London’s best underground music: Five sources that will keep you in-the-know

Rough Trade East is located off Brick Lane near Liverpool St

Whether you’re living in London or overseas—finding resources for great new music can be tricky. To stay in-the-know about London’s hottest bands from wherever you are, stalk these sources on their websites or wander into their stores if you’re in town. Either way you’re guaranteed to get some hot music tips.

Rough Trade Records: London’s most infamous record store. With columns lined with ‘staff picks,’ an “Albums of the Month” leaflet, and racks of music magazines–you cannot walk out of Rough Trade without a great new album and twenty other recommendations. Rough Trade is on the new music radar 24/7 and they are usually right on target when it comes to next year’s big bands. Free shows at night with recent guests Fuck Buttons, The Black Keys, and Caribou also make it one of London’s best venues for live music. Check their website for music updates and subscribe to their online notices for extra music insurance.

Pure Groove: Another record store known for their free nightly entertainment, Pure Groove offers great live bands, movie screenings, and even music themed speed dating. Sign up for the Pure Groove email announcements for notifications about free live shows, recent record shipments to the store, and occasionally rare signed albums at first come first serve.

The Fly: The Barfly is one of Camden’s best known venues, but their magazine The Fly is equally as impressive. Though London is overflowing with music magazines, The Fly’s is riddled with their dry humour and unapologetic music taste. Follow @theflymagazine on Twitter to find out what the guys are listening to on the office stereo and what albums will get reviews in the next magazine. You will also read tasteful intellectual banter such as:

“What’s worse? Jazz or gonorrhoea? Just wondering.”

“We have a winner: Jazz”

At the very least their tweets will keep you entertained at work.

Lastfm: Though Lastfm has no affiliation with London, it is an amazing music source. With a Lastfm account you can follow certain artists, create playlists, get artist recommendations based on your listening habits, and get intimate details on what everyone else you know is listening to. With the ability to stream your music from iTunes or Spotify, every song you ever listen to again will be broadcast online. It is a giant web connecting artists based on musical stylings and common listeners. Artists you track will also notify you with tour dates coming to your area.

BBC 6 Music: The power of 6 Music became evident the BBC threatened to close the station. When rumour arose of BBC 6 leaving the airwaves due to budget cuts musicians, journalists, fans, and websites across the nation threw up their arms in protest. While its future is yet to be determined, the station is still playing amazing music and avoiding the Billboard Top 40 crap as though their life depended on it. Shows range from DJs picks of the week to radio documentaries of rock history, while the website provides podcasts and playlists of the core artists played that day. Start listening and maybe we can save this iconic station.

So check out these websites, listen to their podcasts, or simply stalk them on twitter. Either way you’re guaranteed to be ahead of your friends when it comes to new music news.