Crossword Genius

Was familiar with the modern sound (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

knew

'was familiar with' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'the modern sound' is the wordplay.
'the modern' becomes 'new' (I've seen this before).
'sound' shows a homophone (sound like).
'new' sounds like 'KNEW'.

(Other definitions for knew that I've seen before include "Was aware of the fact" , "Distinguished" , "Was cognizant of" , "Was familiar with" , "Recognised" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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