Yes, I hear your question: “Will the possible leaving of the United Kingdom out of the EU influence the Music Moves Europe Talent Charts?”…
The answer is ‘no’ for the moment. As you might have noticed, for instance, we also calculate the success of Norwegian acts, and Norway is not a member of the EU. So in the event of Brexit, you will still see British acts in the monthly Artist chart. With six British entries in the top 10 and even 40 British acts in the top 100, without them, the chart would look completely different. So, based on those numbers we can only conclude: Europe loves British music.
But the rest of Europe is also competing to beat the British with fresh new music. Let’s first have a look at the movers and shakers of this month’s chart. The fastest climber is Lithuanian dance producer Gaullin. He made a dance adaptation of the song Moonlight by late American rapper XXXTentacion, and now his track is signed to Sony it moves quickly westwards in Europe, rising from #40 to #24.
Also, Irish music is doing well outside its borders. Live punk rock sensation Fontaines D.C. is making an impact with Big (PIAS), gaining 19 notches to #31. Their gig at the ESNS Festival in Groningen in January made such an impression that they are the most booked band in the European Talent Exchange Program (ETEP) at the moment – they will perform at no less than 13 European festivals live this summer. Also doing well for European festival bookings are British experimental rock act Black Midi with 9 bookings and British R&B singer Flohio with 8 bookings so far.
Other gainers worth mentioning are the Belgian funk-pop of Charlotte Adigéry at #35. Her High Lights (PIAS) is played on the radio nearly everywhere in Europe. German rapper Mero just dropped his Ya Hero Ya Mero album on Groove Attack Trax and finds himself at #48, thanks to airplay on not one but several tracks.
Also, British rock band Sports Team is making inroads with their self-released M5 at #66, and Swedish production duo Decco rises to #68 due to airplay of Crazy To Love You (Sony) in Germany and Austria – the song is sung by British singer Alex Clare. And Norwegian newcomer Otha rises ten notches to #74 with her self-released dance track I’m On Top.
While British-American production duo Silk City at #1 is well over the landmark of 700 million impressions, we also welcome five newcomers this month. The Highest of them comes from Italy from dance production unit Meduza at #43. Their Piece Of Your Heart (Universal) is becoming a massive hit in the UK. Also, British airplay lifts the French indie pop of Pi Ja Ma, in at #76 with I Oh I (Wagram).
We welcome the first Hungarian success in this chart at #91: there enters singer-songwriter Gyuri Ligeti with his ballad Sorry (Pimodan), an underground hit in many countries. He used to be in the bands The Puzzle and Zagar and is now one of the most asked producers in Hungary. Also in at 98 is British indie band Piroshka, a new project of former members of eighties indie bands Lush, Elastica, Moose and Modern English. Their Everlastingly Yours (Bella Union) is enjoying airplay in Spain and France.
Finally, Dutch singer Merol (not to be confused with German rapper Mero) is crossing over to Belgium with her poppy tracks with funny lyrics at #99. Especially the title Hou Je Bek En Bef Me (Ammehoela) is one to look up for yourself in Google Translate…
Menno Visser
Music journalist and radio professional from The Netherlands
