The five best artists from Sheffield that aren’t Pulp or Arctic Monkeys
Sheffield is a city built on music. As we take to these cobbled streets, with each footstep comes a ripple of rhythm, ringing from artists past and present.
Two of the biggest names that have ever come from the Steel City are Arctic Monkeys and Pulp, and rightly so. Their music has since inspired generations of musicians, and as they champion Sheffield, both in their art but also as mere representations of the city, so too does the South Yorkshire sanctuary have an adoration for them.
However, Sheffield refuses to fall into the trap of other places, where every piece of music that comes from the area following the success of such bands needs to be a replica of said bands – instead, the music scene thrives in the modern age, boasting great pop, jazz and punk acts in every single venue you come across.
Sheffield loves to champion its legends, but if you really want a taste of the city’s music scene, you need to listen outside of just Pulp and Arctic Monkeys.
The five best artists from Sheffield:
Nubiyan Twist
I’m cheating a bit here, because this eclectic nine-piece musical outfit are from all over the place, but some of the members are from Sheffield, and that’s good enough for me. They’re on the list!
There are very few bands like Nubiyan Twist still out there touring and recording excellent music like this in the modern age. The way that they put together a large sounding blend of jazz, soul and hip hop is an experience completely unique not only in its inception, but also in its execution – imagine someone has put all of the kind of music that makes you happy into a jar, shaken it up and then poured it into your ears – that’s a bit what Nubiyan Twist sound like.
If you haven’t had the chance to see them yet, fix that as soon as possible… they’re one of the most exciting live bands on the circuit, and they’re proud of it as well. “We are one of the rare nine-piece bands still on the circuit that play a quite highly produced but fully live show with no backing tracks,” they said in a recent interview with Juno. “A lot of people who see our live shows say it’s another level to listening to the records.”
Ramases
Ramases has a pretty interesting backstory. Originally in the military, then a radiator salesman, one night when he was driving home, he was visited by the Egyptian God of the same name and told that he was its reincarnation. Allegedly. Once he was visited by said God, he decided it was time to leave radiator sales behind, and instead pursue a career of channelling the superior being that lived inside him through music.
Ramases isn’t just a great artist because of his backstory, though, as the music he went on to make was truly a thing of beauty. Released in 1971, his debut Space Hymns found form during a period when psychedelic rock was still ironing out the creases. The genre didn’t have set parameters yet, which led to some chaotic music, but also gave rise to incredibly innovative and exciting records that weren’t aware they were pushing boundaries because those boundaries didn’t technically exist yet. That’s what Ramases did, as his music remains some of the best to come out of Sheffield, despite his motivations being slightly strange.
Femur
There are three things in Sheffield which are inevitable: 1) mention United or Wednesday, and you’ll divide the room, 2) good ale is the standard in every pub, 3) if the Femur are playing, the place will be packed. ‘Local legends’ feels like an understatement; these lads are part of the furniture at this point, one of the weight-bearing building blocks that props the city’s music scene up.
An aggressive blend of rock and punk, whether you’re listening to a studio recording or are lucky enough to catch one of their live shows, Femur have a sound that grabs you by the head and shakes until your brain seeps out your ears… in a good way. A big name at every local festival, and now finding themselves branching out of the Steel City, gracing the stage at other prestigious events, Femur are one of the best this place has to offer.
Def Leppard
A lot of the most popular bands from Sheffield get by because of their connection to the everyday person… when you listen to bands like Pulp and Arctic Monkeys, their songs are about going out on the piss, falling in love with a close friend, and worrying about a taxi ride home costing too much – these songs, even at their most flamboyant, have a very grounded ring to them.
Of course, just because this is a quality that some of Sheffield’s biggest bands possess doesn’t mean that the city isn’t capable of producing flamboyance from time to time, and Def Leppard are the perfect example of this. Yes, the large-sounding rock outfit responsible for hits such as ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ and ‘Animal’ are originally from Sheffield, and while they continue to sell out stadiums, there’s no denying they’re one of the best bands the city has ever produced.
Self Esteem
I’ll make this quick – there’s simply no one like her. Self Esteem isn’t just a pop star, she’s a reflection of the boldness, humour, and honesty that a city like Sheffield prides itself on. I saw her early on, at Get Together festival in Foundry, just after the single ‘Prioritize Pleasure’ had been released but before the album had. She took to the stage with a microphone and two backing dancers, all wearing a Sheffield Wednesday top as a dress. The crowd were swept up in her the moment she started performing, and the awe of that room has now spread across the country over the past couple of years.
Despite only releasing two albums as a solo artist, Self Esteem is already regarded as one of the best pop acts in the country, and it doesn’t look like she’s slowing down any time soon. On top of her music, she continues to make a name for herself on TV and in the theatre. A true all-rounder, Self Esteem is one of the very best that the city has to offer.
