From clubby hyperpop to UK drill and eerie indie, this is the best new music to listen to in 2024

It’s never been easier to discover new music. From flicking through 30-second earworms on TikTok to the tried-and-trusted method of being recommended songs by friends or shamelessly Shazam-ing in the club, it can feel like there are endless ways to work out who’s ‘in’ for 2024.

But instead of making you do the research (which inevitably means sifting through some very average shit to find nuggets of musical gold), we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to the artists you should be looking out for in 2024. Recommended by Time Out’s editors, these are some of the names you should be most excited for – and who you should add to your playlists immediately. Bringing you filthy Eurotrash bangers, braggadocious drill rap, pop poetics and so much more, here are eight of the hottest acts to watch out for in 2024. 

For the club rats: TAAHLIAH

TAAHLIAH has to be one of the most exciting names in the dance music scene right now. Having cut her teeth in the underground club scenes of Berlin and Glasgow, she’s now releasing music on the London label ‘untitled (recs)’.
In May 2023, she released the stunning debut EP ‘Angelica’ which cemented her reputation as a masterful producer – effortlessly traversing through squeaky-clean hyperpop to hard dance sounds and winning critical acclaim from music mags, tastemakers such as Mary Anne Hobbs and peers including VTSS, Loraine James and Sherelle. 

Essential track: ‘Fall into Place’.

For the goths: Nightbus

If you’re a Wednesday Addams type, Nightbus have probably been on your radar for a little while. Their eerie sound combines elements of Joy Division and The XX, pairing clubby beats with a more melancholic undercurrent. Nodding to Irish punk bands like Fontaines DC, The Murder Capital and Lankum, Nightbus will have you dressing in all-black and channelling a chic ‘Daria’-esque nihilism in no time. Their single ‘Way Past Three’ is already setting a gloomy precedent for the year ahead – in the best way possible, of course.

Essential track: ‘Way Past Three’.

For the TikTok rap scrollers: CeeChynaa  

One for fans of Ice Spice and Ivorian Doll, 19-year-old drill artist Ceechynaa is a fearless new voice in the UK rap scene. She initially found fame on TikTok for her viral video taking down unrealistic beauty standards, before her popularity snowballed into internet music stardom. Her single ‘Last Laugh’, notable for its themes of empowerment, self-confidence and reclaiming control, is not only bold in its message – it’s also bloody great to listen to. Expect to see more of her music popping up all over your timeline in the next year.

Essential track: ‘Last Laugh’.

For the trashy pop lovers: Babymorocco 

The singer, record producer and performance artist Clayton Pettet, aka Babymorocco, is often thrown into conversations with New York’s Dimes Square lot (think: The Dare and Frost Children), but in actual fact, he’s a native Londoner. After signing to True Panther Records earlier last year, he released the EP ‘The Sound’ which blends Eurotrash and house club anthems with his exaggerated faux-heterosexual macho-man aesthetic. Of course, that means tongue-in-cheek lyrics centred around partying in Zante, hooking up with shot girls and doing ket, naturally.

Essential track: ‘Everyone’.

For the reflective pop explorers: Antony Szmierek 

In his hit single ‘The Words to Auld Lang Syne’, Antony Szmierek asks a very important question: ‘Aren’t we all just smashed atoms and poached egg on toast? If you think about it’. His direct, spoken word tone throughout the song makes this pondering feel blissfully optimistic, a source of reassurance in hard times. In the past year, he’s performed at Glasto, been played on BBC Radio 6 Music and also appeared on ‘Jools Holland’ – so expect plenty more from this Mancunian pop poet in 2024. 

Essential track: ‘The Words to Auld Lang Syne’.

For the mystic rockers: The Last Dinner Party

Last year was a biggie for The Last Dinner Party, and it seems they’re only on the up. The five-piece landed sets at Glasto, Latitude and BST, sold out shows across the country despite only releasing one single, and won the ‘Rising Star’ award at the Brits. With a debut album on the horizon, the group are set to bring another year filled with Wicker Man-inspired garms and baroque-pop – reminiscent of Florence and the Machine, Kate Bush and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Maybe it’s time to invest in a maypole.

Essential track: ‘Nothing Matters’.

For the alt-jazz obsessives: Muva of Earth

Jazz stars Ezra Collective ruled last year as Mercury Prize winners and, more importantly, Time Out’s Londoners of the Year. London jazz will continue to dominate 2024, with rising star Davina Adeosun-Bright, popularly known as the artist Muva of Earth, taking the sound further leftfield, blending neo-soul, jazz and Afrofuturism (think Alice Coltrane-meets-Bjork and you’ll be on the right track). To get started, tune into her debut EP ‘Align with Nature’s Intelligence’: a wonderfully transcendent collection of tracks that teases an exciting future for the star. 

Essential track: ‘Your intuition is your friend’.

For the experimental hip-hop listeners: Nukuluk 

Blending electronica and hip-hop into a chaotic sound that’s perfect for dancefloor escapism, Nukuluk are a South London-based collective channelling a variety of influences into a weird, punkish, digital-infused sound, rich with glitching 808s, spliced-up samples and trip-hop vocals. Get stuck into ‘Disaster Pop EP’ to understand exactly why they’ve garnered a cult following – oh, and make sure it’s played on full volume for a proper immersive feel. 

Essential track: ‘Feel Awful Now’.