Alex Apolline

Scotland

Alex Apolline is a singer-songwriter from Glasgow. Rooted in a background of theatre and storytelling, she began performing on stage at a young age before turning to songwriting - a natural extension of her passion for vivid, emotionally charged narratives. Her songs offer a cinematic window into her world. She is seeking funding to support the recording and release of her second EP - a pivotal next step in her development as an independent artist. This project represents a natural evolution from Alex's debut EP.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Aley

Greater London

Aley is an Egyptian singer-songwriter and immersive experience director based in London. With performances at international venues including the Cairo Opera House and King’s Place London, his music blends storytelling and innovation. His debut Arabic EP 'Arrab Aktar' explores self-discovery. 'El Balcona' is his debut bilingual EP that fuses traditional Egyptian music with contemporary pop. Designed as a graphic novel with commissioned illustrations, the project tells a multi-layered story of an artist's journey to find belonging and legacy through his craft.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Amelia Oliver

West Midlands

Amelia Oliver is an 18-year-old singer-songwriter from the UK. Her music blends raw guitar and heartfelt lyrics, exploring themes of recovery, identity, and mental health. With her latest single "Empty Plate", she is building a community online and creating space for honest, vulnerable conversations. She will create and release her debut EP, developing original songs with studio recording, mixing, and mastering. The project includes promotion, visual content, and a small community launch event, helping Amelia to grow as a songwriter, connect with audiences, and build a supportive music community through honest, vulnerable storytelling.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

aminabonthebeat

Scotland

Amina Aaliya Beg is a multidisciplinary artist, DJ, and co-founder of ajeeb studios. She plays an eclectic mix of Arab, Desi, Amapiano, Jersey Club, Baile Funk, Gqom, and global club sounds. She has performed at Parklife and Brighton Festival, and was selected for RA's Mix of the Day. Amina has supported artists including Anoushka Shankar & Nerm, Arijit Singh, Gao The Arsonist, Taylah Elaine (Brussels), and Reina Del Fomento (Rome). She released her debut EP 'bichaari' in October 2025 and is currently developing her album 'Jester', due for release in June 2026. Amina will create an EP which will be "an archive blending DJing, spoken word poetry, production and projection using her grandfather's mixtapes about his time at university, research on Palestinian land reform, hostility he faced with his professors and the parallels of his and my mental health from 1984."

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Arakél

South West

Arakél is a self-produced singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, trying to find "lights-come-on moments" in his music. Right now, what he makes is "informed by anything from the immigrant experience to internet-age nostalgia, and sits anywhere between self-referential indietronica, R&B-inspired pop, and pure new wave." The NextGen Fund grant will support the partial recording, completion, and performance of his second full-length album - a collection of songs about the people, places, and changes that make a fleeting summer. 

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Bastet

North West

Bastet is a Scottish-born musician now based in Manchester. With roots in spoken word poetry, storytelling has always been at the heart of his music. Recently, Bastet has been experimenting with punk and grunge, blending these sounds with his hip-hop influences resulting in a raw unique sound. He is going to create and release his debut album; a bedroom pop, punk hip hop record following the themes of rebellion, and identity - following British nostalgia but a rejection of patriotism.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Belski

South West

Belski is a producer, DJ, promoter, and event organiser. She founded Femme Fatale, an exclusive women and non binary club night designed as a safe space for women and non-binary people. The events spotlight underrepresented talent, giving a platform to DJs and performers.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

C4Truth

Greater London

Hailing from Croydon in South East London, C4Truth delivers music that’s both conscious and emotional, drawing from real-life experiences. His lyrics carry depth and authenticity, while his sound blends modern commercial energy with storytelling. Creating music that connects deeply while still resonating with today’s audience. His EP will capture "my constant fear of running out of time to reach my musical dreams, after seven years without a breakthrough. It reflects a shared feeling among many young people. Where there's a large amount of pressure to achieve their ambitions before it’s too late."

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Cardamo

South East

Carδamo or Cardamon Rozzi is a Queer, Neurodivergent, Electronic Artist/Producer and University Tutor. Lecturing while nurturing a solo project and working to democratise access to information in the music industry, Carδamo is a budding talent that seeks to bring out the best of other young, emerging artists. 'Tomodachi ☆ Kimitachi' is a collaborative project which aims to broaden their professional practice in electronic music genres by creating a mixtape of varying but congruent dance tracks. Each track will be created with a different collaborator (or collaborators) and the product will be released physically.

Pronouns: they/them

Instagram

cosign

South East

cosign is a Belfast based artist and producer creating indie-electronic music. She draws inspiration from a range of genres such as dance music, indie folk, and pop, allowing me to create atmospheric tracks that balance both energetic and melancholic sound. She intends on recording a four track EP with producer Chris W. Ryan, working across both his home studio and select external recording spaces. This project will push cosign's creative boundaries and support the growth of her relationship with audiences and music industry professionals.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Czafari.

West Midlands

Czafari. is an alternative R&B singer-songwriter from Tipton, West Midlands, who brings storytelling to life through her music. "Songwriting is a way for me to release", she shares. Influenced by a range of artists, including Lianne La Havas and Erykah Badu, Czafari. blends soulful melodies with a distinctive style. She will create new original music building on her 2025 EP, recording with her five-piece band and arranging a track for her R&B choir, Sing Out of Trouble. This project will expand her sound, grow her audience, and develop her skills as a performer, composer, and musical leader.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

DJ Grace

West Midlands

DJ Grace plays soul, funk, and hip hop, crafting sets that emphasise groove, rhythm, and flow. Her selection balances classic tracks with contemporary sounds, creating a consistent, engaging experience for the dance floor. Project 'DJ Grace' is focused on developing her skills as a DJ, refining her sound, experimenting with vinyl DJing and expanding her presence in the music scene. Through practice, performance, and networking, the project aims to develop Grace as an artist and secure more gig opportunities.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Dust

South East

Dust is a transdisciplinary musician and artist working with audio, installation, analogue photography and more to explore the climate catastrophe; decay; regrowth; surveillance; gender, and technology. Their music blends complex layers of haunting vocals, orchestral sounds, synthesis, field recordings and textural soundscapes to move between vertigo-inducing crescendos and delicate vulnerability. They will complete and release 'AIYL': a climate-centred record and performance that blends orchestral and synthesised sounds, manipulated field recordings, soundscapes and vulnerable, exposed vocals to create a rich, vertigo-inducing elegy. The theatrically-inspired performance transports the audience to a post-collapse future, urging them to change course before it's too late.

Pronouns: they/them

Ethan McInerney

East Midlands

Ethan is a Northampton-based trumpeter and media composer passionate about combining music and visual storytelling. Aiming to connect with audiences through innovative audio-visual experiences, his work explores cinematic orchestral sound worlds and collaborative creation. Supported by the NextGen Fund, he aims to release a new audio-visual album, ‘Among Strange Worlds’. A story-driven sequel to Ethan's album ‘Among the Stars’, this record will be created in a unique “ping-pong” collaboration with a local animator. Music and visuals will evolve together into an animatic, culminating in a cinema premiere that showcases Ethan's work and builds his local creative network.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Graceé

Greater London

Graceé is a gospel/soul artist turning real life into melody - on a mission to make gospel a respected, thriving genre in the UK. She will create and release her second EP, 'd e c o n s t r u c t i o n', alongside a release party. Building on my debut EP 'f r e s h e r', which explores faith and identity whilst showcasing Graceé's growth.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

GriffinBoy

Greater London

Joshua Griffin is an English horror musician and scientist. He uses his spare time to create new software and to teach others how to create their own iconic sounds. He has been composing horror soundtracks since the age of 11. Echoes of the Deep is a sample library that delivers the sound of modern horror and thriller soundtracks. Joshua is packing custom-built instruments, unique recordings, and cutting-edge processing into one tool so that students and new composers can recreate the same textures heard in today’s most talked about soundtracks.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Jade Morgan Kelly

East of England

Jade Morgan Kelly is a dance-pop artist rooted in the house music her parents raised her on. Once masking trauma, she now transforms raw emotions into euphoric soundscapes. Her music fuses honesty with escapism, reclaiming vulnerability as power and creating high-energy anthems that offer listeners the same freedom she found. 'CTRL' reflects the last 12 months of Jade Morgan Kellys life -a year of heartbreak, betrayal, and chaos. Every struggle led to this. Across five tracks, she channels lost control of life, love, and trust into euphoric, high-energy anthems designed to release pain on the dancefloor.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Jodie O

Greater London

Jodie O blends indie-folk warmth and alt-rock edge to make music you can feel in your gut. Her songwriting is an emotional deep dive - weaving ethereal melodies with soulful, introspective lyricism. At just 13, she began writing songs as a way of channelling difficult emotions through music. Over a decade later, Jodie has forged a sound that’s intimate yet powerful, and has been interviewed on BBC Radio Gloucestershire, with notable live performances across the South West, including The Sub Rooms, Wychwood Festival, The Louisiana, and Bristol Old Vic. The NextGen Fund will support Jodie to record, mix and master the songs, and film a music video, for her five-track debut EP, “Who You Think I Am”, which explores themes of healing, connection, and emotional processing in today’s digital world. 

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Joseph Barron

North East

Joseph is a 21-year-old multi-instrumentalist from the North East. He finds inspiration in jazz, rock and folk to create a unique blend of captivating sounds. He has played across many venues in Leeds, performing his music and supporting other artists, such as Brad Stank and Eszter Vida. He aims to record and release the five track EP he has in my catalogue. He wants his next release to stray away from one-off singles and create a more consistent sound. Joseph also wants to collaborate with other musicians and creatives in the process and pay them for their contributions.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Kah'Nya

South East

Kah’Nya is a UK based Indie pop and R&B singer-songwriter whose music bridges soulful storytelling with pop and hip-hop influences. Originally from Zimbabwe, she brings a fresh perspective as an African immigrant artist. Kah’Nya is carving space for underrepresented voices while crafting emotionally powerful, contemporary songs. The project aims to be up to a seven song EP called 'The Archives', a story-led body of work that focuses on continuity, and contains deeply personal material.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

KUNTEAA

Greater London

KUNTEAA is an East London–born DJ with Jamaican and St Vincentian roots who, over the past three years, has developed a genre-fluid style that moves seamlessly across rap, jungle, bass, ballroom, house, techno, gqom, and dancehall. Drawing from sounds across the global diaspora, their selections weave together disparate rhythms and tempos to create sets that are both exploratory and deeply rooted, linking cultures sonically while pushing club music into unexpected territory.

Pronouns: they/them

Instagram

Lauren Mikki

Yorkshire & The Humber

Lauren Mikki fuses ethereal vocals with a literary-inspired lyrical depth, shaping an indie-soul sound beyond genre. Influenced by Laufey, Clairo and Olivia Dean, she has earned plays on BBC Radio 6, Spotify Fresh Finds UK&IE features, and BBC Introducing’s praise as 'one of the most exciting artists in the uploader’. She is creating her most ambitious EP yet; a soulful and conceptual project exploring identity, growth, and resilience through six powerful tracks. Inspired by literature, this body of work strengthens Lauren's artistic identity while inviting listeners into a community where storytelling, books, lyricism, and music come together to create meaningful escapism.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Lewys Siencyn

Wales

Originally from Dolgellau, now based in Cardiff, Lewys is a musician and creative freelancer specialising in songwriting, production, performance, and digital media. He has collaborated with leading Welsh artists, released his own acclaimed bilingual work, and supported emerging talent through mentoring and facilitating youth projects and workshops. The NextGen grant invests in his new Cardiff studio, ensuring it is fully equipped for professional recording, bilingual songwriting, and content production. Funding will act as a launchpad for his songwriter-producer portfolio, strengthening Wales’ creative infrastructure while reducing barriers for artists at the early stages of their careers.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Lleucu Non

Wales

Bilingual musician and animator Lleucu Non fuses music and visuals into bold, immersive experiences. Her songs and animations combine to create work that is playful, emotive, and unmistakably hers. She will record and release a six-track bilingual EP, supported by strong visuals and new collaborations. It will combine her music and visual art practice and give her the chance to develop professionally while also supporting other young creatives.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Lottie Gray

East England

Lottie Gray spent her childhood nurturing her imagination, conjuring stories from her bedroom. Creating an intimate, open conversation, Gray writes exactly how she feels. Weaving moody, emotive tales with pop-infused tracks and blending elements from pop, folk and Americana, Gray creates an immersive sonic landscape grounded in authenticity and honesty. After self-funding the recording process of her EP, she plans to release her six-track debut in 2026. With creative ideas for promotion and building an audience, she is excited to get her music out into the world independently.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Madeleine May

Yorkshire & the Humber

Amelia Oliver is an 18-year-old singer songwriter from North Yorkshire, who blends girl next door chic with raw vulnerability. Inspired by the likes of Lizzy McAlpine, Phoebe Bridgers and Joni Mitchell, her songs are packed with teenage angst and retrospective lyrics complemented with memorable melodies. Amelia is am intending to record a studio album with professional production and a fuller sound. She is hoping to release this in 2026 and support the release with launch gigs and promotion. She wants to expand her repertoire beyond slower numbers and utilise richer accompaniment.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Melika

North West

Manchester-born Persian artist, Melika, makes music that drifts between neo-soul, jazz fusion, and psychedelic layers. She experiences music visually, translating colours into songs that feel warm, honest, and a little otherworldly. Her work is about creating something people can step into, a space where they can hear, feel, and heal. Her debut jazz fusion EP will feature five original tracks, created in collaboration with Manchester and London producers. Through studio recording, professional mixing, and a digital marketing campaign, this project will shape Melika's artistic voice and establish my presence in the UK jazz and fusion community.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Nic Promotions

North West

Now 21, Milly been putting on events in the music industry since she was 17 due to there being few accessible opportunities for young musicians, specifically in Sunderland. She has always had such deep love for everything music. Euphony is an all day festival, celebrating and showcasing local music, including giving opportunities to new/up and coming musicians. 2025 was the festival's third successful year, having doing it without formal funding thus far.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

nightspore

Greater London

nightspore is Mike Tellalis (Μιχάλης Τελλάλης), a self-taught artist from Cyprus. Having studied music & archaeology in Scotland, nightspore weaves elements of Anatolian and Western folk music into an indie rock package, heavily dosed with 'digital psychedelia'. 'Bedroom Folk' is a 12-track LP, recorded with collaborators at Roundhouse Studios. The project will include professional production, mixing, and a release campaign with music videos, marking Mike's transition from DIY recordings to a fully fledged debut album, culminating in live performances to present the work to new audiences.

Pronouns: he/him

PABLÓGYAL

North West

PABLÓGYAL is a 26-year-old soul, jazz, and electronic vocalist and genre-blending DJ, carving a path in music whist balancing a full-time job. Healthier, clearer, and more driven than ever, she's chasing the dream—big or small—with the goal of turning passion into freedom. 'Pending Patience' is an EP of 3-4 songs she is working on to release. "Time is precious and patience is a virtue however, there is no age where you can't restart to essentially discover your sound and where you're meant to be."

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

RHAINE

East Midlands

RHAINE, 20, is a British-Zambian multi-instrumentalist producer, singer, and writer. Her music has received widespread acclaim and extensive radio play, earning her the title of BBC Introducing Artist of the Week on several occasions. Concocting dreamy soundscapes in each track, her musical style fuses folk, soul and psychedelia. "This eight-track album will be a love letter to my cherished mixed heritage, weaving together elements of Zambian and Western folk as well as psychedelic soul influences with the help of an array of musicians, to create a memorable and emotive collection of songs."

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Righteous Reck

Greater London

Righteous Reck is a South London rapper and producer known for sharp lyricism and vivid storytelling. His work blends personal experience with social commentary, delivered through electrifying live performances and community-rooted projects like Tracks on Tap, a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of emerging UK rap talent. 'Smoke & Mirrors' is a multidisciplinary story told through theatre and music. The project follows two schoolboys stuck in detention, who secretly long for each other’s lives. It addresses vital issues such as class inequality, knife crime and teenage drug abuse. Narrated through a theatrical performance and a corresponding EP.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Rightkeysonly

Wales

Rightkeysonly is a 25-year-old EDM artist that uses music to share her experiences as a Disabled, Neurodivergent, bisexual woman from rural Wales. She runs the project Amplifying Accessibility, supporting Disabled and Neurodivergent music workers to thrive in careers made accessible to them. Wired for Sound is a free, virtual networking event for Disabled, Deaf and Neurodivergent music industry workers in Wales and Scotland. This is in collaboration with Scotland-based platform The Harmony Dialogue, and an opportunity to support the two nations to connect and learn from one another’s approaches to overcoming geographical limitations.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Robinson's Village

Greater London

Robinson’s Village is the ambient project of Nottingham-born, London-based artist James Burns. Blending reverb-soaked tape loops with layers of warped modular synths, his sound explores the fragile beauty of decay and imperfection. He's looking to put out his next ambient release later on this year. This will be the follow up to the debut EP for his project, Robinson's Village. It will be a string of ambient tracks put together from my previous experimentations focusing on tape loops. It will precede his debut album which will be arriving end of 2025.

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Robyn Maddox

Northern Ireland

Belfast-based songwriter Robyn Maddox’s music is rooted in theatrics. Drawing from a lifelong love of film, Maddox marries introspective lyrics with stories, transporting listeners to worlds that are “dreamy, dramatic & full to the brim of Hollywood charm” (Chordblossom). She has received praise from BBC Introducing, MCD Productions and GoldenPlec. 'HEIST' will be a five-track concept EP about mental health told through the narrative of a film noir-inspired jewellery heist. It will have a release campaign featuring singles, a music video and a launch gig in November 2026.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Rosa Williams

North West

Rosa is a videographer with a passion for amplifying grassroots music artists. Inspired by formats like Chicken Shop Dates and Digging with Flo, she wants to pioneer the next wave of artist-led digital content. She is driven to create a platform where emerging artists without exposure can share their personality. Let’s Chalk is a new YouTube interview format that merges music with climbing. Each episode features an underground artist/band taking part in playful climbing challenges, with their music woven throughout the experience. The series gives musicians a distinctive platform: audiences discover them not just through performance, but through personality.

Pronouns: she/her

TikTok

Sandra Muzykant

North East

Sandra is a Newcastle-based photographer and content creator, rooted in the North East’s underground music scene. Her focus is on capturing artists, raves, and grassroots culture through photography and video, using visuals to tell authentic stories and support emerging talent. Her creative project will deliver four professional studio photoshoots for emerging music artists, focusing on under-represented voices. The project will help Sandra to develop her skills in music photography, create a professional portfolio and website, and provide artists with high-quality visuals to promote their work – strengthening Newcastle’s grassroots creative scene.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Sharmaine Webster

East Midlands

Sharmaine Webster, 22, is quickly becoming one of the UK’s promising new voices. With unfiltered storytelling, captivating melodies, and fresh collaborations with producer MITCHWHITE, she’s shaping a bold new sound. Selected for the prestigious Skarbek Academy, Sharmaine is poised to make her mark on the pop landscape. 'Lover Girl' is the title of her debut EP which will consist of 5-7 original tracks.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

slyn

Scotland

slyn (Ashlynn White) is a sound artist and marine biologist whose practice draws on hydrofeminism to explore the textures and rhythms of underwater life. Working with hydrophones, layered field recordings, and processed voice, she creates immersive environments that reveal the entanglement of bodies and waters. Her project will involve making an EP continuing my practice weaving hydrophone and field recordings from around Scotland to imagine water and ecology as an instrument, incorporating these sounds into more clubby, experimental songs. Drawing on theories of hydrofeminism, slyn's project would bridge her scientific research and love for music.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

TAHZAN

East of England

"The jungle is a place of extreme versatility and I represent this in my music approach, hence the creation of my one-liner "Tahzan is a Jongu". I wear the Black OX hat representing strength, resilience and hard work and is linked to deities like Ogun." The electronic artist's project will be a journey through the phase of life that he is in. The album will span across 12 tracks, "each representing my different sides, while compartmentalising different areas of the jungle for example, deep and driven songs representing a grassland savannah, while songs glorifying women lean towards that of a rainforest."

Pronouns: he/him

Instagram

Tara Beynon

Wales

A singer with a pure, healing voice, Tara creates hypnotic music that invokes deep listening and connection to the soul. Singing in Welsh and other languages, her delicate, medicinal melodies honour her Celtic roots, carrying a timeless beauty. Her project will be an intimate debut EP of two original medicine songs, sung in Portuguese and Welsh as mantra and incantation. Translating as “deepest essence,”the work moves through hypnotic melodies and imaginal realms, leading the listener into rhythmic elemental frequencies.

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

TARIRO

North East

TARIRO is a soul-stirring singer-songwriter whose music blends emotion and storytelling with graceful ease. Hailing from the North East and raised in the rich harmonies of gospel choir, she now moves fluidly through R&B, neo-soul, and beyond a reflection of her journey, heritage and artistry. This project will be an EP that details her journey through late teens to adolescence, with songs written from 2019 up to present day, and more to be written. "This highlights the perspective of a Black girl in the North East, navigating relationships, hardships, success and failures, tracking mental health and beyond."

Pronouns: she/her

Instagram

Tekhole

Scotland

Tekhole is a Southern African DJ and sound artist based in Glasgow. Rooted in Gqom and tribal percussion, their genre-fluid sets weave between breaks, techno, and electro with field recordings and deconstructed drums. Their work explores heritage, queerness, and futurism, treating sound as a space for connection and transformation. 'SIN', Tekhole's debut EP, fuses Gqom, electro, and field recordings into dark, percussion-driven soundscapes. Exploring heritage, queerness, and Afro-Futurism, it confronts neo-colonial dystopia and systemic oppression through decaying rhythms and ethereal textures ~ transforming fractured histories into speculative futures, and turning protest into a sonic testament of survival and resistance.

Pronouns: they/them

Instagram