May 1, 2025 |
In 2025, the UK’s music scene is a sublime, bubbling broth made up of many ingredients. It’s rich with the flavour of countless genres, each thriving in their own right. Pop, rap, rave, R&B, jazz, jungle, neo-soul, indie, electronic, you name it – in every corner we have world-class pioneers leading the way and, simultaneously, ripping up the rule book. Featured inside 10 Magazine Issue 74, a portfolio of musicians all vary in age, genre, background, sexuality and stages of career. What they share, however, is self-assuredness, determination and confidence.
As someone who has interviewed many musicians over the years, it’s obvious when an artist doesn’t yet have faith in their own work. After speaking to each of the following rising stars, I found it refreshing to have come across a group of 10 artists, all dramatically different. who so clearly know themselves and what they want. They’re even going as far as to set boundaries and take the necessary time to pause between projects. Whether it’s JGrrey moving to the coast, Nabihah Iqbal heading to the Catskills for a two-month artist retreat or Cari taking a moment of reflection by revisiting the shop she once worked in, these artists are making the music that they want to make, when they want to make it. Oh, and they all happen to be women. Best get to know them now before you have to scramble for arena tickets – if anyone can do it, it’s this bunch.
Fabiana wears jacket and trousers by OUR LEGACY, knitwear by STELLAMAR
“2024 was quite a mad year!” says Fabiana Palladino, 37, who has been making music for more than a decade. She finally put out her debut album last April. “I’ve been constantly on the road,” she continues, relating how she’s exhausted from non-stop touring. Her sound is a sultry mix of ’80s synths laced with R&B inflections and, though it was always her dream to be an artist, it’s been a long time coming.
“The catalyst for the album was when I stopped being a session musician. Because I was a session musician for other artists [she played keyboards for Jessie Ware and SBTRKT], the touring schedule means you don’t have time to focus on your own music, so the catalyst was me saying, ‘I’m not going to do that any more, I’m going to be an artist.’”
The South-West Londoner, whose dad is Pino Palladino, a famed session bassist and touring member of The Who, worked on the album sporadically over four years. It ended up being self-titled, but initially it had a different name. “The album did actually have a title, but it never felt quite right to pick one word or one thing. It’s so much about me and my life, but it’s very personal and intimate, so I felt that by keeping it self-titled it kept the focus on that. It was a challenge too, because it felt like a bold thing to do to put myself front and centre and stand by the vision of the album.”
She’s already thinking about album number two and plans to start writing soon. This time she’s giving herself a deadline. “I want it to be a more condensed experience. The last one was stop-start, so I’d love to make this album in a shorter period.” Works for us.
Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 74 – MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE – on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
SOUNDS OF THE UK
Portrait PHOEBE PLIMMER
Styling MALCOLM YAENG
Hair and Make-Up MAYA MAN
Text ISOBEL VAN DYKE
Fashion assistant GEORGIA EDWARDS
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU and SONYA MAZURYK
