Alex Clare

Alex Clare is another new kid on the block. He's also from London, which seems to be an absolute hotbed for this new breed of music. But he's not 'just another one of those'. He's a chef, he's a filmmaker, he's Jewish and he likes wearing boots.

Starting with his first single Up All Night, released in late 2010, the song begins sounding a little like alternative rock, the repetitive bass guitar being the centerpiece. But when Clare begins to sing, you realise he's a little bit special. I mean, you can't decide if he's more like The Offspring or Shakira, weird as that may sound. According his label, he used to be a soul/blues singer, but pairing him with producers Diplo and Switch for his upcoming album has created a bizarre amalgamation of sounds. The future of soul music, perhaps?

Luckily, this man has a voice that can be applied to all genres of music, seemingly with equal degrees of success. This is even more apparent with his latest single, Too Close, the video for which has been released today. At first, you're reminded of Maroon 5...and Adele. The song seems quite relaxed compared to his previous offering. How wrong this impression was. The chorus is distinctly diva-dubstep, quite similar to Nero, and it's brilliant!

I'm intrigued to know what he's gonna do on his next song. Screamo-reggae? I wouldn't be surprised.