THE longlist for the Scottish Album of the Year 2021 has been announced with twenty outstanding records making the cut.
In its 10th year, the SAY Award received 327 eligible albums which were then whittled down by 100 impartial music industry nominators.
All twenty albums were released during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The winner of the award will be given a £20,000 cash prize and all nine runners up will receive £1,000 each when the final ceremony is held in Edinburgh next month.
It’s a typically eclectic list this year which features chart-toppers The Snuts, Glasgow’s soul-pop sensation Joesef, fast-rising songwriter Lizzie Reid, producer TAAHLIAH, hip hop outfit Stanley Odd and indie-pop singer Carla J Easton.
The full longlist can be seen below:
AiiTee – ‘Love Don’t Fall’
Andrew Wasylyk – ‘Fugitive Light And Themes Of Consolation’
Arab Strap – ‘As Days Get Dark’
Bemz – ‘Saint of Lost Causes’
Biffy Clyro – ‘A Celebration of Endings’
Carla J. Easton – ‘WEIRDO’
Erland Cooper – ‘Landform (Feat. Marta Salogni)’
Fergus McCreadie – ‘Cairn’
Jenny Sturgeon – ‘The Living Mountain’
Joesef – ‘Does It Make You Feel Good?’
Kübler Ross – ‘Kübler Ross’
Lizzie Reid – ‘Cubicle’
Matt Carmichael – ‘Where Will the River Flow’
Mogwai – ‘As The Love Continues’
Paul Towndrow – ‘Deepening The River’
Rachel Newton – ‘To The Awe’
Stanley Odd – ‘STAY ODD’
TAAHLIAH – ‘Angelica’
The Ninth Wave – ‘Happy Days!’
The Snuts – ‘W.L.’
Organisers have revealed the awards ceremony on October 23 will be open to the public for the first time in the history of the competition, which is open to all genres of Scottish music.
Around 100 industry experts produced the longlist, which will be whittled down to a ten-strong shortlist.
The winner will be decided by a panel including The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, author Ian Rankin, former Scots Makar Jackie Kay, actor Daniel Portman and comic Ashely Storrie.
A 72-hour public vote to secure one longlisted album’s place in the shortlist will take place from September 27-29.
The winner will be decided by a panel including The Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess, author Ian Rankin, former Scots Makar Jackie Kay, actor Daniel Portman and comic Ashely Storrie.
Robert Kilpatrick, creative projects director at the SMIA, said: “Each year, the announcement of the 20-strong SAY Award Longlist provides an important focal point to both reflect on and celebrate the strength and diversity of Scotland’s recorded output; recognising the impact that music has on our lives and in driving our ever-evolving cultural identity as a nation.
“With each of this year’s longlisted albums having been released throughout the pandemic, that reflection sees a new depth, and ‘strength’ in the context of 2021 embodies much more than artistic merit – it’s underpinned by resilience, passion and endurance throughout challenges that our artists and music industry in particular have sorely felt.
“Music’s power often comes from its ability to tap into inner parts of ourselves; inspiring us, comforting us and ultimately helping us better understand both ourselves and each other.
“It brings us together, and at a time of mass uncertainty and turbulence where we’ve had to be apart, never has its intrinsic power felt more special and important.
“With a massive congratulations to 2021’s longlist also comes a thank you – to the artists and their teams for providing escape, connection and outstanding bodies of work at a time when we’ve never needed them more.
“We can’t wait to celebrate these records – and ten years of SAY – at this year’s ceremony; our biggest to date, and what will undoubtedly be an incredible night to remember for artists, industry and music fans alike.”
Previous winners of the award include Auntie Flo, Sacred Paws, Anna Meredith, Kathryn Joseph, RM Hubbert and Young Fathers, who have triumphed twice.
