One of the most listenable artists to come out of the UK music scene, he's almost impossible to hate. In at number 9 with his latest release Geography is British beatmaker Tom Misch.

Tom Misch has soundtracked several moments in my life and so when he released this album in April to say that it took over the entire next few months would be an understatement. I listened to that album almost every single day for two months. Generally speaking, the Tom Misch album treatment seems fairly simple, and nothing about his beats is really that technically intricate. However, what he does do well is strike a chord with the listener that lifts your spirit in every single song.

The songs that shine most for me at the moment are "Lost in Paris (feat. Goldlink)", "South Of The River",  "Tick Tock", "Disco Yes (feat. Poppy Ajudha)" and "Water Baby (feat. Loyle Carner)". What's interesting about Tom's sound, and which rings true even for the songs listed above, is it's welcome underneath any coffee-house or hotel foyer din but also raises the eyebrows and gets the feet tapping of anybody listening. Tom's take on lo-fi jazzy beats is modest but memorable and it's his understated confidence that wins him fans across the board. After catching him live at Primavera Sound Festival this year it only cemented my love for his summery sound and added a whole host of new memories soundtracked by Tom Misch.

As a debut full album release Geography is a safe but satisfying body of work. I'd definitely like to see Tom explore more with the next release and tap into more adventurous features and instrumentals but for now this album has done more than enough.

Have a look at last year's number nine album here.

Whilst I'm sure that large number of the internet would still be in agreement that Anderson .Paak holds the trophy for the greatest Tiny Desk Concert of all time; I must say that there have been a fair few contenders for the title this past year.


ERYKAH BADU 
The Queen of Neo-Soul back with a pretty rare performance. I have never seen Erykah play either "Rimshot" or "Green Eyes" live but to see them both back-to-back in such an intimate setting and hearing them fit together so seamlessly was quite emotional for me. She's always had a penchant for strong, emotive performances that come across relatively effortless, and this time was no different in that respect. However, something in her TDC broke through to me in a way that I find rarely happens via video alone. This stuck in my memory immediately when thinking of TDCs to choose.



DANIEL CAESAR
After listening to Freudian last year I could not get enough of Daniel Caesar's voice. Such a distinctive and soulful sound, and similarly to Erykah Badu he always makes it look so effortless. As he leans nonchalantly over the piano, singing a story that you can only assume is his own, however could speak towards generations, you can't help but be swallowed up by Daniel's presence. I'm yet to see him live but after this little snippet I can only imagine what a unique experience it must be.



GOLDLINK 
At What Cost was one of my Top 10 favourite albums last year and I absolutely loved what Goldlink's done with it here with a live band accompanying. A lot of the time with Tiny Desk Concerts, artists will opt to perform more stripped down versions of what they bring to their live shows. However, in this instance Goldlink has amped it up a little bit using a mixture of live instruments and backing vocalists, and has reworked the song arrangements to bring a completely new layer of depth to the album tracks. it gave the songs that I already love a new lease of life and it felt like one of the more original TDCs I've seen this year.





PJ MORTON
Okay well immediately when anybody brings a 10-piece string section with them to play a 3 song set in an office, you have to take notice. Now to have them play together as flawlessly and organically as they do; there's where they earn the accolades. This performance made me want to listen to his latest album Gumbo even before the first song was over. It's a crying shame that it took until this year for me to listen to PJ's brilliance but I'm here now and boy am I listening. It has a classic yet relevant feel to it, one that I know will resonate for years to come.




Having leaned more towards soulful concerts, special shoutouts must go to Dermot Kennedy, Julien Baker, August Greene, Haley Heynderickx, Jamila Woods, Lo Moon, Jorja Smith and Superorganism for their concerts. It's so clear that there is a staggering amount of talent that we have access to right now and it's growing by the minute.

In 2019, I would absolutely LOVE to see TDCs from Janelle Monaé, PVRIS, Maribou State, Skinny Pelembe and Ezra Collective. I suspect that we may see TDCs from Blood Orange/Dev Hynes, BROCKHAMPTON, Nao, Childish Gambino, RAY BLK and Florence + The Machine. Either way, if any one of these names was to pop up on my YouTube Recommendations list in the coming months, I will happily continue vouch that NPR's music curator is doing an absolutely stellar job. Alongside COLORS, NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts have been making it very easy for me to fall into the deepest holes of YouTube browsing. I pray that next year will be no different.

We've made it to the top ten and ushering us in is At What Cost by Goldlink - giving listeners a little look into pockets of the music scene in DC.

This album actually really crept up on me this year. I listened to almost as soon as it dropped and liked it but didn't love it. Nothing stuck out at me much right away. I mean there were a couple of songs that I jammed to on repeat but as more albums started dropping this one just kind of fell off the list for me.

It wasn't until late summer this year when I listed to the whole album through again and it was like I was listening to it with fresh ears. Goldlink has always had fire beats, one thing you can never fault his music on is instrumentals but I think I've only just recently caught on to how his witty lyricism shone through on the record. Being his "major label debut record", I feel like he's come out of the blocks really strong, however there may still be things about his sound that will be improved on in his next few records. Don't get me wrong this is not a major criticism this more just acted as a reminder that although Goldlink's been around for quite a few years, it's only just the beginning for his music.

The tracks that have been getting the most plays these past few months are "Some Girl (feat. Steve Lacy)", "Pray Everyday (Survivor's Guilt)", "Roll Call (feat. Mya)", and "We Will Never Die (feat. Lil Dude)". There were so many highlights throughout to be honest, and the features on this album were pretty much spot on. Nobody that was featured sounded like they didn't belong there. It's album for you to listen to on a sunny day, walking around your neighbourhood with not much to do, or even an album to listen to on an evening commute walking in the dark. It has pockets of each of these moods with an overall satisfying feeling. It can only be onwards and upwards from here really.

Have a look at what I thought about last year's number ten pick here.

There have actually been a few awesome songs out/stuck in my head this week, so I have to definitely give mention to "Bipolar Sunshine - Future (feat. Goldlink)" and for old times' sake "Erykah Badu - Bag Lady". However, the song that I've been either humming along to or belting out everyday since I heard it is this...

MARMOZETS - Hit The Wave