Published: 15 Sep 2022
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award – Scotland’s national music prize – today announces the twenty outstanding albums that have earned a place on the 2022 Longlist; whittled down from 369 eligible records by 100 impartial music industry Nominators.
Each Longlisted album is now in the running for the coveted SAY Award title and £20,000 first prize, with the winner to be announced at The SAY Award 2022 Ceremony taking place at Stirling’s Albert Halls on Thursday 20th October.
This year’s twenty-strong longlist features one of the most diverse genre spreads in the eleven years of the award, showcasing Scotland’s eclectic musical landscape and highlighting a range of subcultures and artistic styles.
The announcement comes as 2022’s host city, Stirling, celebrates with an exhibition taking place at award-winning music venue The Tolbooth.
Music fans can explore the 20 enlarged album artworks and use QR codes for an experiential discovery of the Longlist. The exhibition will provide a focal point for celebrating the records in the lead up to next month’s Ceremony where one will be announced as Scottish Album of the Year.
In alphabetical order, The SAY Award Longlist for 2022 is:
The SAY Award Longlist is the product of an extraordinary nationwide consultation, encapsulating the strength and diversity of Scotland’s music scene. 369 eligible album submissions were whittled down to the 20-strong Longlist by 100 impartial music indsutryominators, populated by constituencies of people with backgrounds in certain sectors and genre specialisms.
The newly announced Longlist will be further whittled down to a final 10 albums to make up this year’s Shortlist, one of which will be chosen by music fans in a 72-hour online public vote. From 3 – 5 October, music fans have the chance to ensure their favourite album from the Longlist makes it onto the Shortlist by voting at www.sayaward.com with the remaining 9 albums chosen by an esteemed judging panel.
This year’s SAY Award judging panel includes the likes of John Niven (Author), Jackie Wylie (CEO/Artistic Director, National Theatre of Scotland), Shereen Cutkelvin (Presenter, BBC Introducing in Scotland) and Khaleda Noon (Executive Director, Intercultural Youth Scotland), as well as writer, director and comedian Paul Black who presented the inaugural Sound of Young Scotland Award at last year’s SAY Award Ceremony to rising electronic artist LVRA.
The 2022 Longlist honours both SAY Award alumni and new albums from emerging artists. 2015 winner Kathryn Joseph – whose debut album ‘Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve Spilled’ earned her the SAY Award acclaim – is once again in the running alongside past nominees Declan Welsh & The Decadent West, The Ninth Wave, Callum Easter and Kobi Onyame. The Longlist also recognises new music that is making a noise in the Scottish scene, from Hen Hoose’s eclectic debut, to Glasgow glam-rockers Walt Disco, and the modern, seductive sounds of Rebecca Vasmant.
As Scotland’s most prestigious music prize, The SAY Award winner will take away not only the acclaimed Scottish Album of the Year title but also a £20,000 prize that is among the most lucrative in the UK.
The nine runners-up also take away £1000 each as well as a bespoke award created by a local Stirling artist commissioned by The SAY Award. The winner will be exclusively announced at this year’s Ceremony, taking place at the Albert Halls, Stirling in a celebration of Scottish music – past, present and future – and featuring exclusive live performances along with celebrations of the 2022’s nominees. One of the most exciting nights in Scotland’s musical calendar can now be attended by music fans, with tickets available to purchase at www.sayaward.com.
Returning for a second year, the Scottish Album of the Year Award will once again be accompanied by the Sound of Young Scotland Award and the Modern Scottish Classic Award.
The Sound of Young Scotland Award aims to highlight the best of the country’s emerging musical talent, with the winner taking home a funding package worth up to £5,000 to facilitate the creation of their debut album.
The winner will be chosen by a judging panel made up of previous SAY Award nominees, including Stina Tweeddale (Honeyblood), TAAHLIAH, Jubemi Iyiku (Bemz) and Declan Welsh (Declan Welsh and the Decadent West), and announced at The SAY Award ceremony. The Modern Scottish Classic Award recognises an iconic album from Scotland’s past that still inspires today. The 20 SAY Award Longlisted artists announced today will together decide this year’s winner, announced on 6th October, and celebrated at the Ceremony on the 20th.
The legacy of the last Modern Scottish Classic winners, Frightened Rabbit, continues through this year’s charity partnership with Tiny Changes, set up in memory of late frontman Scott Hutchinson.
Other partners for 2022 include Creative Scotland, Stirling Council, YouTube Music, Go Forth, Ticketmaster, PPL, Youth Music Initiative, Youth Music and Music Declares Emergency. The SAY Award is developed and produced by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), with accessibility, inclusivity and diversity at the heart of their flagship project. The criteria for SAY Award eligibility is six tracks and/or 30 minutes, with the aim of eliminating socio-cultural barriers for artists and embracing genres that typically favour short-form bodies of work.
Returning for its 11th edition – and its Stirling debut – previous winners of The SAY Award include Mogwai ‘As The Love Continues’ (2021), Nova ‘Re-Up’ (2020), Auntie Flo ‘Radio Highlife’ (2019), Young Fathers ‘Cocoa Sugar’ (2018), Sacred Paws ‘Strike A Match’ (2017), Anna Meredith ‘Varmints’ (2016), Kathryn Joseph ‘Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve Spilled’ (2015), Young Fathers ‘Tape Two’ (2014), RM Hubbert ‘Thirteen Lost & Found’ (2013) and the inaugural winner Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat ‘Everything’s Getting Older’ (2012). To date, The SAY Award has distributed over £300,000 in prize money across ten previous campaigns, and 2022 is set to further amplify Scottish musical talent to a global audience.
Discover the longlist albums and buy say award ceremony tickets at www.sayaward.com
The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) is a not-for-profit trade body and membership organisation which exists to strengthen, empower and unite Scotland’s music industry.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery.Follow us onTwitter,Facebook andInstagram.
Rooted in the heart of Scotland,Stirling’s blossoming urban city centre is surrounded by diverse rural communities. The nation’s most cherished landmarks are found here, making Stirling alive with history, while a growing modern arts scene nurtures new cultural talent.
YouTube Music is a new music streaming service made for music listening, on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever.
Ticketmaster is the global and local market leader in live event ticketing, digital marketing, and mobile fan engagement tools that drive over 500 million tickets to fans in 32 countries.
Founded in 1934,PPLis the UK music industry’s collective management organisation (CMO) for over 120,000 performers and record companies. We licence recorded music in the UK when it is played in public (shops, bars, nightclubs, offices etc.) or broadcast (BBC, commercial radio, commercial TV etc.) and ensure that revenue flows back to our members.
The Youth Music Initiative is a music education programme with a vision to put music at the heart of young people’s lives and learning funded by the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland. You can find out more about the programme on the Creative Scotland website
Youth Music believes every young person should have the chance to change their life through music. Yet our research shows many can’t because of who they are, where they’re from or what they’re going through.
Since its launch in London in July 2019,Music Declares Emergencyhas worked with the music industry and artists to harness the power of music to educate, inspire and engage the public with the climate emergency and to facilitate industry wide conversations to encourage and envision a sustainable music industry.
Go Forth Business Improvement District (BID) involves Stirling businesses working together and investing collectively in local improvements. For more details visit www.goforthstirling.co.uk
Beth Harvey | beth@wearematerial.co.uk | 07792 219 162
Shona Bruce | shona@wearematerial.co.uk | 07740 948 719
