![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="360" width="640" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
To conclude our coverage of everything next-level in 2011, these are the eleven most compelling “breakout” acts of the year. The list was arrived at by considering hundreds of hyped storylines from the past twelve months, and running that through a filter of our own taste. What follows are a handful of the names you’ve seen everywhere, curated into what would make one insanely diverse and “relevant” playlist. Enjoy!
[Badge num="11" class="eleven"/]
Whether it was being the man behind the beats of Lil B, Soulja Boy and A$AP Rocky, or the one flaunting his own creepier instrumentals—which appealed to Burial heads as much as they did #based minds—New Jersey’s Mike Volpe aka Clams Casino owned 2011. The Rainforest EP introduced Volpe as an expert from the start, working with a sound already distinctly his own—ghostly vocal samples echoed in a dream-like haze, all with an eery sense of hip hop bump and melodic pop drift. His Instrumentals mixtape would further it, and wind up sitting right next to proper LPs on many folk’s best of-s.
[Badge num="10" class="eleven"/]
He burnt holes on Hot 97 and his videos for “Purple Swag” and “Peso” blew up over YouTube, which lead to “the biggest record contract for a rookie since 50 Cent”—a reported $3 million deal with Sony / RCA—all before dropping a single mixtape. When LiveLoveA$AP did land at the end of October, it quickly cemented the 23 year old Harlem rapper as a voice worth caring about.
[Badge num="9" class="eleven"/]
Erika M. Anderson broke up with her boyfriend (and Gowns bandmate) Ezra Buchla and decided to focus all that pain and depression into an album far more vulnerable than anything she’d done before. It’s a likable story (even Ezra approved of it), and sets the tone for Past Life Martyred Saints, an affecting document of failure and self-mutilation, and what would become an out of nowhere success story. A full web-zine saturation followed, each post bearing some Courtney Love-esq press photo, or her front and center on the green-screened music videos for “California” and “Milkman.” The EMA brand was strong, and for good reason.
[Badge num="8" class="eleven"/]
In a book about the blog era of music that surely someone will write, there should be a case study on Purity Ring, as they essentially redefined the idea of overnight sensation. On the power of one peculiarly catchy, futuristic pop song introduced on their own tumblr with the line “we are birthed:”, this Montreal duo literally swept the Internet in a single pass. By week’s end “Ungirthed” had an impossibly well-fit fan video, and a nice, big Best New Track stamp from the almighty Pitchfork (written by the Editor-in-Chief, no less). And since they shared members with Canadian DIY legends Gobble Gobble (known now as Born Gold), this was met with an especially collective fireworks amongst the Internet community. Then the phenomenon repeated itself; not once, but twice. By Fall they were touring with Neon Indian and one of the most buzzed names during CMJ. Their LP is being readied for next year, and we’ll see which lucky label gets to put it out.
[Badge num="7" class="eleven"/]
Of course she belongs here. As we stated after her NYC debut, “the inexplicable press magnet that is Lana Del Rey pulls you in regardless of where you stand.” Her smash ballad “Video Games”, a perfectly constructed pop song, soundtracked the most fascinating is-she-or-isn’t-she-legit debate we’ve seen since…Vanilla Ice? There’s no denying her star power, and as “Born To Die” continues to climb and silence all naysayers, it’s clear that she’ll reach the top of this industry regardless of where she came from or who thinks what about her.
[Badge num="6" class="eleven"/]
Everyone loves an underdog, and Trevor Powers, a fragile 22 year old from Idaho was very much that, capturing our hearts and imaginations with his tragic yet hopeful tales from an insecure adolescence (like a pure “bedroom” antithesis to the manufactured LDR above). His debut LP The Year of Hibernation had that homemade feel, like every guitar chord and drum machine beat was obsessed on for days. The immediate acceptance of its early tracks among blogs resulted in the album bypassing original plans in favor of a release with Fat Possum. And Powers would end up leaving Boise for a life on the road, selling out cities all over the US, with plans to play internationally in 2012.
[Badge num="5" class="eleven"/]
Hard to believe the canonization of Odd Future happened so fast. It feels like years ago that Tyler, The Creator and Hodgy Beats blitzed through a performance of “Sandwitches” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, absolutely shocking the system—that image of Tyler hanging on Fallon’s back while Mos Def hysterically shouted “SWAG” into the camera, lingered for weeks afterwards (months later a similar impression would be left at the MTV VMAs), and sat side by side with the brilliant “Yonkers” video. And that was just the first sector to glow from Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, a radical young collective of alt hip hop skaters, famed by the controversy regarding their violent, horrorcore-like lyrics and outrageous on-stage/off-stage behavior. Then there was R&B wonder Frank Ocean, another amazing occurrence separate from all this, but associated at the same time. MellowHype, and so on. Simply too much to handle for one blurb.
[Badge num="4" class="eleven"/]
Simultaneously, on the other side of the hip hop revolution and all this genre-bending, was something far more classic: a return to the grunge-y, shoegaze-y spirit of 90s guitar rock. It wasn’t as progressive, but didn’t overly retread either. Many bands added to the sound, but none glimmered as bright or as loud as London’s Yuck. Their self-titled debut oozed with coolness, showcasing a real knack for pop structure, and an ear for what made past greats (Dinosaur Jr, Pavement, Sonic Youth, etc), so great.
[Badge num="3" class="eleven"/]
In all their time, seminal Seattle-based record label Sub Pop had never signed a hip hop act until Shabazz Palaces. That says something right there, why would they start now? Because the label has a reputation for recognizing when something matters, when there’s an intersection of sound that could effectively change current status. Hip hop underwent a big shift this year, and Shabazz Palaces, led by former Digable Planets man Ishmael Butler, had a lot to do with it. Their debut LP Black Up met instant critical acclaim, celebrated for its avant approach—a unique warp of afro-jazz, straightforward flow and heavy spirituality—and would top many end of year lists, including another somewhat unlikely figure known for spotting game-changers, Gorilla Vs. Bear (who’d been saying it all year).
[Badge num="2" class="eleven"/]
With two LPs in 2010, Claire Boucher would have been on last year’s list if we (and the basic buzzsphere consciousness) had been more hip to her. While both albums were well received in small circles it wasn’t until Boucher stepped out from the shadows to perform regularly, and star in a few music videos, that people really started to get transfixed. Part of the appeal was in persona; she’s distant and dark, but also cute like a Bjork-ish forest pixy way, which naturally placed her atop the ever fashionable mysticism movement in electronic music. More so though, it was the sounds—her child-like coo hitting Mariah Carey octaves while feathering through a gothic chamberhouse of effects. A crossover hit was found in “Vanessa”, and later in “Oblivion”, both giving a taste a pop-ier things to come, as did her touring spot with Lykki Li.
[Badge num="1" class="eleven"/]
In a year defined by unclassifiable blends, no other artist dominated the new music conversation like The Weeknd. Over a trilogy of mixtapes, the mysterious Abel Tesfaye of Toronto revised an R&B angle not taken since Jodeci, replacing those innocently suggestive 90s lyrics and glossy beats with intensely sexual content and a black fog of anything-goes production. The week House of Balloons arrived (free, as a zip file on a landing page) the chatter started immediately and never really stopped, all heightened with links to Drake and an eventual nomination for the prestigious Polaris Prize (Canada’s finest album). Just when the dust would settle, another mixtape would drop, each with nine more variations waiting for Twitter dissection or a game of what’s that sample/cover/reference. The smartest run viral campaign in 2011 happened to be rooted in real talent, and that made for a perfect storm.