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 you have it, our latest and greatest selection for the TMR Top 20 of 2019 series featuring Daniela Andrade, KEYAH/BLU, Crumb and Soul Button.

We also want to take this opportunity to thank all the artists, bands, producers, directors and creatives that we've had the pleasure to showcase on The Most Radicalist this year. Bring on 2020!

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Daniela Andrade



With three of our her eight EP tracks earning List Pick status, we couldn’t wrap up 2019 without mentioning Daniela Andrade. The Honduran-Canadian artist has utterly swept us off our feet with her dreamy R&B and soul songs, most notably ‘Wet Dreams’, ‘Ayayai’ and ‘Gallo Pinto’. Her breezy, lo-fi recordings frame Andrade’s syrupy vocals which switch seamlessly between English and Spanish in reflection of her dual heritage. In fact, this identity holds space at the core of the EP, positioning this young artist an important voice for a new wave of first generation immigrant youth who experience the world of online interconnection in paradoxical parallel to the enduring isolation of feeling like the “other”. Even within Andrade’s own family she feels this, as she’s the only sibling to have been born in Canada, while her parents and three older siblings continued to live in Honduras. This story is especially prominent in the Jeremy Comte directed video for the glistening nouveau-R&B single ‘Gallo Pinto’, in which we see a family separated by borders and struggling with the emotional impact of that. It’s beautifully shot to dreamlike finesse, centered around the radiating presence of Daniela Andrade. With her stunning Tamale EP now available for all to hear, there’s really no excuse but to get well acquainted with this surefire TMR favourite. - Hannah Thacker

KEYAH/BLU



KEYAH/BLU’s iconic style transcends beyond her slacker clothes and bright red hair; her unique brand of experimental hip-hop is cutting edge and effortlessly cool as well. This year, she’s really emerged as an impressive new London talent. Frequently collaborating with Denzel Himself, a rapper who makes gothic, hard-core hip-hop. 'Birdie' is a deep and grimy hip hop tune, with seductive, yet ominous undertones. KEYAH’s sharp and urgent vocal style on 'Birdie' differs to the more serene vocals seen in her most recent solo release ‘Til’ Bliss’ - a smashing single that spotlight’s KEYAH’s competence as an individual artist. ‘Til’ Bliss’ showcases her melodic, rhythmic flow which is supple and layered with harmony, over a musical foundation built on electronic drums and catchy, layered vocal samples. The song is sentimental and feels conclusive of some kind of emotion that has been lifted from darkness into optimism as she affirms "I look in the mirror, I feel a bit better when I celebrate myself". If that wasn’t enough, KEYAH was also part of another exciting collaboration with DJ and producer Joy Orbison, on ‘Under’ – a track from Joy’s fantastic October EP Slipping. It's a dark and moody tune, rooted in low-end frequencies and nuts synth sounds. KEYAH brings a slinky London edge to the song with her sultry narration. Over the past year, KEYAH has appeared on line-ups with the likes of Biig Piig, Tirzah and DANNY TRASH. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for more of these fantastic live shows in the new year. - Ellie Rose-Davies



Crumb



Having gained a loyal cult following since their jaw-dropping 2017 EP Locket, Brooklyn-based psych-pop peddlers Crumb raised the bar in 2019 with the release of their phenomenal debut album Jinx back in June. With a string of high quality singles preceding the album including List Picks 'Nina', Ghostride, Fall Down and M.R., every track on Jinx is a flawless representation of Crumb's unique yet nostalgic sound. Effortlessly combining cool 90s vibes with trippy pyshcedelia, sophisticated whiffs of jazz and pristine production, its rare to find a debut this accomplished. Breaking the mould with their ambitious accompanying visuals for 'Nina', and 'M.R.', directed & edited by the band's frequent collaborator Haoyan of America (with the latter starring Twin Peaks actor David Patrick Kelly) Crumb's commitment to their artistic vision feels bold and uncompromising. Furthermore, having increased their UK fanbase massively since their last London headline show at the 150 capacity Moth Club, the band sold out two magical dates at Tufnell Park's 500 capacity venue The Dome earlier this month, (one of which we were lucky enough to go to) and we couldn't be more besotted with them. - Holly Mullineaux



Soul Button

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Soul Button went into 2019 with the aim of creating emotionally charged, yet equally danceable house music. With the input of the Steyoyoke label, he has been able to push the boundaries of his work, dropping a debut album in Phantom Existence. Tunes like ‘Deception’ and ‘Awaken The Soul’ stand out as true deep house gems, with the latter embracing ethereal textures and the former merging industrial sounds with airy synths to create a truly unique sound. He goes into 2020 with a newfound following and (hopefully) the aim to push the experimentation in his composition even further. - Dan Peeke