Favourite artists’ favourite artists: Divorce recommend four new acts to listen to
Sure, it’s our job to give you new music recommendations. We’re employed to stay in the know, we’re supposed to be clued in by trade. But really, for the best musical tip-offs, look towards the people on the road. In this case, look towards Nottingham band Divorce.
Since 2021, four-piece Divorce have been busy. Like every up-and-coming band, they’re more often than not found piling into a van and hitting the motorway, racking up the miles going up, down, left and right, playing at the staple venues in the UK’s live music circuit, or even further afield.
They cut their teeth playing gigs, and so they got sharp alongside a class of other incredible acts. Whether chatting in green rooms as they share bills, or simple wandering around the festival, managing to catch other acts before their own slot, musicians get a front-row seat to the development of other musicians. Both in their own local scene in Nottingham and out of town, as they’ve been travelling around, Divorce have played alongside plenty of other risers and seen many more.
But even beyond seeing them live at gigs, all those hours on the road or seeking out inspiration during their times at home, it lends itself to discovery. As artists are constantly pushing forward into new stuff, naturally, they tend to be pretty keen on new music.
So don’t ask us, ask them. Cornering Divorce ahead of their set at All Points East in the summer, we asked them to do our jobs for us and share their own tip-offs for the best new artists that people should be paying attention to.
Divorce recommend four new acts to listen to:
Abel Ghekiere
Struggling over pronunciation for a moment before absolutely nailing it, guitarist Adam Peter-Smith suggests points towards an international artist. “My favourite new artist I’ve discovered recently is a Belgian artist,” he said, shouting out Abel Ghekiere.
Releasing music since 2021, Ghekiere got started around the same time Divorce did. However, he works in a very different vein. While the Nottingham band are influenced by indie and country sounds, Ghekiere’s specialisms are more left-field. The multi-instrumentalist works in the worlds of jazz and traditional folk, being deeply inspired by classical elements as well as field recordings. His songs are more like audio collages than any traditional structure.
In particular, Peter-Smith wants to put you onto one song: “He’s got a track called ‘Caroline’ that I’m completely obsessed with,” he said, recommending a new one that came out in January.
Jacob Alon
Co-vocalist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow co-signed the Mercury Prize’s decision to back Jacob Alon as a nominee this year, as he picked out the Scottish artist as his favourite new discovery.
Only releasing their debut single last year, Alon has quickly rose to prominence, and deservedly. Their work is staggeringly beautiful, influenced by folk and indie, but especially by Alon’s childhood sights and sounds, and their experience of queerness.
For Mackenzie-Barrow, it was seeing Alon live that truly sealed the love for them. “I’ve seen them play a few times at Glastonbury and things, and they were incredible,” he said, adding with awe, “amazing stuff”.
Cucamaras
Coming up in the Nottingham scene, Divorce have been surrounded by their city crowd for a long time. As the members all met and started collaborating back when they were teenagers, they’re well-versed in their own local venues and the other local bands that would be playing alongside them.
Cucamaras are one of them, and drummer Kasper Sandstrom backs them so hard that when we meet, he’s wearing their merch. “It’d be rude for me not to shout out the t shirt that I’m wearing a Nottingham band called Cucamaras,” he said, not only recommending but literally repping their fellow Nottingham indie music makers. Inspired by a mix of classics like Leonard Cohen and 2010 idols like Swim Deep, Cucamaras make crowd-pleasing indie music, and Sandstrom is a fan, stating, “They are wonderful people and a very fun live band, especially“.
Formal Sppeedwear
Singer and bassist Tiger Cohen-Towell is also backing a local name. Alongside the Nottingham scene, Divorce also feel a kinship for the Stoke On Trent crowd just down the road, with Cohen-Towell saying it feels “very simpatico with Nottingham”.
That’s where their recommendation hails from as they shout out Formal Sppeedwear, another indie outfit, but this time with some disco influences creeping in. “They are just so cool. They’re a three-piece. They’ve kind of got a Talking Heads vibe, and it just makes such amazing sound, considering there’s only three of them, and it’s really interesting and just awesome,” Cohen-Towell says.
But mostly, it’s all about supporting the locals as they add plainly, “I love Midland artists doing well”.
