Small Pond x Rankd
Our AOTY - courtesy of Small Pond!
Small Pond are a staple piece to the local music community, demonstrated by stepping outside the boundaries of a traditional rehearsal and recording studio to offer masterclasses, 1-1 mentoring, and expert guidance to nurture the creative process from a messy, unintelligible voice note to a polished and precisely mastered track ready for release. Gaining traction with their original live sessions dating back to 2013, Small Pond continue to hold onto the legacy with their ‘Small Pond Sessions’ albums, with the latest compiling sounds from the likes of El Moono, Totorro (also above), H_ngm_n + many more from the local music ecosystem. Released earlier this month, Small Pond Sessions Vol.4 follows the always anticipated ‘Emerging’ album, released back in November.
Volume V throws us straight in with the emotionally driven soundscapes of Had Sandy, boasting dreamy guitar and organs that dance together in a rich yet rough-round-the-edges opening track, quickly whipping us into an explosive genre blend – from the playful song writing of folk trio Krumpets, to the dizzying metal debut from Insectus.
Each featuring artist benefits from an incredible array of career-supporting perks – including 15 hours of free rehearsals, 3 days of recording, and the opportunity to fill their boots with production, mentoring and workshops with industry pros. With a handful of artists extracted from the line-up to perform at Small Pond’s annual release show (this year’s featured Had Sandy, Sick Days and M.Woodroe) – Emerging is a project that every Brighton-based should want to sink their teeth into.
Being such a well-rounded representation of Brighton’s music scene in 2025, Small Pond’s ‘Emerging Vol V’ is Rankd’s album of the year 2025!