The Emerging Musicians to Listen to Now
Words by
Dylan O'Connor
14th August 2026
From jazz and deep house to pop and soul, these are the emerging musicians to have on your radar before they blow up.
Brad Stank has a seasoned and soulful voice.
A Seasoned and soulful voice, Brad Stank coined his music "sexistential pop" and 30 seconds of his music is enough to know precisely what he’s referring to. Brad Stank, who donned the name after thinking it sounded funny, seems to just lazily glide from one masterful track to another. This particular brand of smoky blues could bring you tranquillity in a midday standstill at a motorway junction.
Track to listen to: Wild River Dream feat Schoolgirl Byebye off his new album All is Well released March 2026.
Irene Diaz
It’s a tired trope that music has lost its soul, and the Mexican-American singer and songwriter, Irene Diaz, only helps to prove how antiquated this belief is. California-born and raised, she plays guitar, piano and, of course, has a rare combination of both a perfectly smooth but deeply moving voice. The Chicana singer’s approach to torch songs is particularly poignant live, as we were lucky enough to witness at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan.
Track to listen to: Irene Diaz - The Fool
Mansur Brown
With his hauntingly atmospheric music, this classically trained South London multi-instrumentalist, Mansur Brown, has rapidly become one of the most exciting names in Underground British Jazz. Mansur Brown is influenced by everything from the swing and rhythm of 00’s hip hop like Timbaland to the melancholy of enigmatic, supremely talented Burial. While guitar is his instrument of choice, he also experiments with keyboards, flute and saxophone to produce a cinematic sound that leaves you utterly fixated.
Track to listen to: Mansur Brown - Ocean’s Interlude
Aidan
Aidan's album cover for his third mixtape, Paradise Lost.
British-born Aidan takes influence from the likes of Prince, Joni Mitchell and Jai Paul. There is a certain dizzy dreamlike excitement to his music, which is all produced and written in house, adding to the allure. Aidan has a haphazard approach to songwriting, he explains, "slowly deconstructing" the scattered lyrics into melodies.
Pinning the style down is never straightforward for Aidan, who aspires to move the boundaries with every album. His next mixtape, Paradise Lost, will be released* on 14 August 2026.
Track to listen to: Aidan - Hollywood Dream
Paris
Shifting to the world of electronic music, Byron Bay based producer and DJ, Paris Forscutt, who goes by PARIS creates a rhythmic, melodic bridge between deep house and techno. Her accolades in Australian Electronic music have led her to work with the likes of esteemed DJ Rüfüs Du Sol, remixing the track Another Life, as well as working with the likes of Maceo Plex and Lane8. She also runs her own label Upon Access, where she produces music described as blurring the line between introspection and the dancefloor.
Track to listen to: PARIS & Kaleida - Collide
