Canada's Polaris Music Prize announce 40 act longlist

17 June 2015, 09:55 | Written by Ro Cemm

(News)

(The Weather Station) (The New Pornographers) (The Acorn) (Siskiyou) (Death From Above 1979) (Drake) (Bahamas) (Braids) (Buffy Sainte-Marie) (Caribou) (Cold Specks) (Colin Stetson) (Jennifer Castle) (Joel Plaskett) (Metz) (Patrick Watson) (Rich Aucoin) (Sarah Neufeld) (The Barr Brothers) (BADBADNOTGOOD) (Alvvays) (Lydia Ainsworth) (White Lung) (Absolutely Free) (Viet Cong) (Tobias Jesso Jr) (Whitehorse) (Milk & Bone) (Arkells) (Steph Cameron) (Jazz Cartier) (Louis-Jean Cormier) (Frazey Ford) (BA Johnston) (Pierre Kwenders) (Jean Leloup) (lee Harvey Osmond) (Tre Mission) (Elizabeth Shepherd) (Native North America) (Young Guv)

Yesterday saw the release of the 2015 Polaris Music Prize Longlist. Continuing the tradition of announcing the longlist around the country the announcement was made at The Carleton in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The award's founder, Steve Jordan, was joined by Mike Savage, Mayor of Halifax, to announce this year's nominees.

The longlist is the product of the first ballots of the 196 member Polaris Prize jury. In total 197 different albums received at least one vote but the 40 long listed records are as follows:

Absolutely Free – Absolutely Free
The Acorn – Vieux Loup
Lydia Ainsworth – Right From Real
Alvvays – Alvvays
Arkells – High Noon
Rich Aucoin – Ephemeral
BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah – Sour Soul
Bahamas – Bahamas Is Afie
The Barr Brothers – Sleeping Operator
Braids – Deep In The Iris
Steph Cameron – Sad-Eyed Lonesome Lady
Caribou – Our Love
Jazz Cartier – Marauding In Paradise
Jennifer Castle – Pink City
Cold Specks – Neuroplasticity
Louis-Jean Cormier – Les Grandes Artères
Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World
Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Frazey Ford – Indian Ocean
Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon
BA Johnston – Shit Sucks
Pierre Kwenders – Le dernier empereur Bantou
Lee Harvey Osmond – Beautiful Scars
Jean Leloup – À Paradis City
METZ – II
Milk & Bone – Little Mourning
Tre Mission – Stigmata
The New Pornographers – Brill Bruisers
Joel Plaskett – The Park Avenue Sobriety Test
Buffy Sainte-Marie – Power In The Blood
Elizabeth Shepherd – The Signal
Siskiyou – Nervous
Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld – Never Were The Way She Was
Various Artists – Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, And Country 1966–1985
Viet Cong – Viet Cong
Patrick Watson – Love Songs For Robots
The Weather Station – Loyalty
White Lung – Deep Fantasy
Whitehorse – Leave No Bridge Unburned
Young Guv – Ripe 4 Luv

The list contains 5 previous Polaris Winners (Caribou, Patrick Watson, Louis-Jean Cormier (as a member of Karkwa), Young Guv (as a member of Fucked Up) and Sarah Neufeld (as a member of Arcade Fire). In total 18 artists are repeat longlisters, and 22 are new nominees. This year also marks the first time a curated compilation/archive release has made the longlist, in the shape of Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, And Country 1966–1985.

Last year Tanya Tagaq was crowned the winner for her record Animism.

The 10 album shortlist will be announce on 10 July in Toronto. All shortlisted artists will receive $3,000, while the winner will take home a giant novelty cheque for the sum of $50,000 on 21 September.