Mercury Music Prize 2009

Rood

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Kasabian, Florence And The Machine and La Roux are among the 12 nominees for this year's Mercury Music Prize.
The shortlist comprises of seven acts nominated for their debut album releases, including London rapper Speech Debelle, electronic trio Friendly Fires and indie rock band The Invisible.
Bat For Lashes is the only act on the Mercury Prize list which has already been nominated for the award - that was in 2007.
Hotly-tipped musicians such as Doves, Lily Allen and Little Boots were all snubbed by the judging panel.

The award, which is now in its 17th year, aims to recognise the best albums released over the past year by British and Irish artists.
The victorious act will be announced on September 8 and take home £20,000 in prize money.
Elbow won the award last year with their fourth album Seldom Seen Kid, which has been their biggest release to date.
The nominees are judged by an independent panel of industry figures and music journalists.
Previous winners of the prize have included Pulp, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons.

The full shortlist:

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
The Horrors - Primary Colours
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
Glasvegas - Glasvegas
La Roux - La Roux
Florence And The Machine - Lungs
Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew
The Invisible - the Invisible
Led Bib - Sensible Shoes
Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Twice Born Men
Speech Debelle - Speech Therapy
 
They're all piss imo. Mercury music prize seems to be getting more and more shit every year, used to be good about 5-10years ago.
 
I wouldn’t have thought that Kasabian would have been nominated, i dont think the album is that good.

The Horrors album is good, as is Florence And The Machine.

I haven’t heard the more obscure albums, but for me Glasvegas is the best.
 
El B said:
They're all piss imo. Mercury music prize seems to be getting more and more shit every year, used to be good about 5-10years ago.
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Have you heard them all?

I do agree with you to some degree - in the past I used to make an effort to seek out the Mercury nominated albums and i was rarely disappointed but more recently there does seem to have been some albums that werent so special - however I would still say that the annual Mercury shortlist has more interesting stuff than any other award show that I know of ...
 
gaffs said:
I wouldn’t have thought that Kasabian would have been nominated, i dont think the album is that good.

The Horrors album is good, as is Florence And The Machine.

I haven’t heard the more obscure albums, but for me Glasvegas is the best.
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Kasabian are the current bookies favorites for the award - but that doesnt mean a lot as this award does have a history of throwing up some random winners.

Have heard some of Florence and Glasvegas - not bad stuff but havent had a chance to properly listen to the albums.
 
El B said:
They're all piss imo. Mercury music prize seems to be getting more and more shit every year, used to be good about 5-10years ago.
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Yeah and I'm sure you have sat down and absorded every one of those albums enough to form that opinion :rolleyes:


My shout this year is Bat For Lashes, great album and a brilliant live performer to (seen her twice this year with another lined up for later on).

Also, Florence and the Machine, I've enjoyed what I've heard but not the full album yet, and Kasabian have made an excellent album too, but I don't think they need the recognition of being outright winners so I'd give it to either of the above for me.
 
RedNome said:
My shout this year is Bat For Lashes, great album and a brilliant live performer to (seen her twice this year with another lined up for later on).

Also, Florence and the Machine, I've enjoyed what I've heard but not the full album yet, and Kasabian have made an excellent album too, but I don't think they need the recognition of being outright winners so I'd give it to either of the above for me.
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I'd go with Bat for Lashes too. She deserves it for treading the line between pop melodies and artistic merit so well.
 
RedNome said:
Yeah and I'm sure you have sat down and absorded every one of those albums enough to form that opinion :rolleyes:


My shout this year is Bat For Lashes, great album and a brilliant live performer to (seen her twice this year with another lined up for later on).

Also, Florence and the Machine, I've enjoyed what I've heard but not the full album yet, and Kasabian have made an excellent album too, but I don't think they need the recognition of being outright winners so I'd give it to either of the above for me.
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roodboy said:
Have you heard them all?

I do agree with you to some degree - in the past I used to make an effort to seek out the Mercury nominated albums and i was rarely disappointed but more recently there does seem to have been some albums that werent so special - however I would still say that the annual Mercury shortlist has more interesting stuff than any other award show that I know of ...
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Don’t get me wrong, im not saying it to act cool and gain some sort of credibility on the internet cause that’s just sad. I’ve heard about half the bands/acts on that list and they’re all very safe, middle of the road and bland. Check out previous nominations, its seems to have been getting a bit more ropey since 2003 (bar the odd good album getting nominated). Last years seemed to have a decent mix of more obscure and mainstream stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Prize
 
El B said:
Don’t get me wrong, im not saying it to act cool and gain some sort of credibility on the internet cause that’s just sad. I’ve heard about half the bands/acts on that list and they’re all very safe, middle of the road and bland. Check out previous nominations, its seems to have been getting a bit more ropey since 2003 (bar the odd good album getting nominated). Last years seemed to have a decent mix of more obscure and mainstream stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Prize
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I would say there are more "obscure" acts this year than in previous years.

I have heard of less of the nominees this year than in any other.

I wouldnt be surprised if The Horrors won it.
 
I find it odd people saying there's so many obscure acts this year, I'd say 6 or 7 of them have had heavy radio airplay. Looking at the last few years of nominees, I'd say around 5 from each year got similar radio exposure.

Quite surprised not to see Doves nominated, Kingdom of Rust is a cracking album. I reckon Florence will win it this year though, probably the best of what i've heard on the list.
 
Lisa Hannigans album is great, it wont win it, my suspicion is that the nomination is the fore runner to a big ramp up of promotion of her in the UK, but good album none the less.
 
El B said:
Don’t get me wrong, im not saying it to act cool and gain some sort of credibility on the internet cause that’s just sad. I’ve heard about half the bands/acts on that list and they’re all very safe, middle of the road and bland. Check out previous nominations, its seems to have been getting a bit more ropey since 2003 (bar the odd good album getting nominated). Last years seemed to have a decent mix of more obscure and mainstream stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Prize
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So you have only heard half the acts ? and have you heard the full albums of those acts?
If not then you shouldnt be so quick to judge.

Personally I know about half the acts and the other half I have never heard of but then I am not so plugged in to the new music scene as I might have been in the past - which is why I like to have a listen to whatever is nominated.

If I look at the past list then it seems there has always been a good mix of mainstream and obscure stuff - although 2004 stands out as clearly the worst list of nominees ever (snow patrol, keane and Franz Ferdinand as winner - obviously chose shite judges that year)
 
GDH said:
I find it odd people saying there's so many obscure acts this year, I'd say 6 or 7 of them have had heavy radio airplay. Looking at the last few years of nominees, I'd say around 5 from each year got similar radio exposure.

Quite surprised not to see Doves nominated, Kingdom of Rust is a cracking album. I reckon Florence will win it this year though, probably the best of what i've heard on the list.
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Eyepopper said:
Lisa Hannigans album is great, it wont win it, my suspicion is that the nomination is the fore runner to a big ramp up of promotion of her in the UK, but good album none the less.
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I agree on both counts. Kingdom of Rust is quality saw them live aswell last year. I reckon Florence and the Machine will win.

Clueless fecking pricks presenting it.
 
I'd love to see Glasvegas win it, their album is fantastic. If not them Kasabian, though I think they're a little too mainstream for some people's tastes.

And I agree for what it's worth, Lisa Hannigan's album is very nice...but I wouldn't listen to it again.
 
Speech Debelle - Speech Therapy

Not heard any of it myself to be honest, will have to give it a listen at some point.
 
Not heard any of her stuff before - i prefer it when they give it to unknowns who need the exposure - she just described herself as a hiphop version of Tracy Chapman!

Speech Debelle on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos

cover.jpg
 
Video of her looking pretty pissed after winning!
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Speech Debelle wins Mercury Prize

With the coveted Mercury Music Prize in her pocket, London rapper Speech Debelle has become the hottest new star in British music.

Her win will be a surprise to many music fans, who may not have heard the name Speech Debelle before - but it was no surprise to the 26-year-old south Londoner herself.

Speaking the day before the ceremony, she had little doubt about her fate. "I'm confident I'm going to win," she said, before setting her sights on five Grammy Awards in the US.

When her name came out of the envelope on Tuesday night, all those sitting with her on her table erupted with ecstatic hugs, making her corner of the room look more like a rugby scrum than award ceremony.

But Speech was playing it cool.

In the press conference afterwards, she was asked whether she had expected to win. "Yeah," was the blunt reply.

She has announced herself not only as a significant musical talent but also as a cocky, ambitious, endearing character. A star may well have been born.

On being informed that hers was the lowest-selling album of any Mercury winners, she retorted: "I don't even know what you're talking about.

"I haven't even asked the label how much it's sold because I don't want to know until it's a lot."

Before her nomination in July, the album Speech Therapy had sold around 1,500 copies in the UK. That had doubled by the time the ceremony came around, but was still not enough to reach the charts.

Those numbers can now be expected to multiply manifold, although her sound is an acquired taste rather than a runaway hit in waiting.

She describes her album as a hip-hop version of Tracy Chapman, referring to the soul singer who had hits with Fast Car and Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution in the late 1980s.

Debelle, born Corynne Elliot in Crystal Palace, regularly got into trouble at school and left with no qualifications.

She started taking drugs and was thrown out of home by her mother at the age of 19. The next few years were spent sleeping in hostels and friends' houses.

Many songs on Speech Therapy come from that period, dealing with homelessness, an absent father, a dying friend, encounters with crime and tedious jobs.

The first words of the first song on the album are: "Two am in my hostel bed, my eyes them red, my belly ain't fed.

"I got butter but I ain't got bread and I'm smoking on my last cigarette."

The album ticks lots of boxes for the Mercury. The judges like to reward works that are distinctive, push the boundaries and represent an artistic achievement in some way.

If some struggle has been overcome, all the better. Plus, no woman has won since one of Speech's role models, Ms Dynamite, in 2002.

This year has belonged to female stars, who were well represented on the Mercury shortlist, from eccentric songstress Florence and the Machine to gaudy pop singer La Roux.

And after recent winners Elbow, Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Antony and the Johnsons and Franz Ferdinand, it was widely seen as being a girl's turn.

"I don't know. The year of the woman? As opposed to the goat?" was Speech's response to that theory. "It's certainly the year of me."

Perhaps the main factor in her win was that she sounds pretty different to anything else around at the moment.

Speech raps for the most part, although her semi-spoken vocals have a sweet, melodic, expressive style, far from the harsh, monotonic machine gun employed by some MCs.

The music does not use samples, scratches and synthetic beats, putting more distance between her and mainstream hip-hop.

For her performance at the Mercury ceremony, she was accompanied by clarinet, saxophone, double bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards and drums.

There's a free-flowing, jazzy feel to the instrumentation. Soul and blues also seep through, as does a distant echo of drum 'n' bass.

And she is also a rock fan, naming Coldplay as one of her biggest inspirations and Kings of Leon as one of the artists she would most like to work with.

She is now going to start her own record label with the £20,000 prize money, but says: "It's not enough to go wild on. I've got bills to pay."

The Mercury win will boost her profile around the world and she will also start work on winning over the American market and chasing those Grammys.

"Onwards and upwards," she says - a phrase that is likely to become her motto.
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Speech Debelle: I knew I would win Mercury
 
Pogue Mahone said:
D'you think?

Her voice is amazing but the album is a bit.... dare I say it.... Dido?
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Its a grower Pogue, took me a good 10 listens to get really into it.

It wont change your life but certainly a good album. I supported her during the summer and you're right she has an amazing voice. Good live too, reminded me a little bit of Iron & Wine.
 
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