Jul 27, 2017
What is the Mercury Prize? Well, if you're kind of dumb, like me, then you would have believed it involved science and the elements. Luckily, as an avid Indie Shuffle reader, the truth lies no further than a flicked scroll.
What Is The Mercury Prize?
If it isn't blatantly obvious already, the Mercury Prize is a music award. Yeah, so? The Mercury Music Prize is annually awarded to the top rated album from Ireland and the United Kingdom. Hold on a second though, this has nothing to do with Brexit.
Receivers of the Mercury Prize include Alt-j, The xx, PJ Harvey, James Blake, Arctic Monkeys and 2016's winner, Skepta, to name a few. No literally, there are tons since the prize dates all the way back to 1992.
This years nominees are listed below and will be selected by a panel of music industry buffs. Personally, the judges that stood out include Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons), Jessie Ware (Jessie Ware), and Lianne La Havvas (Really? Does it need to be in brackets?).
Kate Tempest: Mercury Prize Nominee
A fan favorite no doubt, Kate Tempest's Let Them Eat Chaos, along with her inspiring live performances, have won her a spot amongst an elite crowd of British artists. Indie Shuffle had the pleasure of missing both of her performances at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, so you can imagine that this is a hard article to write.
Thank fuck for NPR's Tiny Desk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqd86is7y54
Oh, and Glasto?:
Dinosaur: Mercury Prize Nominee
Dinosaur are total newcomers on Indie Shuffle's radar, which is cool though, we're all about new finds. If you're very into jazz, then this is good route to head down, musically. To be frank, even the Ed Sheeran album is listenable, so I doubt you'll find a bad album in the crop of nominees. That said, Dinosaur are our pick of lesser known artists in the pile.
Did You Just Mention Ed Sheeran?
Why yes, Ed Sheeran's record breaking % is on the list of top releases coming from the isles in 2017. No real surprise there. To have 16 singles in the UK Top 20 definitely warrants some recognition.
Hyundai Mercury Prize Shortlist
Last years panel is still reeling from not giving the Mercury Prize to David Bowie, lets see how they do this year. Here are your nominees:
Alt-J – Relaxer
Blossoms – Blossoms
Dinosaur – Together, As One
Ed Sheeran – %
Glass Animals – How To Be A Human Being
J Hus – Common Sense
Kate Tempest – Let Them Eat Chaos
Loyle Carner – Yesterday’s Gone
Sampha – Process
Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer
The Big Moon – Love in the Fourth Dimension
The xx – I See You
