April 9, 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.
Nabihah wears jeans by DKNY
Nabihah Iqbal’s 2023 sophomore album, Dreamer, almost never happened. A genre-blurring collection of electronic-meets-indie dance tracks, she describes the album as the “most important music [I’ve] made in [my] life,” though it was a tough process. “I went through a really hard time. A lot of bad stuff happened in the process of trying to make this record. There was a time I didn’t think I’d be able to finish it. The music is symbolic of how resilient the human mind and body can be.”
The West London-born artist, 36, who is married to the menswear designer Nicholas Daley, spent most of 2024 touring the album and also experienced her greatest live show to date. “After 10 years of playing music, the best gig I’ve ever played in my life happened in January last year. It was at Prince’s venue, First Avenue, in Minneapolis. It was the most soul-enhancing experience I’ve ever had with such an amazing crowd, I’ll never forget it. Maybe Prince’s spirit was in the building.”
As her world tour came to a close in Brazil in early November, Iqbal had some time before the gigs restarted in February (though she did some DJ gigs in January) so she headed to upstate New York – to the Catskill Mountains to be precise – where she took part in two-month artists’ residency with one goal only: to make new music. “I’ve definitely got a few ideas in my head,” she teases. Watch this space.
Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 74 – MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE – on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
SOUNDS OF THE UK
Portrait ANNA STOKLAND
Text ISOBEL VAN DYKE
Fashion assistant GEORGIA EDWARDS
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU and SONYA MAZURYK
