Six artists to check out this month

Singer Amandah Wilkinson was once in cult Aussie electro-pop squad Operator Please, while producer and drummer John Baillie Jr was the sticksman in Glasgow ‘fight punks’ Dananananayckroyd. Bossy Love sound like nothing either has done before and everything we want from a pop group in 2016, ‘Call Me’s lithe electro-funk, ‘Want Some’s frosty, Grimesy r’n’b and the crunchy, Basement Jaxx-style groove of ‘Sweat It Out’ getting the props they deserve.

Hear ‘Wind Me Up’ at SoundCloud.com/bossylove

Inés Coutinho, aka Violet, is half of the duo behind Lisbon’s Radio Quantica, not unlike NTS in London or Berlin Community Radio, and she hosts a monthly RBMA show about Lisbon, too. Her label One Eyed Jacks has caught the eye of Daniel Avery and Perc, and she makes classic house-tinged productions. Oh, and she recorded a series of Underground Resistance covers for International Women’s Day, which led to Donatella Versace asking her to soundtrack her collection.

Hear Violet on RBMA on the first Monday of every month

Miami-based New Yorker Alyx Ander was destined for fame. At Manhattan’s LaGuardia high school – the school the film Fame was based on – he swapped singing and dancing for Danny Tenaglia DJ sets and headed to Miami where he coupled his role as a booker with a budding DJ and production career. Last year’s house jam ‘Close Enough’ caught Tong’s ear and clocked up a whopping 2.7m streams. Expect him to repeat the trick with ‘Memories Of You’.

‘Memories Of You’ feat Srey Davi is out now

While Sydney’s nightlife has been suffocated by draconian lockout laws, Melbourne’s progressive approach has incubated a vibrant scene. Harvey Sutherland made his name there, releasing a string of disco-powered house cuts supported by Hunee, Sassy J and MCDE, the latter putting out a killer 12” from Harvey on his self-titled imprint last year. Now he’s set up his own label, Clarity Records, working with his live band Bermuda, above, for a debut EP of infectious grooves.

‘Priestess/Bravado’ is out on Clarity on November 4

Jump in a cab in the South African city of Durban and you’re bound to hear gqom blasting from the stereo. A house variant made up of heavy, percussive broken beats and spliced vocal samples, it’s made it to the West via a handful of compilations so far. DJ Lag is one of its main purveyors, and his self-titled EP on Goon Club Allstars might just be what brings this simmering sound to the attention of the world. Check lead track ‘Ghost On The Loose’, a racket of loose bass and drum rhythms.

DJ Lag ‘DJ Lag’ is out now on Goon Club Allstars

It all started with a USB stick at a club in New Zealand. Supporting Bicep for their debut DJ gig, Dunedin mates Thomas Krammer-Burns and Eden Lee, aka Sandboards, handed their tunes to the Irish tastemakers and, less than a year later, they’re the first ever act with a release on Feel My Bicep that doesn’t feature the label bosses. With an eye for emotive melodies over club-ready bangers and the seal of approval from one of house’s most credible acts, the world is this duo’s oyster.

‘Visa’ EP by Sandboards is out now on Feel My Bicep