The BBC has announced more artists on its Sound of 2025 Countdown, with Barry Can’t Swim claiming third place and Ezra Collective named this year’s runner up.
BBC Sound of 2025: Barry Can’t Swim is a new dance music superstar https://t.co/9uf6hFyb9A
— BBC Edinburgh & East (@BBCEastScot) January 8, 2025
Scottish DJ and producer, Barry Can’t Swim, born Joshua Mainnie, has captivated audiences with his distinctive blend of jazz, house, and dance music. His musical journey began at age 10 when his grandfather gifted him a piano, sparking a passion that later led him to form bands influenced by acts like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.
Speaking to the BBC about his music inspiration, he said: “[those acts were] some of the first people to really try and create a hybrid of the music that I loved, which was 60s psychedelic rock with more modern electronic music. And that’s exactly what I was trying to do – incorporate the more traditional form of songwriting and melody of 60s music with electronic production.”
Finding inspiration in the club scene during his time at Edinburgh Napier University, he transitioned to electronic music, according to the BBC: “My earliest producing really came from clubbing, really, and going out and just falling in love with dance music that way.”
His 2023 debut album, ‘When Will We Land?’, showcases his signature style – a vibrant fusion of electronic, jazz, and world influences with dynamic layers and memorable vocal samples. The album’s success earned him multiple nominations including for the 2024 Mercury Prize and Best Dance Act at the 2024 Brit Awards and positioned him as a standout in the recent surge of dance music acts that has flooded charts.
Meanwhile, Ezra Collective has claimed the runner-up spot, cementing their status as one of the most innovative voices in modern jazz.
The quintet met through a jazz youth program in London called Tomorrow’s Warriors and is comprise of drummer Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison. Drawing from Afrobeat, Hip-Hop, Grime, Reggae, and R&B, Ezra Collective aims to make jazz more accessible and reflects the genre-defying approach to music present in the new generation of artists.
Speaking to the BBC, drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso explained: “We’re the shuffle generation. We listen to Beethoven and 50 Cent comes on straight after. That influences the way we approach music: We love jazz but at the same time I love salsa too, so why not try and get that in there?”
We made “Ajala“ for dancing.
Hope you’ve been enjoying the vibes since it dropped.
Stream it here: https://t.co/O8A3CecJZm pic.twitter.com/Z43lXFbTvD— Ezra Collective (@EzraCollective) May 1, 2024
After their 2016 debut EP, ‘Chapter 7’, and 2019 debut album, ‘You Can’t Steal My Joy’, the group were about to embark on a tour when the COVID-19 Pandemic disrupted their plans. Despite this, the group used the national lockdown as inspiration and began working towards their second album, ‘Where I’m Meant To Be’, centered around hope for a post-pandemic world. Koleoso recalled to the BBC: “What we found was we had each other. It felt like we were meant to be together, and we made as many tracks as we could that articulate that.”
The album has since gone on to make history as the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize and was quickly followed by their third album. Innovatively, ‘Dance, No-One’s Watching’, was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios over three days, with an audience comprised of their family and friends. Through tracks like ‘Ajala’, the project aims to capture the energy and excitement of performing to a live audience. Commenting to the BBC on the inclusion of the audience in the final record, Koleoso said: “There’s a lot of things in the world that don’t feel real enough, but music shouldn’t be one of them.”
The recognition of Barry Can’t Swim and Ezra Collective in the BBC’s Sound of 2025 celebrates the vibrant and genre-blurring creativity shaping modern music. Both acts exemplify the power of blending diverse influences to create something entirely unique.
The winner of the BBC Sound of 2025 will be revealed tomorrow, concluding this year’s celebration of groundbreaking talent.
