November: Six artists you need to check out this month

After making a splash as a DJ in her home country of Switzerland, Honorée made her debut on Rekids in March. It featured a brace of slick, stripped-back house tunes with warm atmospheres and seductive vocal whispers and got support from the likes of Cosmin TRG and DJ Deep. In October she served up a second EP that’s just as alluring. It marries light with dark, soul with depth, and demonstrates her great grasp of rhythm.

Honorée’s ‘Marée Haute’ EP is out January 19 on Rekids

All we have on this elusive producer is their debut ‘EP 1’ and the cold, staring face of the artwork. Luckily, the music brims with soul and is more than capable of doing all the talking. Lead single ‘Blue Skies’ sounds like putting Romare and SOPHIE in a blender, as soul and r’n’b vocals continually cut over one another. Meanwhile, closer ‘Goodbye’ is a slow-jam anthem for the VR generation.

‘EP 1’ is out now via OCDC Music

In 2014, Berlin-based music journot Angus Finlayson crossed the threshold from the critic’s desk to the firing line, releasing his debut EP of Actress-indebted sounds, ‘Noble Gas’, on The Trilogy Tapes. Since then he’s struck up a partnership with Whities, releasing three EPs of intricate, textural soundscapes underpinned by tough foundations. Standout track ‘Naturally Spineless’ pairs echoey bleeps with bone-rattling dubstep layers for a uniquely rude dancefloor construction that has been supported by Gilles Peterson and Trim. ‘Whities 012’ features the equally mind-melting ‘Volumes’ with its siege of Richter-charting bass.

‘Whities 012’ is out now

Hyperdub is an imprint with seriously stringent quality control, so we’re sitting up and paying attention to their latest signee Joe Powers, aka Proc Fiskal. His ‘Highland Mob’ EP takes inspiration from grime sub-genres ruff sound, sino-grime, eskibeat and the like, providing equal parts nostalgia and originality. With other projects in the pipeline, and a show on Radar, he’s a name to look out for in Scotland’s grime scene.

Proc Fiskal is on Radar Radio at 10pm-12pm on monthly Saturdays

Leicester-born r’n’b singer Mahalia signed a record deal at 13 but decided to keep her musical career on the back burner until she finished education. Her songwriting is similarly considered, and muses on subjects such as the hollowness of reality TV fame. Now 19, she’s already worked with Drake producer Nineteen85 and featured on Rudimental’s ‘We the Generation’. The next phase of her career looks set to be as impactful as her stirring vocal delivery.

Mahalia is touring the UK & Ireland in November

FYI Chris is not one but two Chrises, who’ve become a fixture on south London’s vibrant house scene. Chris Coupe and Chris Watson started producing together when they opened record store Rye Wax with pal Tom Unlikely, and their brand of carefree, MPC-driven house has featured on Church and Rhythm Section. This year they launched their own West Friends imprint, and, two releases in, it’s marking itself out as a fine purveyor of twisted grooves. FYI, more material is due soon.

Look out for new FYI Chris music on West Friends

[Photo credits: Kasiazacharko, Stevie Powers, Shirin Zaid]