We’re well and truly into the second half of 2014 by now and though we’ve already tracked our best records of the year so far, the best selling Aussie albums and singles of the last six months, and the many, many exciting releases in the latter half of the year – what about the year’s most talked about artists?
Enter The Hype Machine, the blogosphere’s top aggregator who this time each year partners with BBC Radio 6 to compile a list of the cutting-edge music-makers that have had the collective tongues of the blog world wagging and their fingers furiously typing.
After tracking the coverage of tracks and artists by more than 800 of the web’s most influential blogs, The Hype Machine offers a list of the Top 20 most blogged about artists of 2014 so far, along with a special BBC Radio 6 broadcast dedicated to the rankings.
While last year five Aussies mad the same end-of-year 2013 list, there’s just one lone well-known Melbourne musician who makes the 2014 mid-year cut.
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Chet Faker isn’t just Australia’s favourite bearded chilltronica maestro, but the whole world’s, landing at #14 on the most blogged Top 20. Given that Flume’s BFF released his long-awaited debut album, Built On Glass, this past April, there’s been plenty to write about him of late.
Much of Chet Faker’s 12-track LP is custom-made for re-tooling as well, and since the blogosphere also loves a good remix, there’s been plenty of love for reworks of singles ‘Talk Is Cheap’ (by Ta-Ku) ‘1998’ (re: Homework, Roland Tings), and of course Flume’s re-work of ‘Gold’, as well as his new collab with GoldLink, ‘On You’.
Back at home Mr. Faker has been getting plenty of attention thanks to debuting at #1 on the ARIA Album Charts and being locked in to top the bill of the Listen Out 2014 festival in September/October after embarking on his biggest headline national tour to date earlier this year.
Interestingly, Yumi Zouma – the New Zealand indie-popsters that opened on Chet Faker’s tour – land at #9 on the most blogged list, while fellow Kiwi Lorde continues to capture the attention of the online world at #13 – just ahead of Chet Faker.
The most buzzed about artist of 2014 so far? That’ll be LA singer-songwriter BANKS, who was already pegged in BBC‘s ‘Sound of 2014’ list earlier this year off the back of her London EP and lush singles like ‘Waiting Game’ (produced by SOHN) and ‘Warm Water’ (produced by Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs). “I feel like I’m a bit of a blog baby,” the “excited and overwhelmed” BANKS told BBC Radio on air. “The first time a lot of people discover about me is through blogs.”
Others making the most blogged cut include Swedish indie rockers and heavy collaborators Little Dragon (#2); Splendour In The Grass drop-outs London Grammar (#5); post dubstep-producer SBTRKT (#6); two fun music-makers behind some of the year’s best LPs: Mac DeMarco and Todd Terje (#7 and #8) ; heartfelt rock agitators Cloud Nothings (#16); ever-present Ultraviolence singer Lana Del Rey (#19), and indie RnBnPop quartet Glass Animals (#20).
Top 20 Most Blogged Artists Of 2014 So Far
via Hype Machine
- BANKS
- Little Dragon
- Chromeo
- Caribou
- London Grammar
- SBTRKT
- Mac DeMarco
- Todd Terje
- Yumi Zouma
- Sharon Van Etten
- Sylvan Esso
- Tycho
- Lorde
- Chet Faker
- MØ
- Cloud Nothings
- Drake
- Sam Smith
- Lana Del Rey
- Glass Animals
