Marika Hackman, Hoxton Sq. Bar and Kitchen

Watch out for Marika Hackman this year. This fine-spinning singer-songwriter is set to support The 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall, but don’t miss her playing a more intimate setting at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in March. 

A former Burberry model and school friend (Bedales, obviously) of It-girl Cara Delevingne, Hackman turned her back on a modelling career in favour of creating exquisite, nocturnal alt-folk. She may have been picked up by pied-piper of the New-Folk scene, Johnny Flynn, but where Flynn romps in the barn, Hackman’s music is inkier, sparser. She reaches for minor keys and chilling lyrics. In Cannibal, she asks: "Have you seen my nose?/ I cut it off last night/ Well let's just hope it grows,/  I'd hate to look a fright./  As blood run down my chin,/  I love that iron taste"

Her debut EP, That Iron Taste, was produced by Alt J’s Charlie Andrew, and unveils Hackman’s self-taught musical talents as she plays every instrument on the recording. She’s no one trick pony: the album may be full of ghosts (Mountain Spine, Cannibal) but she can be playful, too – as in Bath Is Black and its pop-speckled hooks.

Influenced by female-led groups such as Warpaint and Cat Power, Hackman is a sophisticated recording artist with a talent that surpasses her 22 years. 

Catch her before she gets big.