Essential Listening: International Women's Day special

This week's Essential Listening playlist selections have been repurposed to celebrate #internationalwomesday and the wealth of talented female acts slaying in 2023

Skiddle Staff

Last updated: 7th Mar 2023

In support of the abundance of talented female and non-binary acts representing the global music scene, this week's Essential Listening playlist selections have been repurposed to celebrate #internationalwomesday and will highlight a small section of the many amazing names that bring quality and variation to the musicsphere.

As per usual, we'll cover six of the most current genres - including house and techno, indie and alternative, drum & bass and jungle, and hip-hop and jazz - shining the spotlight on producers, musicians and singer-songwriters, both old and new.

Continue down the page to discover our favourite tracks from those killing it in 2023, learn more about some of the artists featured, and grab tickets to see them live at events happening across the UK this year.

House/Techno:

Hannah Laing - Be The One

Dundee's 'Queen of House', Hannah Laing is on a fast track to becoming a household name in British dance music. The burgeoning superstar has been producing her own unique house sound since a young age and quickly found a following among fans of electronic music. At just 19 years of age, she packed her bags and boarded a plane to take on her first residency out in Ibiza, a move which would take her career to new heights. Engaging new audiences and winning over some of the most renowned names in dance, she went on to secure support slots for industry titans the likes of Carl Cox, MK, Fisher, Camelphat, Solardo and many more in destinations across the world.

Fast forward to the present day and Laing is currently out on the road, embarking on her first-ever headline tour of the UK for which tickets have all sold out. With a busy schedule planned for 2023, including bookings at mammoth festival events such as Creamfields, we expect Hannah Laing to be a name topping everyone's end-of-year lists when December comes around.

Listen to Hannah's latest high-energy release, 'Be The One', above.

Find tickets to see Hannah Laing live below:

EGG LNDN presents Hannah Laing & more

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Hannah Laing live at TANK Nightclub, Sheffield

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Dundee Dance Event 2023

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Indie/Alternative:

Caroline Polachek - Welcome To My Island

'Welcome To My Island' is a track which cannot be escaped at present. Ringing out on every UK radio station, the track is a bonafide pop anthem and one we can see festival revellers jumping around to when the American singer-songwriter touches down in the UK later in the year, for a string of headline shows.

The lead single from Polachek's second LP, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You, makes up one of 12 experimental tracks on the acclaimed record, which is by far her most accomplished album release to date. Flamenco-style guitar phrases heard on 'Sunset' are somehow fused effortlessly with trip-hop beats and dreamy indie soundscapes featured on 'Butterfly Net' and 'Smoke'. As the previous would suggest, the listening experience is just as chaotic in moments as it is stunningly beautiful and in places, offers its audience a glimpse into the mind of Polachek and her mood board of influences, with clever references to music pioneers such as Massive Attack and Madonna.

A future pop icon in the making, we're hedging our bets that Caroline Polachek will be a name we're talking about in years to come.

Find tickets to see Caroline Polachek live below:

Wide Awake Festival 2023

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Drum & Bass/Jungle:

Nia Archives - Conveniency

Nia Archives made huge waves when she made her entrance back in 2021 and not only within the drum & bass and jungle scene. Capturing the attention of music fans from right across the genre spectrum with a slew of diverse offerings, the London-based artist is out to prove that she's no one trick pony. Citing influences from J Dilla to Burial and Roots Manuva, and with a fondness for soul, jazz, and samba music, her output is truly one-of-a-kind. Exhibiting a concoction of varied styles and ideas re-engineered and reworked into her own, it's easy to see the hard work and passion that goes into the incredible music she creates. And the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

Amassing upwards of 30 million streams on Spotify alone and scooping the DJ Mag Award for Best Breakthrough DJ back in 2022, not to mention the NME Award for Best Producer and the MOBO Award for Best Dance/Electronic Act, Nia Archives has, in a short space of time, cemented herself as a trailblazing name. A leader of a new sound and generation of artists we can expect to hear from in the not-so-distant future.

Find tickets to see Nia Archives live below:

Parklife 2023

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Otherlands Music & Arts Festival

This event has been cancelled
Otherlands will no longer be going ahead due to poor ticket sales, rising production costs and loss

Sundown Festival

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Hip-hop/Jazz:

Nubya Garcia - Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be

Saxophonist, expert composer, proficient bandleader and all-around jazz specialist, Nubya Garcia has been at the very forefront of the British scene for the past five years. Alike Nia Archives, the multi-talented artist hails from the UK culture capital and has been dubbed one of the few names we have to thank for the resurgence of contemporary jazz in the modern day.

Having collaborated and performed alongside a who's who list of contemporary jazz purveyors through the years, including Joe Armon Jones, The Exra Collective, award-winning drummer Moses Boyd and Kamal Williams, she's rightly earned a reputation among the hardcore jazz contingent as one of the best in the business. Something which was only magnified upon the release of her latest album, 2020's SOURCE.

It's from this album we take 'Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be'. The 7-and-a-half-minute record, we believe, captures all the best qualities of Nubya's collective works and talents. Mastered composition is married with enviable musicianship to create what is a sonic voyage that's all too easy to get lost in. There are few who could do it better than Nubya Garcia. Check out the video for the track above.

Find tickets to see Nubya Garcia live below:

We Out Here Festival 2023

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Be sure to follow our Essential Listening playlists featured above to discover the best new tracks released each week, as curated by the Skiddle team.

Check out our What's On Guide to discover more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.