Scottish Album of the Year Award longlist revealed

The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award longlist has been unveiled.

From 362 submissions, the 20 “outstanding” albums that have made it onto the coveted list include releases from chart-topper Lewis Capaldi, Honeyblood, Karine Polwart and The Ninth Wave.

Past winners Anna Meredith and Sacred Paws are also in the running for the £20,000 grand prize.

SAY Award 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

The longlist will be whittled down to a shortlist of ten albums next month. Music fans will then be able to cast their vote for their favourite.

All nine runners-up will each receive £1000 each.

Robert Kilpatrick, general manager of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), congratulated each of the nominees.

He added: “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.”