THE Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award has announced the emerging artists set to perform at this year’s online ceremony.
Filmed at Edinburgh’s Summerhall, the four acts chosen to perform are Happy Spendy, Kapil Seshasayee, Vlure and Zoe Graham.
The SAY Award ceremony traditionally provides a showcasing opportunity for some of Scotland’s most exciting emerging artists.
The artists chosen to showcase usually perform to an invited audience of over 800 guests, made up of artists, industry professionals, press and media from across the UK.
This year, broadcasting as a YouTube Premiere from 7pm on October 29, fans from across the world are invited to tune in to discover their new favourite act, as well as find out who will collect one of the most lucrative prize funds in the UK as the Scottish Album of the Year winner is announced, collecting £20,000 along with the title.
With this year’s SAY Award campaign going digital for the first time ever due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, fans around the world now have the chance to be front-row at the traditionally industry-only exclusive final award ceremony.
READ MORE: How to vote for the Scottish Album of the Year
Set to be an outstanding celebration of the country’s flourishing and diverse music scene, Glasgow based synth-pop purveyors of feel-good sad songs Happy Spendy will perform on the night, having released their brand new compilation album You’re Doing Okay in June this year, which received support from the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio Scotland.
They will be joined by songwriter and soundsmith Kapil Seshasayee, who combines electronica flourishes with Indian classical guitar, stunning vocals and unorthodox instrumentation to create some of Scotland’s most exciting new sounds, hailed by the likes of VICE and Pitchfork.
Glasgow five-piece Vlure also join the line-up, with synth-laden hooks and club influenced rhythm twisting around emotionally confronting lyrics. The band creates an intense, life affirming live show which will be extremely welcome in a year sorely missing live performances.
Singer-songwriter Zoe Graham completes The SAY Award ceremony line-up, perfecting her knack for refining universal emotions into electronic pop and having just released her new EP Gradual Move last month.
One artist and their album will then be crowned the Scottish Album of the Year, collecting the cash prize and a bespoke physical award, created by Glasgow based designer and architect Rekha Barry.
This year’s shortlist of 10 includes eight debut albums, a first in the history of the award.
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The shortlisted albums in the running for the Scottish Album of the Year Award are:
- 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
- Erland Cooper – Sule Skerry
- The Ninth Wave – Infancy
- NOVA – RE-UP
- SHHE – SHHE
The 2020 shortlist provides a snapshot of Scotland’s music scene, spanning a range of genres and styles to celebrate the country’s most outstanding albums and the incredible network of people who created them.
Each shortlisted album has won a guaranteed minimum prize of £1000, and will receive an exclusively designed art prize.
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