With the year winding down, here at TMR we're taking the opportunity to look back and pick out our top emerging artists of the last 12 months.

It's been a hell of a year for new music - from South London's rough and ready indie scene, to silky electronic producers soundtracking parties on both sides of the Atlantic, there's been something for everyone.

Over the course of the next few days, we'll be picking out our Top 20 of 2017 - all the best fresh talent that defined the last year.

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BROOKE BENTHAM



Brooke Bentham has been on a roll this year. She started off with the gorgeous ‘Heavy and Ephemeral’, before dropping the The Room Swayed EP which features perhaps one of the most confessional lyrics of this year: "I love it when you put your legs over my thighs, think twice, I think I need you to make my body work". It’s this honest, icy and direct style of delivery which has won Bentham many fans this year, most recently for her second EP This Rapture. Recently graduated from Goldsmiths, Bentham is now spending time back in the studio before she heads on tour in January/February next year. Grab your ticket here and keep one eye out for this exceptional talent - she’s heading places. -Holly Manners



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SORRY



Emerging from that artistic hotbed of South London, Sorry are a law unto themselves. Fusing jagged artistic statements to a melodic indie sensibility, each of their tracks feels like a mutating creature, taking on multiple forms and throwing convention aside. Early single ‘Drag King’ showed their murky brilliance (“I wish I was a boy so I could dress up in drag” remains one of the year’s most left-field hooks), but it’s latest release ‘Wished’ and their newfound signing to Domino that looks set to take this lot stratospheric. -Tom Connick



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BRUNO MAJOR



With no less than seven of the twelve tracks from Bruno Major’s yearlong one-song-a-month project A Song For Every Moon covered here on TMR, it’s safe to say that this London musician has made something of an impact in 2017. So much so that we had to call him up to ask a few questions about the album, his craft and what we’re sure will be many more List Pick-worthy tracks. For now, let’s turn our attention back to earlier on in the year, when we jumped back into Major’s ambitious journey in February with track number seven, the unconditional love ballad ‘Just The Same’, which was written, recorded and produced in just the space of three weeks. Time limits are a task for any artist, but when you’re doing it month-on-month, that exceeds all expectation, especially when the quality isn’t allowed to suffer. As we discussed in the interview, ‘Fair-Weathered Friend’ was the most challenging and rewarding point for Major, who scrapped the initial recording because it didn’t meet his perfectionist standard, and the result, well, it speaks for itself. Over the year we also picked up on the sweeping, old soul of ‘Places We Won’t Walk’ and the acoustic R&B-leaning ‘Cold Blood’. However, nothing could quite prepare us for the project’s finale, ‘On Our Own’, an unflinchingly honest and heartfelt exploration of life, faith, death and doubt based on a frank conversation with his mother following the passing of his grandmother. It was quite simply the most perfect ending to a project that Bruno Major put his everything into, making A Song For Every Moon one of the most impressive one-song-per-month records ever. -Hannah Thacker



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FENNE LILY



Starting out at just 17-years-of-age and with no label behind her, Fenne Lily is showing the simple power of great songwriting. The talented Bristolian writes the sort of timeless, moving acoustic numbers that have put the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Julie Byrne on the map this year and she is honing this craft to follow in the footsteps of these acclaimed genre leaders. With her hushed, stunning vocal Lily coos over gently haunting guitar work and has the ability to work catching pop-leaning melodies into her work, ensuring tracks beg to be returned to. With massive Spotify streams already under her belt, 2018 seems perfectly set for Fenne Lily's boundless potential. -George O’Brien



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BO GRITZ



Kicking off 2017 with a slot on London promoters Clean’s ever-accurate ‘Safe Bets’ line up with fellow rising talents Abattoir Blues, Nervous Conditions and 404, shortly followed by an electrifying support slot for L.A. punk rappers Ho99o9, Bo Gritz were destined for an exciting year. Consisting of Finn Holland on guitar and vocals, Ben Salt on bass and Max Goulding on drums, Bo Gritz's unique combination of off-kilter beats, thundering basslines and harsh, metallic guitar sounds has identified them as one of the most interesting and intense noise bands in London. Their pummelling debut single ‘You Just Cover’, released by Strong Island Recordings, quickly caught the ear of former NME new music editor and Beats 1 DJ Matt Wilkinson as well as gaining the attention of legendary promoters Bad Vibrations and Fluffer (Pit Parties), who snapped up the threesome to play some of their most thrilling events of 2017. Thriving on their growing reputation, Bo Gritz' debut headline show at the Shacklewell Arms was a sell-out, which saw moshing, crowd surfing and punters screaming back the lyrics of the band's visceral anthems. Whilst they've been fairly quiet for the last month or two, we can only imagine that Bo Gritz are plotting something big for 2018. -Holly Mullineaux



- Check in tomorrow for five more picks from TMR's Top 20 of 2017.