Artist News Awards

Scottish Album Of The Year Award longlist announced

By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 29 July 2019

The longlist for this year’s Scottish Album Of The Year Award was announced last week, with 20 acts in the running to win the £20,000 top prize.

Among the artists in the list are Chvrches, Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert, Kathryn Joseph, C Duncan and The Twilight Sad. ‘Dance Music’ by Mastersystem – the final album made by Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison before his death last year – is also up for the award.

General Manager of award organiser the Scottish Music Industry Association, Robert Kilpatrick, says: “Each year, the announcement of The SAY Award longlist allows us to take a step back and feel proud of our cultural identity as a nation. It gives us a chance to both shout about and reflect on who we are, as well as celebrate the passion, creativity and vibrancy of Scottish music, in all its incredible diversity and glory”.

Alan Morrison, Head Of Music at Creative Scotland, adds: “This is quite simply the best, most diverse, most exciting longlist yet assembled for The SAY Award. To think that a set of albums as strong as this could be released in Scotland in a single year is exceptional – and that’s before you realise how many other brilliant recordings were eligible”.

“This year’s longlist”, he goes on, “is hard proof that Scotland is making excellent music in every genre. Our veterans are writing songs that are better than ever while a whole new generation of talent is sweeping onto the scene. It’s not just that every album here is a winner in its own right, it’s the fact that the sum total of this list places Scotland as one of the most vital, vigorous music-making countries in the world”.

Public voting for the final shortlist will open on 12 Aug for 72 hours, before that shortlist is announced on 15 Aug. The overall winner will be announced at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms on 6 Sep.

Here is the full longlist:

Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert – Here Lies The Body
Aidan O’Rourke – 365: Vol. 1
Andrew Wasylyk – The Paralian
Auntie Flo – Radio Highlife
Brìghde Chaimbeul – The Reeling
C Duncan – Health
Carla J Easton – Impossible Stuff
Chvrches – Love Is Dead
Edwyn Collins – Badbea
Fatherson – Sum Of All Your Parts
Fergus McCreadie Trio – Turas
Free Love – Luxury Hits
Graham Costello’s Strata – Obelisk
Karine Polwart with Steven Polwart and Inge Thomson – Laws Of Motion
Kathryn Joseph – From When I Wake The Want Is
Kinnaris Quintet – Free One
Mastersystem – Dance Music
Niteworks – Air Fàir An Là
Sean Shibe – softLOUD
The Twilight Sad – It Won’t Be Like This All The Time