The Polaris Music Prize has announced its 40-artist long list.
Canada’s internationally renowned music elite are represented by usual suspects Arcade Fire and Drake for their Juno-winning albums Reflektor and Nothing Was the Same, respectively. But much lesser known indie acts such as Halifax guitar/drums rock duo Cousins, Saskatoon’s heavy psych-rockers Shooting Guns and Brandon, Manitoba’s Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq also made the cut.
Oscar nominee Owen Pallett (best original score for the Her soundtrack) also made the list for his recent album, In Conflict.
The Toronto scene is well-repped by soulful Canadian folk project Timber Timbre, jazz/hip-hop trio BADBADNOTGOOD, rap collective Freedom Writers and punk four-piece PUP, among others.
The coolest? You can catch a bunch of these acts at NXNE in the next few days: nominees Mac DeMarco, Fresh Snow and Odonis Odonis are playing the fest.
The long list was announced at Calgary’s National Music Centre during Sled Island Festival – a show of support from the organization for the city and festival that suffered from severe flooding last year.
The Polaris Music Prize is awarded annually to the best Canadian album based on merit, regardless of genre or popularity. The jury – made up of music writers, programmers and industry pros from across the country – whittles down the country’s eligible albums to a long list of 40. The list will be quartered by July 5, when the 10-artist shortlist is announced. The Polaris Music Prize gala takes place September 22 and the winner receives $30,000.
The complete 2014 Polaris long list:
Arcade Fire, Reflektor
AroarA, In The Pines
Austra, Olympia
Philippe B, Ornithologie, la nuit
BADBADNOTGOOD, III
Basia Bulat, Tall Tall Shadow
Chromeo, White Women
COUSINS, The Halls Of Wickwire
Cowboy Junkies / Various, The Kennedy Suite
The Darcys, Warring
Dead Obies, Montréal $ud
Mac DeMarco, Salad Days
DIANA, Perpetual Surrender
Drake, Nothing Was The Same
Freedom Writers, NOW
Fresh Snow, I
Frog Eyes, Carey’s Cold Spring
Gorguts, Colored Sands
Tim Hecker, Virgins
Jimmy Hunt, Maladie d’amour
Jessy Lanza, Pull My Hair Back
Kalle Mattson, Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold
Moonface, Julia With Blue Jeans On
Mounties, Thrash Rock Legacy
Odonis Odonis, Hard Boiled Soft Boiled
Owen Pallett, In Conflict
Pink Mountaintops, Get Back
PUP, PUP
The Sadies, Internal Sounds
Shad, Flying Colours
Shooting Guns, Brotherhood of the Ram
Solids, Blame Confusion
Rae Spoon, My Prairie Home
The Strumbellas, We Still Move On Dance Floors
Tanya Tagaq, Animism
Thus Owls, Turning Rocks
Timber Timbre, Hot Dreams
Chad VanGaalen, Shrink Dust
Bry Webb, Free Will
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN, UZU
Added: Greg MacPherson, Fireball