A fine selection of Australian artists and their equally esteemed albums have been selected as part of the longlist for this year’s Australian Music Prize.
Organisers of the 9th Coopers AMP has revealed the first six records that have been ushered into the longlist for the 2013 prize, with The Drones, Abbe May, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Big Scary, Bob Evans, and Dialectrix all up for the $30,000 cash prize (courtesy of the PPCA) as selected by a panel of judges charged with selecting the Australian Album of the Year.
I See Seaweed, the sixth (and possibly best) record from previous AMP winners The Drones has been nominated, which caps what guitarist Dan Luscombe already called a “stupidly good year,” in a recent Tone Deaf interview. Fellow Aussie legends Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are also in the AMP longlist with their 15th studio album, Push The Sky Away, the band’s first on their own Bad Seeds Ltd record label as well as being their first-ever ARIA #1 record in their 30+ year career.
Melbourne indie twosome Big Scary are also up for the $30k cash prize with their second album Not Art, which features a gospel choir and was inspired by the dense production world of hip-hop and DJ Shadow, as the pair recently revealed in an interview with Tone Deaf.
The Cold Light Of Day from Blue Mountains MC Dialectrix is on the long list, as well as Bob Evans’ latest, Familiar Stranger, and Abbe May’s Kiss My Apocalypse, showing her sharp turn towards sexed-up, electronic-leaning pop.
Last year’s AMP long list consisted of a final pool of 71 albums from over 332 submissions, with the final $30,000 Coopers AMP going to funk-hop duo Hermitude for their album HyperParadise, beating out finalists Urthboy, Tame Impala, Flume, the Presets, and more to join the list of AMP winners that includes The Jezabels (2011), Cloud Control (2010), Lisa Mitchell (2009), Eddie Current Suppression Ring (2008), The Mess Hall (2007), Augie March (2006), and inaugural winners The Drones (2005).
The winner of this year’s 9th Coopers AMP will be announced in March 2014, but artists and their representatives are encouraged to send along their albums for consideration as the judges continue the herculean task of listening through the many, many records.
Following on from shaking up the entry conditions last year, including removing the entry fee and automatically considering ALL Australian releases for the prize, while setting up a new platform for digital submissions rather than the previously restrictive ‘CDs only’ policy, AMP organisers will continuing accepting album entries.
Any Australian release (with nine or more track, over 33.3 minutes of music, released in 2013) is eligible for the Coopers AMP, and CD copies can be sent to The 9th Coopers AMP, D-Star Digital, Level 2, 233-235 Bulwara Road, Ultimo, NSW, 2007. While digital entrants and submissions should email [email protected] or head to http://www.thecoopersamp.com.au/ for more details.
The 9th Coopers AMP Long List Selections
The Drones – I See Seaweed
Bob Evans – Familiar Stranger
Abbe May – Kiss My Apocalypse
Big Scary – Not Art
Dialectrix – The Cold Light Of Day
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away
