From Lewis Capaldi to Sacred Paws: Scottish Album of the Year Awards announce “most diverse” longlist to date

The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award has announced the twenty albums that have made it onto this year’s longlist.

In its ninth year, this year’s national awards is the “most diverse,” longlist to date according to organisers.

It features big names like Lewis Capaldi to Glasgow City favourites like Declan Welsh & The Decadent West.

Speaking about being nominated, Lewis Capaldi said: “It’s an absolute honour to be nominated for such an incredible award.

“It would be quite nice to win to not bring any further prolonged shame on my household after being named as the only ‘non essential’ worker in the house.”

Longlist: 

Anna Meredith ,FIBS

Blanck Mass, Animated Violence Mild

Bossy Love, Me + U

Callum Easter, Here Or Nowhere

Cloth, Cloth

Comfort, Not Passing

Declan Welsh & The Decadent West, Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold

Elephant Sessions, What Makes You

Erland Cooper, Sule Skerry

Fat-Suit, Waifs & Strays

Free Love, Extreme Dance Anthems

Honeyblood, In Plain Sight

Karine Polwart, Karine Polwart’s Scottish Songbook

Lewis Capaldi, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent

Mezcla, Shoot the Moon

The Ninth Wave, Infancy

NOVA, RE-UP

Sacred Paws, Run Around The Sun

SHHE, SHHE

Vistas, Everything Changes In The End

This year, a record-breaking 362 album submissions were narrowed down to the 20-strong Longlist by 100 impartial nominators representing a variety of genres including jazz, classical, hip-hop, pop, trad folk, rock, electronic, indie and more.

The longlist is then  whittled down to a final 10 albums to make up this year’s shortlist, one of which can be chosen by music fans in a 72-hour public vote, from October 5-7.

The winner of The SAY Award will collect £20,000, one of the most lucrative prize funds in the UK, while all nine runners-up are each awarded £1,000 and their own bespoke award.

General Manager of the SMIA, Robert Kilpatrick said, “2020 is the ninth year of The SAY Award, marking what is undoubtedly our most important campaign to date.

“As we all continue to navigate the personal and professional challenges we face, celebrating may feel unnatural for many of us.

“For our music community especially, which heavily relies on physical spaces and people coming together, 2020 has presented a vast array of challenges that last year were unimaginable.

“But as we celebrate our culture, we help further articulate its value, and we draw more eyes and ears to some of the best new music Scotland has to offer.

“This year’s Longlist showcases 20 outstanding albums, and it is arguably the most diverse range of albums of any SAY Award Longlist to date.

“Never have we been prouder to announce the Longlist, and never more than now has it felt truly special and important to do so.”

To vote for who you want to see on the shortlist visit www.sayaward.com