Scottish Album of the Year longlist announced

SOME of the biggest names in the Scottish music business are to battle it out for the nation’s coveted album of the year title this year.

Paolo Nutini is among those in contention. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Paolo Nutini, Idlewild, King Creosote, Belle & Sebastian and Mogwai are among the contenders for the Scottish Album of the Year prize.

Last year’s winners, hip hop outfit Young Fathers, are back in contention following their success in the Mercury Prize months after claiming the “SAY Award.

Indie favourites Withered, The Twilight Sad and The Phantom Band have also made the cut in the fourth year of the contest.

Other candidates unveiled on the longlist today include Glasgow-based electro outfit Errors, Ayrshire rockers Fatherson, Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter Blue Rose Code, Celtic supergroup Treacherous Orchestra, dance music pioneers Slam and Highland fiddler Mike Vass.

The 20 shortlisted albums will be available to stream one of the 20 longlisted albums each day from Monday of next week ahead of a public vote opening on 25 May.

The album of the most public votes will secure an automatic place on the 10-strong shortist which will contest the overall prize, the winner of which will be unveiled at the O2 ABC in Glasgow in mid-June.

The other contenders on the final shortlist will be selected by an expert panel, who will include film-maker Bob Last, actress and theatre-maker Cora Bissett and Jade Hewat, manager of Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival.

Stewart Henderson, chair of the Scottish Music Industry Association, which oganises the awards, said: “With another great longlist to promote, the SAY Award is really coming into its own as one of the most unique and progressive music prizes in the UK.

“By encouraging the public to listen to all 20 albums and hopefully discover something new and exciting in the process, it highlights Scotland’s extraordinary musical output and reinforces how important it is that we value our artists’ work and support them.”

Leonie Bell, director of arts at Creative Scotland, the main backer of the SAY Award, said: “It not only celebrates and recognises the achievements of some of Scotland’s finest musicians but also brings these fantastic albums to the public’s attention.

“The SAY Award has achieved considerable success in highlighting the quality of Scottish music across all genres, firmly establishing itself as one of the country’s pre-eminent celebrations of contemporary music.”

SAY AWARD 2015 LONGLIST 2015

Belle and Sebastian: Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

Blue Rose Code: The Ballads of Peckham Rye

Errors: Lease of Life

Fatherson: I Am An Island

Happy Meals: Apéro

Honeyblood: Honeyblood

Idlewild: Everything Ever Written

Kathryn Joseph: Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I’ve Spilled

King Creosote: From Scotland With Love

Mike Vass: In The Wake of Neil Gunn

Mogwai: Rave Tapes

Paolo Nutini: Caustic Love

PAWS: Youth Culture Forever

Slam: Reverse Proceed

The Amazing Snakeheads: Amphetamine Ballads

The Phantom Band: Strange Friend

The Twilight Sad: Nobody Wants To Be Here and Nobody Wants To Leave

Treacherous Orchestra: Grind

Withered Hand: New Gods

Young Fathers: DEAD