Clare Maguire

With her gutsy, haunting vocals and dark, brooding, and atmospheric alternative dance sound, singer/songwriter Clare Maguire has been favorably compared to the likes of Portishead's Beth Gibbons and Kosheen's Sian Evans.

Born in Birmingham in 1988, the former shop assistant wrote her first song at age seven, and after building up a loyal following through her MySpace page, she sparked a major-label bidding war involving Jay-Z before signing to Polydor Records in 2009.

Influenced by Howlin' Wolf and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, she recorded her debut album with Mark Ronson, turning down tracks offered to her by Plan B and Jarvis Cocker in the process.