Scottish Album of the Year Award

Music award in Scotland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is an award given annually for an outstanding album produced by a Scottish artist. The award was launched in 2012 by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) in partnership with Creative Scotland.[1] The winner receives a £20,000 prize and the nine shortlisted artists receive £1,000.[2]

Awarded forBest album by a Scottish artist
LocationScotland
First award2012
Quick facts The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, Awarded for ...
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award
SAY Award Logo
Awarded forBest album by a Scottish artist
LocationScotland
First award2012
Websitewww.sayaward.com
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The award ceremony is set to be hosted in Dundee up until 2027.

Process

Once all eligible albums have been collated, 100 impartial 'Nominators', chosen from sectors including journalism, broadcast and radio, music retail and live music venues, will consider the titles from The SAY Award's Eligible Albums list, nominating their five favourite albums and ranking them in order of preference. 'Nominators' include specialists in a variety of genres, such as jazz, classical, electronic and traditional folk, as well as key influencers from elsewhere in the arts, and cannot have a commercial interest in any of the albums being discussed. The SMIA assigns a score to each title in a Nominator's Top 5, before announcing the 20 highest scoring albums as The SAY Award Longlist.

The Longlist is then whittled down to a Shortlist of 10 albums, one of which will be chosen by music fans via an online public vote and the others decided by the SAY Award judging panel. Previous judges have included the composer Craig Armstrong, Turner Prize-winning artists Douglas Gordon and Susan Philipsz, filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, music editor of The Skinny Tallah Brash, DJ and promoter Sarra Wild, Edinburgh International Festival director Fergus Linehan, Sub Club partner/director Barry Price, and Scottish Ballet's Sophie Laplane.[citation needed]

The SAY Award Shortlist is then honoured at an exclusive ceremony, with each title receiving an award created by The SAY Award Design Commission winner and a minimum of £1,000. The SAY Award judging panel reconvene for the ceremony and decide who picks up the £20,000 first prize and coveted title of Scottish Album of the Year.[3]

Host cities and venues

More information Years, Host city ...
Years Host city Venue
2012–2015 Glasgow
2016–2018 Paisley Paisley Town Hall[8][9][10]
2019–2021 Edinburgh
2022–2024 Stirling Albert Halls[14][15][16]
2025–2027 Dundee Caird Hall[17]
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Winners and finalists

More information Year, Winner ...
Year Winner Shortlist Longlist Ref.
2012 Bill Wells and Aidan MoffatEverything's Getting Older [4]
[18]
2013 RM HubbertThirteen Lost & Found [19]
[20]
2014 Young FathersTape Two [6]
[21]
2015 Kathryn JosephBones You Have Thrown Me, and Blood I've Spilled. [22]
2016 Anna MeredithVarmints [8]
2017 Sacred PawsStrike a Match [9]
[23]
2018 Young Fathers – Cocoa Sugar
  • Adam Holmes and the Embers – Midnight Milk
  • Blue Rose Code – The Water of Leith
  • Catholic Action – In Memory Of
  • Chris Stout & Catriona McKayBare Knuckle
  • Elephant Sessions – All We Have Is Now
  • Happy Meals – Full Ashram Devotional Ceremony (Volumes IV – VI)
  • Martha Ffion – Sunday Best
  • Neon Waltz – Strange Hymns
  • Pronto Mama – Any Joy
  • The Spook SchoolCould It Be Different?
[10]
2019 Auntie Flo – Radio Highlife [24]
[25]
2020 NovaRe-Up [26]
[27]
[12]
2021 Mogwai – As the Love Continues
  • Andrew WasylykFugitive Light and Themes of Consolation
  • Bemz – Saint of Lost Causes
  • Carla J. Easton – Weirdo
  • Erland Cooper – Landform ft. Marta Salogni
  • Fergus McCreadie – Cairn
  • Jenny Sturgeon – The Living Mountain
  • Kubler-Ross – Kubler-Ross
  • Matt CarmichaelWhere Will the River Flow?
  • Paul TowndrowDeepening the River
  • Taahliah – Angelica
[29]
2022 Fergus McCreadie – Forest Floor
  • AiiTee – Better Days
  • Constant Follower – Neither Is, Nor Ever Was
  • Hamish HawkHeavy Elevator
  • Hen Hoose – Equaliser
  • Kathryn Joseph – For You Who Are the Wronged
  • Kobi Onyame – Don't Drink the Poison
  • Niteworks – A'Ghrian
  • Proc Fiskal – Siren Spine Sysex
  • Walt DiscoUnlearning
  • Andrew Wasylyk – Balgay Hill: Morning in Magnolia
  • Annie Booth – Lazybody
  • Bemz – M4
  • C Duncan – Alluvium
  • Callum Easter – System
  • Declan Welsh and the Decadent West – It's Been a Year
  • Duncan Lyall – Milestone
  • The Ninth Wave – Heavy Like a Headache
  • Rebecca Vasmant – With Love, From Glasgow
  • Seonaid Aitken Ensemble – Chasing Sakura
[14]
[30]
2023 Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
  • Andrew Wasylyk – Hearing the Water Before Seeing the Falls
  • Becky Sikasa – Twelve Wooden Boxes
  • Bemz – Nova's Dad
  • Brìghde Chaimbeul – Carry Them With Us
  • Brooke CombeBlack Is the New Gold
  • Cloth – Secret Measure
  • Hamish Hawk – Angel Numbers
  • Joesef – Permanent Damage
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
  • Brownbear – Demons
  • Comfort – What's Bad Enough?
  • Eyes of Others – Eyes of Others
  • Free Love – Inside
  • Juliette Lemoine – Soaring
  • Kapil Seshasayee – Laal
  • Lvra – Soft Like Steel
  • Scott William Urquhart & Constant Follower – Even Days Dissolve
  • Su-a LeeDialogues
  • The Snuts – Burn the Empire
[31]
[32]
[15]
2024 Redolent – Dinny Greet
  • Afterlands – We Are the Animals in the Night
  • Amy Laurenson – Strands
  • Bee Asha – Goodbye, Gracious
  • Blue Rose Code – Bright Circumstance
  • Broken ChanterChorus of Doubt
  • Empire State BastardRivers of Heresy
  • Fergus McCreadie – Stream
  • Malin Lewis – Halocline
  • Mama Terra – The Summoned
  • The Snuts – Millennials
[16]
[33]
[34]
2025 Kai Reesu – Kompromat Vol. I
  • Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman – Ash Grey and the Gull Glides On
  • Be Charlotte – Self Help and Fictional Doubts
  • Constant Follower – The Smile You Send Out Returns to You
  • corto.alto30/108
  • Faith Eliott – Dryas
  • Kitti – Somethin' in the Water
  • Maranta – Day Long Dream
  • Mogwai – The Bad Fire
  • Rebecca Vasmant – Who We Are, Becoming
  • Walt Disco – The Warping
[35]
[36]
[37]
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References

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