The Great Escape, one of Europe’s leading showcase festivals, returns from May 10 to 13 in Brighton. Showcasing 500 emerging artists from all over the world while running a conference featuring insightful panels, topical debates and networking opportunities, the British festival is the perfect place to discover new music. Whether you’re a music enthusiast looking for your new favourite artist or a music industry professional on the hunt for the next big thing, #TGE23 is undoubtedly a must-attend event.
The upcoming edition holds a special place in our hearts since Italy has been announced as The Great Escape’s Lead Country Partner: both British and international audiences will get the chance to discover some of the most promising Italian up-and-coming artists, as the festival will host two exciting showcases (more info coming soon).
The lineup is being updated and it currently includes Italian performers Sans Soucis, MILANOSPORT, Eugenia Post Meridiem, BLUEM, The Gluts, Maria Chiara Argirò, PEAKS!, Anna Bassy, Hēir, System Olympia and Pier. Get to know the artists and check them out in our playlist!
BLUEM
Genre: Alternative/Pop
Schedule:
May 12, 21.30 – Three Wise Cats
May 13, 20.30 – Brighthelm
BLUEM is the recording project of Chiara Floris, a London-based singer/songwriter and producer from Sardinia, Italy. After moving to the UK to study music, BLUEM self-released her first English-sung EP, Picolina, in 2018. Following three years of experimentation, the artist chose to take a deep dive into archaic sentiments with her 2021 project NOTTE, reverting back to her mother tongue for much of the project, and receiving widespread praise in the Italian music scene for its thoughtful exploration of instinctive and primordial love. Since 2022 she has been releasing several singles including UMMA, Considerando (feat. Fuera) and Adele. BLUEM’s work is grounded in a deep understanding of, and appreciation for, Sardinia’s unique heritage and folklore. Her projects invariably allude to ancient Sardinian stories both in the music and in the portfolio of visual art that accompanies each release.
MILANOSPORT
Genre: Post Punk
Schedule:
May 11, 12.15 – Patterns Upstairs
May 12, 20.30 – Three Wise Cats
May 13, 21.00 – Alphabet
MILANOSPORT is a romantic post-punk band born in Milan. Each member carries a completely different musical past: punk mixes itself with surf rock, synthpop, electronic Soviet, shoegaze and Irish folk. In October 2022 “Ain’t big enough” the band’s first self-released EP gave to MILANOSPORT the chance to approach the international market, playing at festivals such as Linecheck Festival in November 2022. At the moment the band is working on their first album produced by Jennifer Gentle’s frontman Marco Fasolo. MILANOSPORT are: Fender guitars, 10 amps, synth at the center and teamwork.
EUGENIA POST MERIDIEM
Genre: Alternative Rock/Indie
Schedule:
May 12, 22.30 – Three Wise Cats
May 13, 20.30 – Prince Albert
Eugenia Post Meridiem takes shape in summer 2017 when Eugenia (voice, guitar) meets Matteo (bass), Giovanni (guitar, keys) and Matteo (drums, percussions). The meeting lead to the creation of a series of songs that as well as showing Eugenia’s wonderful voice and remarkable songwriting potential, reveal across the arrangements, soul, indie, folk influences, and a pronounced inclination to 60s and 70s psychedelic contaminations finely combined with the roughest 90’s sound textures and the meeting point of 4 different musical backgrounds. In August 2018 at the Big Snuff Studio of Berlin, the band recorded its first work: In Her Bones, released on October 11, 2019. In the summer and autumn 2019, they’ve been mainly toured around Italy. After a year of teasing new singles such as ‘willpower’ and ‘around my neck’, they released their sophomore record ‘like I need a tension’ in November 2022.
SANS SOUCIS
Genre: Pop
Schedule:
May 11, 14.15 – Patterns Upstairs
May 12, 20.15 – Komedia Studio
London-based singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist Sans Soucis takes her name from a nickname meaning ‘carefree’: born out of a desire to reconnect with the uninhibited joyfulness and authenticity of childhood that all of us lose as we grow older, their music is a radical act of reclamation. Receiving praise from The Guardian, Fader, Pitchfork and many more, it combines elements of Congolese Rumba, classic Italian songwriting, electronic R&B and alt-pop sounds. Accolades include the Music Music Moves Europe Grand Jury prize, the inclusion in Spotify’s global RADAR campaign, and TicketMaster’s breakthrough artist for 2023. Recently she’s performed at several renowned music festivals and events such as Cross The Tracks, All Points East, Pitchfork Paris and Eurosonic. Her latest EP On Time For Her is her most vulnerable work yet, tackling childhood and racial trauma and a search for her identity within Western society.
THE GLUTS
Genre: Post Punk/Psychedelic Rock
Schedule:
May 12, 19.30 – Three Wise Cats
May 13, 21.15 – Green Door Store
The Gluts is a post-punk and psychedelic four-piece band based in Milan. The members are Marco Campana, Nicolò Campana, Claudia Cesana, and Dario Bruno Bassi. Up to this moment the band has released four studio albums Warsaw (in 2014 for Nasoni Records) Estasi, Dengue Fever Hypnotic Trip, and Ungrateful Heart (respectively in 2017, 2019, 2021 for Fuzz Club Records), one live session (in 2018, Fuzz Club Sessions) and contributed to few compilations (e.g Reverb Conspiracy Vol.5). Thanks to the collaboration with El Borracho Bookings, during the last years the band has broadly toured around Europe, played in few independent festivals, performed some shows both in South Africa and USA.
MARIA CHIARA ARGIRÒ
Genre: Electronic/Jazz
Schedule:
May 11, 15.15 – Patterns Upstairs
May 12, 22.30 – Fabrica
Maria Chiara Argirò is a London-based artist, pianist, synth player, composer, and producer. The Italian-born artist is known for her dramatic atmospheric jazz but is currently venturing into new territories incorporating electronic soundscapes and vocals. She’s lent her skills to indie band These New Puritans, lush jazz troupe Kinkajous and guitarist Jamie Leeming. Freshly signed to Innovative Leisure, Maria Chiara Argirò marks herself out as an exciting new name in electronic, jazz-fusion with her new album ‘Forest City’.
PEAKS!
Genre: Alternative Rock
Schedule:
May 11, 21.30 – Prince Albert
PEAKS! is an Alt rock duo from Turin making modern base tracks with fuzzy guitars and exciting hooks. PEAKS! is about a common struggle to survive modern society. The band coined the term “Raverock” to describe their unique fusion of electronic beats and fuzzy guitars that creates high-energy and dynamic hook-laden songs. Their music confronts the societal evils that plague our world today, from the insecurities and prejudices that young people face to the fear of rejection and the pressing issues of our time.
ANNA BASSY
Genre: R&B/Soul
Schedule:
May 11, 13,15 – Patterns Upstairs
May 12, 14.15 – Jubilee Square
Anna Bassy had written her first songs in 2016, back then only for guitar and vocals. Several years of creativity followed, of the creation and exploration of musical possibilities. Guitar and vocals were joined by a full band, which Bassy used to bring her vision to the stage for the first time in 2019. Traditional sounds from Italy and Nigeria, where her roots lie, along with soul, folk, pop and electronic production techniques are combined into radiating works like “Could You Love Me” or “Wind, Rain” by the ambitious singer-songwriter. Her latest EP “Monsters” (2021) and its eponymous single leaves no doubt that Anna Bassy, after more than 70 concerts across Palermo and Milan to date, is one of the most promising artists of the Italian soul landscape. Her second EP “Genesis” came out via Needn’t last November.
HĒIR
Genre: Pop
Schedule: May 12, 21.30 – Queens Hotel
Hēir (aka Patricia Manfield) is an independent artist based in London and raised in Naples, Italy. She traveled most of her childhood with her classical musician parents. In 2015, Manfield became very popular in the fashion field as one of the most influential Italy-based street fashion bloggers. Manfield has worked as a brand ambassador for many high-end fashion brands, such as Versace, Dior, and Fendi. In 2018, she decided to pursue a blossoming music career, changing her professional pseudonym to Hēir: as the industry’s alt-pop’s new prodigy, Hēir is known for her ethereal vocals and bold synths. She’s since signed a distribution deal with Sony Music Entertainment, and in March 2020, released her debut EP “Daddy Issues”, which has achieved over one million streams on Spotify. Her new EP ‘’Is That All There Is’’ is coming out on April 7.
SYSTEM OLYMPIA
Genre: Nu-disco/Electronic
Schedule:
May 13, 23.00 – Patterns Upstairs
System Olympia is a prolific Italian London-based producer, songwriter and vocalist, building a sonic world inspired by erotic literature, late-night drives and dance floor romance. A timeless sound defined by lush pads, dreamy synths, gritty drums and earworm melodies. Founder of Okay Nature Records, System Olympia uses her label to bring her creative vision to life. Her LP “Delta of Venus”, an ode to the 1977 groundbreaking anthology of erotic short stories, remains a classic in underground music circles, whilst her album “Always on Time” was listed on Pitchfork’s ‘29 Records You May Have Missed’ in 2021.
PIER
Genre: Indie
Schedule:
May 11, 12.50 – The Hope & Run
In blending 90’s alt-rock & Sardinian folk influences, Pier — born Pier Francesco Dessí — provides a soundscape that is entirely his own. Guitars swell from ambient to aggressive while powerful vocals soar above. After gigging extensively around Sardinia — and briefly moving to Finland to work in a steel factory —, Dublin has been home for several years now. Constantly experimenting with new collaborators & creative spaces, Pier is looking ahead to 2023 for his debut release.