delivers meaningful messages to benefit younger generations.

With the NextGen Fund grant, Reuben will create the 'LIB3RATE' EP, which will provide an insight into the struggle of young people in today's society. 'LIB3RATE' will be a revolutionary piece of art for the Coventry music scene.

Garrett Laurie is a poetic, cinematic dark-pop artist from Belfast whose music echoes their introspection into the dark side of the young queer experience.

Garrett will create a cinematically influenced EP called 'Impression' with a focus on genre blending. They aim to accompany each song with visuals, working with Belfast and Dublin based photographers and videographers.

Goodnice focuses on writing and performing music driven by often bittersweet melody and sample mangling.

Goodnice will create a four track electronic EP exploring rhythm and real instrumentation in dance music. The EP will be used as fuel for a work-in-progress live set. He intends to write these pieces with a visual element in mind, working with an AV artist eventually for a performance and/or music video.

Hemes is a Middle Eastern artist based in South Wales. Her musical style stems from commercial pop tones, rock inspired distortion and R&B rhythms and melodies. 

Her NextGen Fund supported project will be an EP with five new tracks, supported by visuals and two music videos. The record will cover topics on identity and mental health, and will also include some Arabic sounds and tones.

Indy is a 21-year-old queer, hip-hop artist and skater from London. During lockdown, Indy started listening to and learnt to create jazz-influenced, 'old-school' hip-hop. Since then, he has performed across Leeds, graduated from Leeds Conservatoire had his first London headline at Peckham Audio and played their first festival, We Out Here.

Their project, 'Little Man', is a 12 track hiphop/jazz album, written, produced and performed by Indy. It's a coming of age story and a journey of self discovery, with influences such as A Tribe Called Quest, Kendrick Lamar and The Pharcyde.

Jay McGregor is a presenter and content creator who has interviewed and produced projects with talent such as Celeste, Akala, Becky Hill, Charlie Sloth, Mo Gilligan and more.

With support from the Youth Music NextGen Fund, Jay will launch an entertainment series called 'Corner Shop Class', where she will interview up-and-coming artists in their local area, with a live-lounge style performance of a classic they love.

JED grew up in Devon and started writing lyrics at the age of 11, but didn't have the confidence to share them until he moved to Brighton. Since then, he's consistently released music, collaborated with numerous artists, started an events company and landed a radio show.

JED's NextGen Fund grant will be used to release two singles which will be added to his upcoming debut album, 'Saturday to Saturday'. The album follows a week in the life of a young man in Devon, touching on the drinking culture, the expectations of getting a 9-5 job and a dismissive attitude towards mental health.

Lex Gibbon is here to change the status quo of beauty and tired stereotypes of what it means to be a popstar. Through her music, Lex hopes to help others  learn to love their bodies.

'I've Got Something To Say' is Lex's debut EP So far, she has written three of the five songs that she wants to make up the EP, and the NextGen Fund will help her to achieve her goal. 

Maddie Morris strives to make a difference, taking traditional songs in new directions to shine a light on contemporary issues. Her work highlights inequality and provides an inclusive space for shared experience.

'picket lines, that didn't want us in' will be the debut album of BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner Maddie Morris; a project that combines the interpretation of traditional song and story, as well as bold queer political narratives to create unique and crucial discussion.

Mari Mathias creates mystical behaviour inspired by Welsh folk tales. 

For her NextGen Fund project, Mari aims to capture and respond to the changing rural lands and communities through her creative practice with collaborative folk songs, incorporating field recordings, live acoustic sessions and songwriting sessions. Mari will also create abstract audio-visuals and atmospheric arrangements, built from the collaborations and research.

Marla is a bassist, DJ and producer based in Bristol. She started DJing and producing in 2020 and has created mixes for BBC Intro and 6 Music. Her influences range from deep house to samba; soukous to broken beat.

With her NextGen Fund grant, Marla will release and market a new five track dance music EP titled 'All That We Have'.

Singer-songwriter Maxine is an R&B/soul artist who describes herself as "a big town girl making it out of a small town". Music to Maxine is about impact, she always aims to uplift listeners while sending a message about what she speaks about in her music through a positive lens.

The NextGen Fund will actualise Maxine's first EP, showcasing various abilities she has not yet shown in her music, and portray the different experiences she has had in life so far.

miamusa is a singer-songwriter and producer from Birmingham. Blending light and soulful vocals with hard-hitting beats, she works through her pent up emotions with sound. Although writing music for over 10 years, miamusa's recent exploration into production has enabled her to make the multi-layered tunes she's always hoped to.

Having spent the past year developing her music skills (live performing, production, sound engineering) and networking, miamusa's NextGen Fund project aims to kickstart the creation and release of a new body of work (three singles), with the intention to always inspire other Queer and Black artists.

Nat Oaks showcases an innovative brand of re-imagined hip-hop. Inspired by Ms. Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifah, last year she performed at Boomtown, Reading Festival, Wireless and Love Saves the Day.

Her 'Platform's EP will contain six songs, accompanied by music videos and visual content.

Niques makes garage and R&B soul, giving you that old school feeling. The rising artist has already had Repersentz, BBC, and KISS radio plays and was featured in a talk with BBC Bitesize.

Using the NextGen Fund, Niques will release five songs over the period of a year, one with a music video.

Moving from the Czech Republic to Scotland, DJ nottodaykarin will use her NextGen Fund grant to set up a beginner-friendly DJ workshop for anyone who identifies as a femme/woman. She plans to host a charity event at the end of the course where two selected attendees get chance to showcase their gained skills.

Oscar Jennings has been performing as a singer-songwriter since the age of 14, playing local support and headline gigs.

With the NextGen Fund, Oscar will finish the production, marketing, promotion and release of his debut EP, alongside creating his artist website.

Lyricists from Stockton-On-Tees following their calling to pursue music. Rame, short for Ramesh, is derived from Pahlavi, meaning happiness, and a popular Indian name of the Indian God. Kari, short for, Ekari, is derived from Malawi, meaning lucky and fortune. Together and in short, Rame Kari means blessed to make music.

The duo will create a four-track EP called 'Casual Disasters', including a music video.

Zimbabwean artist Raston developed a passion for music from a young age, idolising legends Chris Brown and 50 Cent, which birthed the start of his career.

Raston will release three varied singles through the NextGen Fund, including an up-tempo drill track using both English and Shona, a hard hitting West Coast beat and a slow tempo, dark atmospheric song.

A singer and songwriter, Sebastian Golgiri makes classical, indie, jazz, opera and ballads. He has performed at LSO St Lukes, The Albany, the Southbank and South London Gallery, always aiming to touch people's hearts with his music.

With the NextGen Fund, Sebastian will release his EP, 'Imagine', as well as professional development in singing, the music industry and the studio, learning more about recording and mixing.

Hailing from Birmingham, shandanan sings, writes and produces original music that gives music-lovers a feeling that the world may have another star in its hands. shandanan uses the changing seasons of life to create and inspire others. Her music is inspired by the likes of Justin Bieber, Koffee, and Janet Jackson.

A hip-hop/rap and R&B musician, artist, producer and DJ, Sharifa moved down from Derby to London to study at the BRIT School.

Sharifa's project will focus on the mixing and mastering, content creation, release and PR/marketing of his upcoming single 'Hittheground'. They will put the NextGen Fund towards hiring a mixing and mastering engineer, creating a music video and working with a PR company on a single campaign.

Siteng is an independent artist with skills in songwriting, music production, sound design, DJing, and audiovisual direction. She blends artpop aesthetics and avant-garde theatrics with her Chinese roots, incorporating elements of artpop, experimental pop, trip-hop, and hyperpop.

'VIOLENT DIVINITY' will be an electronic four-track EP about a history forbidden and erased; a cathartic record featuring thespian soliloquies with aggressive dancefloor solitude.

Spent is a queer, non-binary producer and vocalist based in Glasgow. Their music is a mixture of experimental, electronic and hyper pop as they carve an openly queer pocket for themselves. 

Their NextGen Fund grant will amplify the release of their first album through sound design, artwork, promo and a launch party. The album encapsulates the reality of life as a non-binary young person navigating life in a contemporary setting.

Philly Holmes AKA Sweet Philly is an Irish-born, Scotland-based queer club producer, composer, mix engineer and DJ. As a bisexual, non-binary artist, queerness sits at the forefront of all that they make, embracing the sounds of queer club, creating dancefloor soundscapes that embody all that it means to be queer.

Their 'Bitemark' EP is an experimental audiovisual record that synthesises the sounds of the queer club, experimental dance and sounds commonly heard across the Scottish club scene. It's brash, bright and often abrasive and carries fingerprints of Vogue, jungle, DnB, Jersey and Baltimore Club and Acid while reaching for something new.

Talia Andrea is a student music journalist and events assistant based in London, hoping to make music events a viable full-time career.

With the NextGen Fund grant, Talia plans to launch a music events company/series called 'FEMMESTIVAL' which supports and spotlights female artists. This would culminate in a bigger, all-day festival every summer if the project gains traction, spotlighting female musicians on a larger scale.

Tay Temple is a Manchester based alternative rock artist. Her lyrics are fuelled by her personal struggles, experiences and societal issues, including her journey as a queer woman. Tay strives to rewrite the narrative of what is deemed 'the norm' in the broken system we live in.

Over the next 12 months, Tay will develop and widen her audience in the UK with an EP campaign, including PR and a UK tour.

Tom Auton is a rock artist from Cardiff who self-produces and mix all his own music, influenced by acts such as Royal Blood, Nothing But Thieves and Queens of the Stone Age.

Tom is planning three showcase events this year in small venues in Cardiff, London and Manchester. He will work with management to invite booking agents, promoters, A&Rs, publishers and press agents to the showcases.