With the year winding down, we at The Most Radicalist wanted to take this opportunity to look back on the wonderful year of music we’ve just had with a ‘Best Of’ list. We asked our writers to pick out their top emerging artists of the last 12 months and needless to say we were presented with both an exceptional and deliciously eclectic group of artists.

Here's the second installment of our TMR Top 20 of 2019 with four more picks!

***

The KTNA



The KTNA sisters have certainly made their home here at TMR, with their single ‘OWT’ launching them onto our radar and leading to them being chosen as the musical focus of our partnership with BBH for the Unsigned art exhibition. We’ve become completely enamoured with The KTNA’s vibrant mix of trip-hop, hip-hop, RnB, funk and soul. This unique sound pervades their Life Under Siege EP, which is also a platform for the twin’s conversations around mental health, relationships and their experience of being working class women of colour from the North of England in the music industry. As we explored in an earlier interview with Hope and Millie Katana, which was published in Unsigned magazine, the EP is a cathartic expression for the dynamic duo, written during a time when they had moved from their home city Manchester to London. They lived and recorded in a single, windowless studio for a year and the musical result is a true testament to their strength and determination. Throughout the EP, their candid honesty around mental health provides a safe space for listeners to open up about their own struggles, such as we hear in ‘MBD’ - “it’s been twenty-seven hours since my last mental breakdown, / And that’s a record, I guess for right now.” The goal isn’t to be perfect; it’s to be enough. As The KTNA said to us, “our motto is “don’t do too much, just enough.” We could all absorb this motto into our own lives and, of course, listen to more of The KTNA. - Hannah Thacker

Biig Piig



Irish-born, London-based Biig Piig has emerged with a more widespread reach this year: with highlights including a spot of BBC 6 Music's prestigious A List and a performance at Glastonbury that was beautifully humble and intimate. Releasing two EP’s as well as independent singles ‘Roses and Gold’, ‘Sunny’ and ‘Nothing Changes’, Biig Piig's sound is pleasantly familiar, resembling the 90’s vibe of Erykah Badu, but paired with a fragile jazz nature that’s present in voices of bossanova singers like Rosa Passos or Joyce. Laying honeyed vocals across a sea of atmospheric hip-hop production to create a cosy and hazy atmosphere, with a scent of red wine and cigarette smoke, her lyrics are wonderfully insular, allowing the listener a glimpse into her world. The music is diverse and multi-facetted, seen in songs like ‘Vete’, where she sings in Spanish (learnt from her time living in Marbella), juxtaposed against chilled jams like ‘Intro’, and feel-good pop singles like ‘Sunny’. With her most recent live shows selling out in a flash, Biig Piig is certainly one to watch. - Ellie Rose-Davies



Great Dad

Rising London-based outfit Great Dad have undergone quite the transformation over the last year. Growing exponentially from their original two member nucleus, the now 6 piece have really come into their own with the addition of wailing saxophones, intricate flute parts and impassioned backing vocals. Self-releasing arguably the most underrated album of 2019 at the end of May, the self-titled LP, which is available to stream or buy via the band's bandcamp page, is an emotionally-charged masterpiece made up of circuit-bent synth sounds, whimsical electronic elements and lyrics that feel like they've been forcibly removed from vocalist Charlie Loane's chest. Having somewhat reluctantly attracted a wave of industry interest over the last few months (which is unsurprising given the quality of their work) we're predicting 'great' things for the sextet in 2020 (sorry, not sorry). - Holly Mullineaux 



Lewis Cromby 



While he first started turning heads halfway through 2018, this year was the big turning point for Lewis Cromby. While he remains firmly in the underground, his emotive, personal songwriting and ability to craft gloriously catchy melodies in every chorus he pens is a gift I’m sure he’ll take forward into 2020. His debut EP, titled The Sun Shines Now, is just three tracks long, but each one packs a punch. Capable of moving, acoustic ballads that show off his unique voice as well as uplifting, full-band material, Cromby told us what went into the release in a chat we had earlier in the year. He has been an ever-present figure in the Liverpool live music scene this year, so hopefully his brilliant music continues to expand and reach new audiences next year. - Dan Peeke