SAY Awards: Aberdeen's 'distinctive musical identity' on display in winning album of the year

Vagrant Real Estate | Contributed

Vagrant Real Estate has been named the Scottish Album of the Year for their album Neither Collar Nor Crown.

The Aberdeen music producer and DJ, otherwise known as Nick Cronin, was awarded the £20,000 first prize, coveted title and bespoke trophy at the SAY Awards in Dundee’s Caird Hall.

Vagrant Real Estate beat off a shortlist which included Beldina Odenyo, from Glasgow, with her post-humous album Heir of the Cursed, released last year by her sister. Ms Odenyo, who was originally from Kisumu, in Kenya and moved to Dumfriesshire as a young girl, died in 2021 aged 31. - just two weeks after performing at the SAY Awards.

Also shortlisted for the prestigious prize were former winner Fergus McCreadie, Gaelic trio Sian for araon, which won Album of the Year at the Trad awards - and Biffy Clyro.

The winning album features 25 Scottish artists from globally renowned folk singer Iona Fyfe to rap flag bearer Bemz.

Meanwhile, Boards of Canada’s 1998 debut album Music Has The Right to Children won the Modern Scottish Classic Award, presented by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), joining a list of previous winners including KT Tunstall’s Eye to the Telescope’ Paolo Nutini’s These Streets and Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight. Their fifth studio album Inferno was also Shortlisted for the main SAY Award this year, in addition to their Modern Scottish Classic win.

Their album was celebrated on the night with a performance from The SAY Award house band, led by Joe Rattray. The bans also hosted special performances recognising the winning albums of 2021 - 2024, performed by a five-piece house band led by Joe Rattray, honouring former winners: Mogwai, Fergus McCreadie, Young Fathers and rEDOLENT.

A team of 100 impartial “nominators”, chosen from sectors including journalism, music retail and music venues across Scotland, nominate and rank their five favourite eligible albums in order of preference. The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) – which produces the award – assigns a score to each title in a nominator’s top five, with the 20 highest scoring albums forming The SAY Award Longlist. The final judging panel was chaired by journalist Arusa Quresh.

Nikhita was named The Sound of Young Scotland, an award aimed at supporting the next generation of Scottish talent - winning a funding package worth up to £10,000 to support the creation of their debut album.

Head of music at Creative Scotland, Alan Morrison said “Yet again, The SAY Award and Sound of Young Scotland have shone a spotlight on the awesome array of music that’s being made in Scotland right now. ‘Neither Collar Nor Crown’ draws its energy from the cultural diversity that is at the centre of Aberdeen’s distinctive musical identity.

“It’s an album that reflects Vagrant Real Estate’s total commitment to generating a local music scene and platforming the talent of his peers. Congratulations too to Nikhita, another future star in Scotland’s musical firmament, who enriches her neo-soul sound with her South Asian heritage.”

Dundee designer and maker Camillo Atlas was selected by The SAY Award Design Commission to create nine Shortlist awards and three bespoke winner awards for The SAY Award, Modern Scottish Classic and Sound of Young Scotland winners. A graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Atlas created the prizes from waste plastic collected across Dundee, including bottle tops and shampoo bottles and drew inspiration from Dundee’s abstract architecture and urban landscape to create the vividly coloured trophies.