Opinion: 5 x Artists To Watch 2023 (Los Angeles)
By Margot Boatright
Looking for music recommendations from The City of Angels? Our woman on the ground, Sam picks five exciting artists/collectives that she’ll be watching in 2023 and beyond.
Our annual series returns in 2023, with a fresh batch of music recommendations from members of our international team at Precision Record Pressing. Kicking us off in January is Sam Boatright, one of our account managers operating out of the LA area. A musician herself, Sam is no stranger to recommending bands and new releases in our internal team chat… so we thought we’d take the opportunity tap into some of her local knowledge and ask who she recommends keeping an eye on this year. In typical Sam fashion, she put her own literary-spin on the series. We wouldn’t have it any other way and are sure that you’ll love her selections as much as we do!
Caroline Loveglow
Pale sun peaking speckling through the clouds; the stained-glass sunrays dotting the grass outside your window. A record plays. It’s that sweet, delicate hum that wiggles its way in between your eyes on the bridge of your nose. “We’ve been trying to reach you to discuss the status of your new dream pop obsession.” It’s full blown at this point. And Caroline Loveglow is at the helm of this Stan-ship. Her 2022 masterful debut, Strawberry recalls the playful unpredictability of Jane Siberry and the undeniable cleverness of ‘80s Yoko. It’s dream pop that soundtracks your Sunday cat naps. It’s a familiar ephemerality. It’s Cocteau Triplets.
Sam’s recommendation:
Smirk
Jangly, gangly, all-types of angly noise punk that recalls the charmingly tepid melodies of The Clean, The Cleaners From Venus, Venus-by-Television guitar ton(n)age; extreme “choice-public-access-tv-golden-age” vibes. Smirk’s latest release, Material (2022) asks the questions, “What if I left my post punk out over night? Is it still edible?” And answers: “You did. And it’s even tastier now.” Nick Vicario is an L.A. analog junk punk mainstay, playing in lo-fi noise punk gems Public Eye and Crisis Man. Smirk, his solo moniker, expands on his unquantifiably good melodic calculations, warping sharp wit with warbled production and refried refrains. This man doesn’t trade in earworms. He’s a bonafide (ear)worm farmer.
Sam’s recommendation:
Juke Bounce Werk
Hotly-tipped footwork/ghetto house/oddball electronic realness/etc label from LA, veterans of the underground dance scene here for nearly a decade. Delivering infectious aural inebriation in a range of BPMs through their painstakingly crafted JBDUBZ compilations, DJs Sonic D, Jae Drago and DJ Noir created JBW in the early ‘10s to bring Chicago’s footwork legacy to LA’s club scene. JBDUBZ Vol. X (2022) is their most exhilarating (and lengthy) tome yet. At 50+ tracks, the comp keeps Chicago’s “for-the-people-music” roots alive in humble yet devout fashion, highlighting national/international DJs and producers (Kush Jones, Escaflowne, SURLY, Black Rave Culture, OSSX,,,,,,) A DIY, communal ethos exalts JBW beyond other contemporary DJ collectives. Pride and reverence of the music is just as important as hype and hypnotic production. Preservation and resistance. Ceremony and jubilee. Lit and litany.
Sam’s recommendation:
Sam Gendel
You like Jazz, baby?
Oh! Not really?
That’s okay, we’ll just call this: (jazz).
Not soft jazz, but ambien(t) jazz. Not cool jazz, but the coolest jazz. No capital Js here; just little puffs of Js here and there.
Bucolic, melancholic, (insert your favorite -ic here).
[This ain’t your parents’ jazz].
Sam Gendel has been a stalwart of LA’s bubbling, subversive, creatively ferocious jazz scene for years, but only recently has he been getting the shout outs he deserves. On 2022’s blue blue, Gendel interweaves tidal harmonies with collaborator Craig Weinrib’s resounding percussive work. However, blue blue is only the sunlit tip of Gendel’s proverbial discographic iceberg, his prolific instrumentation and compositions spread across countless solo and collaborative pieces, neverending workhorsemanship like all the great blues journeymen. Really, any place to start is the right one with Gendel. Alone he’s a force [see DRM]. Paired, he’s a friend [see Sam Wilkes and Antonia Cytrynowicz collabs].
Sam’s recommendation:
Pachyman
Pachyman lives in the space between the notes, the cosmic dust awoken by the thrums and thumps of the bass drum. He is a maverick, an auteur, a bender of the 4th Dimension: TIME. His warping wizardry evokes King Tubby and The Scientist, but his roots equally elicit his Puerto Rican heritage and influences. PR’s Cultura Profetica hypnotized Pachyman growing up, showing him that reggae has become regionally Caribbean, no longer just strictly Jamaican.
Pachyman’s 2021, The Return Of… showcases the maestro’s manipulation of time and space while curating supreme vibes, not in a “cheesy-American-does-reggae” type of way, but on a “severely sincere, authentic reverence-to-the-sound” tip. It’s easily some of the warmest, best[est] dub I’ve ever heard, certainly the best contemporary dub record that homages the vintage analog control-deck-tickling of Perry, Pablo and Jammy. A must.
Sam’s recommendation:
Header illustration by Jacopo Severitano.