2023 – 10 – 31

SECOND WAVE OF ARTISTS

The second wave of artists is here see them at Future Echoes in Norrköping. We are thrilled to have several genres and artistic expressions.

Get ready to be inspired by  (NO/SEOrangekake)’s amazing journey! Despite facing challenges and moving around a lot during her childhood, her bubbly spirit never faded. Her music, with soulful vocals and catchy beats, will make you dance without a care in the world.Starting young, Orangekake shared her songs with friends and family, spreading positivity everywhere she went. She’s not only a talented singer but also an awesome dancer, co-writing and learning production from working with local artists.

Hotter than Hendos! Dirty Freud (UK) are an electronic live & recording outfit met in Niche Sheffield, then moved into the bassline scene, they found success since both moving back to the North of England. The music contains elements of dubstep, 2-step garage, bassline. It is simply Dirty Cinematic Electronica.

In April 2022 the Portuguese producer St. James Park (Tiago Sampaio), Dutch pianist Daniël Tomàs (Daniël vd Duim) and Dutch/German vocalist Eliën (Élénie Wagner) met during a residency at showcase festival Westway Lab in Guimarães Portugal.
Matched by the festival’s artistic team, the three musicians went into an intensive seven-day collaboration and created new material for a showcase during the opening of Westway Lab 2022. Due to the great success during their show, the band decided to continue and form a band.X IT (PT/NL) was born. Since then, the trio wrote its first EP and worked on their upcoming record titled ’MNTNY’. In April the band played their first show as part of the official city showcases of Westway Lab 2023. In October they were already invited to play a bigger show as part of Pro Weekend Fest in Spain, followed by an invitation from Poland’s oldest and largest pop venue ’Club Stodola’ in spring 2024. This event in Warsaw is organized by Live Europe, supporting emerging EU artists throughout the continent.

Creating their own trajectory and tearing up the rulebooks come Scottish band ’The Big Day (UK)’. Pushing the parameters of their sound and vision, The Big Day are gradually becoming one of the most identifiable and iconic acts in the country. The ambitious and unafraid four piece have released only three singles to date but are fast becoming the name on the tip of everyone’s tongues. Creating spirited indie-pop bangers taking influence from the likes of The Killers, U2 and The 1975, The Big Day are emphasising quality over quantity.

Lina Nikol (BG) recently relocated to London, her latest singles landed on New Music Friday UK/Japan and got airplay on BBC Radio 1/ 1Xtra, JazzFM UK & Soho Radio London.
In 2018 Lina Nikol and American soul singer Frank McComb introduced their duet song ”All I Need”, which was reviewed by the highly acclaimed sites “You Know I Got Soul” and “Soultracks”, and became part of the ”So Soulful Collection” Vol. 3 – a UK compilation, featuring independent soul artists.
In 2021 Lina Nikol released her full-length album titled ”Who I Am” and won the Best Singer Award at The R&B Awards 21 (Bulgaria)
With her 7-piece band she has played the most prestigious Bulgarian International Festivals such as AtoJazz Festival, International Bansko Festival, Varna Summer Jazz Festival, etc. On 2nd of July this year she supported PJ Morton at Bush Hall, London. Latest project A mood called “You” is released via “Stereofox Records”, co-released with the Japanese Label ”Sweet Soul Records”. The tracks were remixed by Moods, Misha & El Train and featured on EARMILK, AcidStag and others.

Since 2014, )We Bless This Mess (UK/PT have been pursuing its purpose of spreading consciousness – whatever life brings along the way, you can always find peace within you and be surrounded by your loved ones.
Originally founded as a solo project by the singer-songwriter Nelson Graf Reis, We Bless This Mess turns this positive way of living into frenetic, catchy and straightforward tunes that engage the crowd with the joy of being alive. The last album “Awareness Songs and Side Stories” (2018) marks the turning point towards the full band format.

Although, their latest release “Unburden” (2019) is an acoustic EP that brings back the vibe of the first We Bless This Mess songs, and gives the band a versatile and dynamic format of presenting their live shows.
In November 2019, the UK-based trio landed in California to record their most ambitious work to date. ‘Enlightened Fool’ affirms the group’s lyrical narrative and it is the culmination of the whole journey around the world until nowadays. Each song is a chapter intensely written to bring awareness to every travelling soul out there. ‘Enlightened Fool’ appears as the best-produced work and most emotional to date alongside the vivacity of all musical arrangements. As the title announces, every human even in its pure state of innocence has to cross several stages in life until reaching a higher form of consciousness to perceive what this experience is all about. This record was only released in 2021 because of the current world situation, it’s original release date was meant to be in 2020 with release tour and the participation of some showcase festivals.
“No one has the right answer or any kind of magic potion to succeed, but luckily these songs might help someone to see life differently – such as feeling peace within and perceiving that, yes, we are alive”, they say.
We Bless This Mess have managed to progress while preserving the spirit of their origins in the punk-rock/punk-hardcore scene from Portugal.

In 9 years of existence, WBTM played over than 300 shows in numerous countries, sharing the stage with bands including Frank Turner, State Champs, Spanish Love Songs, Ducking Punches, Our Last Night, Beans on Toast and more. They have also graced the stages of Punk Rock Holiday, the FEST, Europavox, Eurosonic, Reeperbahn, SXSW and Tattoo Rock Fest Lisbon to name but a few.

Andrew Cassara (CA) is a Canadian recording artist based out of Ottawa. With over 9 years of song writing under his belt, a compilation album of 10 singles, a debut album, “Freak On Repeat (2020), and an upcoming album “Rock Boom Baby” (2024), Andrew continues to grow his fanbase and international profile as a dynamic entertainer.

Andrew sonically and visually channels the glitz and glitter of 70’s era pop and disco while sounding cutting-edge and strategically current. Music has been Cassara’s go to means of expression since first hearing the Backstreet Boys at age four. “They were so inspiring. When I was a kid, I won a karaoke contest singing and dancing to their songs. That experience really paved the way for my passion for music and entertaining.”

Cassara thrives on bringing his high energy music to the live stage. Playing live is his passion, and the music serves as a catalyst for his love of travelling, experiencing world cultures, and indulging in international cuisine. He has travelled and performed on tours, in showcases and festivals all over the world, and has built a dedicated fanbase.

Andrew has well over a million lifetime streams accumulated and has built a strong global fan community (Cassara Crew) where he prides himself in engaging with them in a space where culture, diversity and inclusion are the main pillars. That said, Cassara’s insistence on replacing negatives with positives and his desire to lift people up permeates in every tune he writes. The final track on the “Freak on Repeat” album sums it up handily with the slogan, ‘Stay Rockin’. “That’s my motto,” Cassara says; his way of dealing with whatever life throws his way.