大象传媒

It’s been a funny old year, especially when it comes to music. Venues have been closed, gigs have been postponed or cancelled, and artists have found all sorts of innovative ways to perform and share their music. But as 2021 comes into focus, there’s a glimmer of hope: concerts and festivals in the planning, exciting musical collaborations and so much new music to look forward to.

6 Music’s Matty White, Radio 1’s Arielle Free and 5 Live’s Chris Warburton have teamed up to bring you their list of the five music-related things they’re most looking forward to in 2021.

Arielle is excited about the return of one of the most successful artists of the 21st Century: “I’d love to see Adele drop her new album in 2021.”

This would be Adele’s fourth studio album. After her appearance on Saturday Night Live in October, the singer tweeted: 'I’m going back to my cave now to be the (single) cat lady that I am! Peace out til next year ♥锔�'. So all eyes on her social media channels from January 1st….

Chris says: “Stevie Wonder is my favourite-ever artist. He suddenly released new material for the first time in four years. Returning to politically-charged music too - Where Is Our Love Song is with Gary Clark Jr [on guitar]. He’s also hinted at a new album, which would be his first in 15 years.”

During a live-streamed press conference in October, Stevie Wonder mentioned he’d already written ‘lots of songs’ for a ‘new project’ called Through The Eyes of Wonder.

Fans are also hoping Rihanna will release her ninth studio album - her first since Anti in 2016. She told Vogue magazine in March that her next album will have a reggae influence but wouldn’t be drawn on other genres, saying simply: “I am very aggressively working on music.”

Watch this space!

Arielle is really looking forward to hearing the winner of 大象传媒 Sound of 2021, which always tries to predict the most ‘exciting musical talent’ of the next 12 months. The top five - and then the winner - will be announced in the first few days of January.

In the top ten longlist are:

Alfie Templeman
Berwyn
Bree Runway
Dutchavelli
Girl In Red
Greentea Peng
Griff
Holly Humberstone
Pa Salieu
The Lathums

Go check them out!

Winner of the 2020 award, Celeste, has her debut album coming out in February 2021 - Not Your Muse.

All three of our contributors are excited about the prospect of physical gigs in 2021. But they wonder what format they’ll come in.

Arielle says: “The return of gigs and festivals - how will they be done differently? Socially distanced, outside, half-capacity, more online streams like Dua Lipa’s show? Would you feel safe going to Glastonbury, for example?”

Some of the options ticketing firms have been looking at for a safe return to gigs include safe venue capacities, staggered entry times, and contact tracing once the event has ended.

Some big name artists already have ‘real life’ gigs in the UK planned for Spring/summer 2021, including Aerosmith, Bryan Adams, The Beach Boys and Paul Weller.

Matt White says: “I’ve missed live music so much - [I’m looking forward to] New Order Live at Heaton Park in particular.” Which 2021 gig is Arielle most excited about? “Idles. I have to see them live!”

2021 won’t suddenly see the end of online streaming gigs either. Boy George and Culture Club will be playing a live gig - Rainbow in the Dark - to 1,000 lucky fans at the SSE Arena Wembley on 19th February, but the whole event will also be live streamed to a global audience.

When it comes to festivals, plans are already being put in place. Artists like Stormzy, Post Malone and Liam Gallagher have been announced for the 2021 Reading & Leeds festival. There will be six headliners split across two main stages on each site, to help with social distancing.

Matt is excited about the Glastonbury Festival. In 2020, the festival would have been celebrating its 50th anniversary birthday - so 2021’s festival will be a double celebration.

However, organiser Emily Eavis says that whilst the festival is in the planning, she’s “still quite a long way from being able to say we’re confident 2021 will go ahead.”

Part of the issue is around cancellation insurance. Glastonbury and other festivals are calling on MPs for financial support to help them cover costs if they have to cancel due to Covid-19 again next year.

Other festivals to have announced a June 2021 line-up include Download festival with Kiss, Biffy Clyro and System of a Down, to mention a few.

And the Isle of Wight festival with crowd-pleasers Lewis Capaldi, Lionel Richie and Snow Patrol. Fans who bought tickets for festivals in 2020 will still be able to use them in 2021.

We’re going to be spoilt for choice when it comes to new albums in the first few months of 2021. Luckily our team has narrowed it down a bit for you.

With what Chris calls the ‘glitchy dance vibe’, both he and Arielle are looking forward to Bicep’s new album. This will be the second album from the dance duo - who met at primary school in Northern Ireland. It’s called ‘Isles’ and is out on 22nd January.

Arielle is also excited about Foo Fighters’ new album, Medicine at Midnight, due out in February. And Matty can’t wait to hear Arlo Parks’ debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams, which is also due out in January.

Chris adds: “Four Tet says he’s made an album with Madlib. He just mentioned it in a comments section of a livestream of fans. Two of the most influential producers of the last 10 to 20 years, and both had their own albums out this year.”

That collaboration album is called Sound Ancestors and will be out in January. The first track “Road of the Lonely Ones” debuted on Mary Anne Hobb’s 大象传媒 Radio 6 Music show on 14th December.

Chris Warburton, Arielle Free and Matty White presented a New Year’s Eve special Music Review on 大象传媒 Radio 5 Live on 31st December. Listen back on 大象传媒 Sounds.