Dylan Cartlidge

artist bio

‘Anything Could Happen’ is the upbeat release from North-East England’s alternative hip-hop and indie crossover rising star Dylan Cartlidge. The track is the first offering from Dylan’s collaboration with producer Eg White (Adele, Florence + The Machine, Sam Smith). A wholesome track to remind us that ‘Anything Could Happen’, the release is gospel influenced indie-pop and the perfect uplifting tune for Spring 2021 to help encourage listeners to take positive steps each day. Written and created during the dark times of the third UK Covid-19 lockdown, the track soars to deliver Dylan’s characteristically hopeful message through adversity. Speaking on ‘Anything Could Happen’, Dylan said, “I wrote this track during the third Covid-19 lockdown after I’d been shielding at home for 7 months, feeling fed up at not seeing my loved ones and struggling with my mental health. I focussed on my mantra of ‘Hope Above Adversity’ and I created the track to remind myself that with a bit of hope and courage, and if you put one foot in front of the other, anything really could happen!” Hailing from Redcar, a small town in the North-East of England, Dylan Cartlidge’s story is one of hope above adversity. His music is an ode to embracing individuality and defying the odds associated with his own turbulent upbringing which included being raised in the care system. With two EP’s under his belt (2019’s ‘Monsters Under the Bed’and 2020 followup ‘Yellow Brick Road’) Dylan’s upward trajectory since his debut includes a UK-wide 13 date headline tour as well as performances at SXSW, Glastonbury and Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Middlesbrough. Along the way, he has also gained praise from radio tastemakers including Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders, Phil Taggart and Matt Wilkinson. Summer 2020 saw Dylan breaking new ground single with a debut top 40 placing at US alternative radio. Having been force to shield at home in Middlesbrough for 7 months during the COVID-19 lockdown, the isolation period offered Dylan fresh perspective on his creativity as well as an opportunity to work on his latest music with cutting edge and boundary pushing new collaborators including Ed Irwin-Singer (Glass Animals), Al Shux (writer/producer for Jay Z, Lana Del Rey, Alicia Keys) and Ivor Novello winning and Grammy nominated Eg White (Adele, Florence + The Machine, Sam Smith). These opportunities have meant that Dylan’s latest work, whilst continuing his signature subversive take on underground hip-hop, also introduces a new blues and gospel-influenced sound which Dylan developed naturally during his period of self-reflection in isolation. Inspired from a place of vulnerability for Dylan, his new and upcoming work carries sounds of bold technicolour filled with soul. ‘Anything Could Happen’is the latest new taste of this direction for Dylan - it is a snapshot of who he is right now as he continues to spread his unflinching storytelling and infectious enthusiasm for keeping positive.