Fresh, young and rooted in Britain – Shura is the sound of now – and, if you happen to be in Austin, Texas she’ll be playing SXSW this week, too.

In a nutshell: Blissful synth-soul

Listen if you like: Haim

Key track: Touch

Get to know: With dark brows, bleached bedroom hair and dance-pop tunes, it’s not hard to see why English singer-songwriter Aleksandra Denton (Shura is a Russian nickname for Aleksandra) is being compared to a young Madonna – and she’s the first to acknowledge the Queen of Pop’s influence: ‘If I was stuck on a desert island, I’d take The Immaculate Collection.’ The 23 year old produces her own tracks, self-labelled as ‘psychedelic guitariness’ and ‘tainted pop vibes.’ ‘I like weirdness in music,’ she says. The song that best sums up her life? ‘Tchaikovsky’s Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy, from Disney’s animated classic Fantasia.’

Shura headlines Village Underground, London, on 25 March. For more, see villageunderground.co.uk

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