Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
One of the interesting effects of the increasing influence of streaming over the charts is that sound is becoming more important in creating a new hit than image. So much so, that labels are signing proven hitmakers to churn out tracks directly targeted to the biggest Spotify playlists. As the sound is so calculated, and often a departure from the producers’ usual work, it’s not too surprising that they’re using different pseudonyms than those they’ve been previously known by, and keeping their real names and photos out of the spotlight. I’ve heard of several British production teams seizing this opportunity recently, but one that stands out is Ghosted, who released their debut single Get Some in July. Get Some is a sweetly generic 2017 electro-pop tune with cheeky lyrics, and vocals by Kamille – aka songwriter Camille Purcell (who worked on several Little Mix singles). It was only when I received a press release a month later boasting their five no.1 singles that I sought out more info on the artists credited with this creation. Within minutes I’d realised it was TMS (Pete Kelleher, Ben Kohn, Tom Barnes), the team behind Little Mix’s Wings and Professor Green’s Read All About It, among many others. If they’re using their chart stats to promote their new release, I think it’s fair enough that their identity should be known. So far, Get Some has had a respectable 2 million plays on Spotify, but hasn’t charted there, on iTunes or in the Official Chart. This might not be their moment, but I suspect they’ll keep trying til something works. And if not, expect to see many more mysterious acts from major labels popping up on New Music Friday in the months ahead.