Anja Ngozi is a London-based DJ and producer, whose music and sets centre around soulful tunes, lo-fi beats and experimental vibrations… She runs Síbín, a club night and label (founded by herself and the infamous Maxwell Owin), with two new monthly shows on Reprezent and rundemradio. We love this tune, Pastor, which she and Max made featuring O the ghost; this Frank Ocean Mix Anja put together, and her recent edits of American R&B artist India Arie.

Cameo Blush is the project of London-based producer John Dunk, who in 2019 debuted his live set at the acclaimed Field Maneuvers, following his first outing as a producer on Nick Höppner’s Touch From A Distance. We are super excited to welcome him back after JD played with us back in 2015 and again with Ross from Friends in 2016 and 2017.

His debut release showcases his fascination with off-kilter sounds through a heady mix of intense drum programming, alien vocals and glistening arpeggios.

Along with a string of mixes – including Olsen and the Feel My Bicep mixtape series – 2020 kicked off with live shows at revered London clubs, Phonox and Corsica Studios, continuing with a remix for Athlete Whippet and a three-track EP ‘In Cadence’ as the inaugural release on new concept label, unknown – untitled.

Reared on a combination of Jazz, Folk, Reggae, and the 2002 Ibiza soundtrack, Oxford producer and songwriter feeo developed a taste for storytelling, big beats and stacked vocal harmonies early on. Her first cuts channelling this blend of styles were quick to turn heads, leading to a feature on Loraine James’ acclaimed album ‘For You and I’ in 2019, providing the vocals for ’Sensual’. Lyricism is the driving force behind feeo’s work, which she sets against an experimental Neo-soul-inflected backdrop.

Her first two tracks, Yeti and Morning Glory, are treasures to behold. We feel very lucky to have feeo with us, and can’t wait to see how things unfold for her.

Emerging as one of dance music’s most exciting producers and DJs, London-based India Jordan is a true disciple of high-energy, fast-paced dance music — capturing the attention of the scene’s top tier DJs and tastemakers across a series of perfectly-pitched, quietly personal singles and EPs.

After holding down DJ residencies and promoting parties across the UK for the best part of a decade, 2019 saw India take the plunge into releasing their own original music for the first time with an instant impact. By the end of the year, following three singles on Local Action Records and riotous live appearances on Boiler Room and Keep Hush, The Guardian named India as one of “50 Amazing Musicians to Watch in 2020” and Resident Advisor listed their track ‘DN4’ as one of the best of the decade.

Despite having their biggest shows to date cancelled due to Covid-19, in May 2020 India released ‘For You’ — a six-track EP that represents their “largest and most personal” body of work yet and has been praised almost unanimously as one of the best releases of the year. Inspired by growing up queer in the North of England, it documents India’s understanding and learning about their own identity, and being kind to themselves in the process (the “You” in the EP’s title is a reference to India).

‘For You‘ was an instant hit, receiving stellar reviews upon release from Pitchfork (8.0), NME (5/5), Clash (8/10), Resident Advisor, Mixmag, The Guardian, Bandcamp, Dazed and more. ‘For You’ has also swept the board in Best of 2020 Lists: Resident Advisor named it the #1 Track of 2020, Crack ranked it as their #2 Best Track of 2020, Pitchfork listed it as the 21st Best Song of 2020, and it also featured high in Best Tracks of 2020 lists from NME, The Vinyl Factory, Gorilla vs Bear, Clash Magazine, Beatportal and more. Capping off a flagship year, India also won ‘Best Breakthrough Producer’ at the annual DJ Mag Best of British Awards, and Pete Tong named them his ‘Breakout Star of the Year’ on his flagship BBC Radio 1 show.

Regular radio support in the UK has come from Annie Mac, Danny Howard, Pete Tong, Jaguar, Tom Ravenscroft and more, while high-profile artists and DJs such as Caribou, Four Tet, Romy xx, Prospa, Ben UFO and Bradley Zero have all shown public support for India’s music. With a new EP set for release in March, festival slots at Field Day, Eastern Electrics, Lost Village and more in the diary and India’s own headline show set to be announced, 2021 will see India’s star continue to rise.

Founded in 2018 by trumpet player Axel Kaner-Lidstrom (Where Pathways Meet, Cykada), Levitation Orchestra was formed with the shared goal to create original suites of music completely collectively, with each member contributing freely and equally. As such, the overall vision of each project is the total sum total of the participant’s influences and aspirations. 

A twelve-piece ensemble abundant in energy and focus, Levitation Orchestra’s captivating original compositions come to life in the band’s explosive live performances — as experienced by anyone who was there for their 2019 Kite Bar set! It felt only right to us that LO should take on the Brainstage this year.

Check out their ritualistic way of making music for yourself in their first EP, Inexpressible Infinity.

Hailing from Enfield, North London, adventurous producer Loraine James is a rising voice in the electronic music community. Taking piano lessons as a child and growing up listening to a wide range of genres has instilled a voracious musical curiosity in her that resonates throughout her productions. While classes at college, and later on Westminster University’s Commercial Music course, facilitated her encounter with the basic tools for digital production, her approach is closer to DIY culture than formal training.

Often expressing her love for IDM, her intricate, highly intuitive and emotional tracks, composed used minimal, easily-available setup, and openly queer identity stand in direct opposition with the genre’s traditionally male, white and gear-fetishising intellectualism. James’s music is at once abrasive and vulnerable, a powerful dichotomy used to fuse together the many disparate elements from London’s sound universe which she integrates into her music, moulding grime, R&B, jazz and ambient into novel sonic creations with an instinct for improvisation. 

In 2017, her self-released debut album Detail caught the ear of many music aficionados, but 2019’s sophomore For You And I LP on Hyperdub would make her a breakthrough star, receiving unanimous acclaim from peers, fans and critics at the likes of Crack, DJ Mag, The Quietus, Mixmag and Pitchfork. On Nothing EP, her second Hyperdub release, she explores new directions with a diverse group of international collaborators including Uruguayan producer Lila Tirando a Violeta, Jonnine Standish of Australian duo HTRK and Iranian-British rapper Tardast.

Lynda Dawn is a vocalist, producer and songwriter from London. Exploring the sonic spectrum between soul, funk and jazz she draws upon her musically inclined upbringing to deliver a distinctive style of storytelling.

Dawn’s nostalgia-tinged tracks embody her early influences via captivating grooves and celestial vocals. She cites the crackling sounds of her parents’ records along with growing up in the Pentecostal church as her spiritual education in funk & gospel expression.

In 2018 Dawn caught the attention of Gilles Peterson and was featured on the 13th Brownswood Bubblers Compilation. Her debut single ‘Move’ introduced her as a definite ‘one to watch’.

Dawn has since enlisted the help of frequent collaborator Al Dobson Jr for her debut EP ‘At First Light‘. The highly anticipated project (released via Mndsgn’s record label Akashik Records), was met with critical acclaim and landed the number 1 spot on Jamz Supernova’s Top 5 EP’s in the world on BBC’s Radio 1Xtra. The Guardian and Clash Magazine also featured Dawn as one of the top new artists for 2020.

With more music on the horizon, this enigmatic songstress has quietly positioned herself as one of the UK’s brightest new soul artists.

After her dazzling performance at our Digs gig (remember those?!) early last year, we are very happy to welcome pedal harp and synth player Nala Sinephro back to Brainchild 2021! You may have spotted her play alongside Alex Rita as part of Calm Roots during the 2019 festival, or even at a Steam Down jam once upon a time. For this festival set though, we are very lucky to have Nala accompanied by a full live band for one of the very first times. As heralded by the Guardian’s ones to watch list, Nala’s music is ‘gorgeously woozy and tidal – and not unworthy of comparison to Alice Coltrane‘.

Nala has new music on the way, with big things in the pipeline, but for now, keep in the loop via her Instagram page or tune into one of her eclectic NTS shows :)

We’ve got legend OK Williams lighting up the Shack on Friday night — this isn’t one to miss! Setting dancefloors ablaze with all kinds, from deep house to techno to jungle to UK funky, catch her show monthly on NTS to get a feel of what’s to come 🤠 For those wanting to get to know her a little better, we love this interview she did with Gal Dem and this mix for LN-CC.

We cannot spot dreaming of how incredible this will be – closing our Brainstage on the Friday night are Overmono! Their tunes have kept us dancing through lockdown, and we know we’re not alone in that – they are very widely respected by so many of hte producers in our community and we cannot wait for them to bring their live set to Brainchild. 

Under their respective artist names Truss and Tessela, brothers Tom and Ed Russell have forged formidable individual reputations as producers. Defining tracks such as Truss’ ‘Beacon’ and Tessela’s ‘Hackney Parrot’ have encapsulated so much of what is exciting and vital in UK underground, electronic music. Overmono, sees Tom and Ed come together on record for the very first time, with the duo releasing the Arla EP Trilogy (XL Recordings).

In their own words… 

“Despite doing some live shows together and the fact that we’re brothers, we hadn’t ever really written music together and wanted to start something new. We decided to head to a remote cottage in rural Wales, near to where we grew up. The trip ended up being the most creative stint either of us had ever had and after a week we had the foundations for Overmono.”