Edwyn Collins, CHVRCHES make SAY award shortlist

Edwyn Collins, pictured performing at T in the Park in 2009, has been shortlist for the award. Picture: Ian Georgeson

FORMER Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins has been shortlisted for 2014’s Scottish Album of the Year award, less than ten years after suffering a brain haemorrhage that left him unable to walk or speak.

His album Understated will be up against Ayrshire rockers Biffy Clyro and Glasgow synth-pop trio CHVRCHES, while last year’s winner RM Hubbert also makes the final ten.

But Collins also faces competition from Orange Juice contemporaries The Pastels, and fellow Glasgow stalwarts Mogwai for the £20,000 prize.

Edinburgh hip hop collective Young Fathers are joined by fellow capital band Boards of Canada, while Hector Bizerk and ex-Beta Band frontman Steve Mason complete the diverse list.

Chair of the judging panel John Williamson revealed that this year’s longlist had the widest variety of music in the award’s three-year history, adding: “It is also really striking that all of these are albums that neither hide nor particularly flaunt their Scottishness: many are the result of collaborations well beyond Scottish borders.”

The 72-hour voting window, which closed at midnight last night, resulted in Biffy Clyro’s sixth record Opposites making it onto the shortlist thanks to the public vote, with the band saying they were ‘delighted’ to have made the final ten.

Caroline Parkinson, Creative Development chief at founding partner Creative Scotland, said: “The SAY Award is a fantastic way of raising the profile of Scotland’s talented musicians, of which there are many. We are delighted to continue to support the Awards and congratulate all the nominees. ”

Claire Sawers, Music Editor of The List magazine added: “It was always going to be a big ask distilling an entire years’ worth of Scottish albums down to a top ten. I think the judges were surprised to find themselves pretty unanimous on a good few artists - getting a consensus on just one winner could be a bit messier.”

The winner will be unveiled at the SAY award ceremony at Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom on June 19th.

Shortlist (in alphabetical order): Biffy Clyro, Opposites; Boards of Canada, Tomorrow’s Harvest; CHVRCHES, The Bones Of What You Believe; Edwyn Collins, Understated; Hector Bizerk, Nobody Seen Nothing; Mogwai, Les Revenants; RM Hubbert, Breaks & Bone; Steve Mason, Monkey Minds in The Devil’s Time; The Pastels, Slow Summits; Young Fathers, Tape Two.