The 30 Most Intriguing Musical Artists of 2023 (Part 1 of 3)
Here are a few of my favorite things
Today I’m publishing the first installment of my guide to the 30 most intriguing musical artists of 2023. Be forewarned: It’s a cranky and deeply personal list.
Not every artist on this list is an unfamiliar name, although many are. But you didn’t come here to learn about Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, did you? This is all about music discovery—and I’m excited to tell you about a few favorite artists you might not encounter elsewhere.
This is the first installment out of three—showcasing ten artists below. (Click here for part two and part three.)
Happy listening!
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The 30 Most Intriguing Musical Artists of 2023 (Part 1 of 3)
Hania Rani
As some of you know, I often talk about the trance-inducing properties of music. If you want a powerful and unforgettable example, please give your full attention to Hania Rani. Don’t just listen, but watch and feel. She must be in some higher mind state when she plays this music, and before long you will start feeling it too. I’m sharing a video of an instrumental performance below, but she is also one of my favorite singer-songwriters too. I call Rani the Mystical Muse from Gdansk, and in a fair world she would be famous—but, frankly, I don’t think fame is what she’s after.
Madison McFerrin
Perhaps you have heard of her father Bobby—but the musical talent in this family runs much deeper and wider than that. If I had time I could tell you about her brother or grandfather or some other talented member of the clan. But right now Madison is the representative of the McFerrin family who blows my mind most consistently. And she seems to do it so effortlessly and spontaneously. If you give her a piano or a full band, she is in total command. But, honestly, all she really needs is a microphone and a laptop. Be on the lookout for her new album, I Hope You Can Forgive Me, coming next month.
Sam Gendel
Who is this dude, and why doesn’t he have a Wikipedia entry.
Don’t be discouraged by this wiki-nonsense. That’s because people are definitely noticing Sam Gendel—it’s hard not to, if only because Sam releases more music than some nation-states. And every project sounds different, even going back to his stint playing metal music while driving around town in a clown outfit. It’s not even clear what his main instrument is—he changes that more often than Bozo takes off his big red nose.
I’ve even lost count of how many recordings Gendel has issued in recent months, but that 52-track four-hour album Fresh Bread from 2021 led a few months later to the 34-track Superstore. And there have been a half-dozen more since then (for example, his duets with an untrained 11-year-old singer). I love some, hate a few, but even the ones I hate I sorta love too. Here’s his lounge electronica version of “Satin Doll,” a version so spaced-out that Duke Ellington might not recognize his own song. But trust me, if you hear Gendel in another setting his music won’t sound anything like this. That’s half the fun.
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