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IT’S OFFICIAL – THE best Irish album released last year was Before We Forget How To Dream by Derry singer-songwriter SOAK.
The Choice Music Prize is fiercely contested every year, and this year saw heavyweights like Villagers and Roisin Murphy up against newcomers like Girl Band.
It’s no easy task to pick the Choice Prize winner – as a former judge I can tell you that sitting around the table debating who should win is both illuminating, exciting, and pretty damn tough.
The announcement was made tonight at the Choice Music Prize live event, where a number of the nominees performed.
What do you think of the winner? Tell us in the comments.
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Well done to her..I was hoping for girl band..what would the radio stations do tomorrow? Play a girl band song?
I doubt any national station has played a single Girl Band song before 9pm.
The above report is more about the reporter than the winner.
Aoife, do your unbiased homework
Regards
Musician
Hi Christy, there’s one line in it about the fact I was a judge.
Irish music is sh$t at the moment and has been since the celtic tiger years. Just squeaky boys and girls mumbling atrocious drivel.
You need to get out more, some great singers and bands out there right now.
I do Andrew, and not just in Ireland, maybe you need to get out more, I’ll stick to my belief Irish music at the moment is just trype on a stick, no energy, no inertia no nothing just spoilt brats squeaking about crap that I have heard a million times over. Boring!
Who are these spoilt brats you speak of?
Many would say we are actually in a golden era for Irish acts. Not that you’d now listening to Irish. Fully in favour of quotas like France or Australia.
*Not that you’d know listening to Irish radio.
Andrew leave Ireland, go to anywhere you wish Go to France, Spain, Germany Brazil anywhere and you will come back and scratch your head and think! Realise popular irish music has merged into a big bucket of English/american muck. No identity, no nothing
No identity? You might want to check out Lynched if you haven’t heard of them, which I’m guessing you haven’t because you clearly have no clue about the music scene over here right now.
Hardly what you’d call English/American muck is it!
You hide behind an alias and give opinions that you expect to be respected says it all
Lynched?? Are you serious, just cause they get a write up by the guardian and show up in Jools Holland boing a weak as water version of Salonika??? spare me.
Irish Music, like much of what we produce culturally or materially is now a bland globalised product. Singers and musicians of talent no doubt but it could all be done by artist in New York, Ottawa, Stockholm or Sydney and no one could tell the difference. Regionalism is now a dirty word in Art.
The Strypes are a very promising Irish band…
Leaders of Men, Sound of system Breakdown, New Secret Weapon, The Ground will shake, Neon Atlas(ahem), Riot tapes.. The list goes on. Irish music is amazing at the moment. but no one goes to a gig unless they know the band already. The fact that a band can play a venue in cork and have maybe 40 people watching and Jedward can sell out the Marquee says a lot about the state of the live scene. Years ago I used to go into town and just go to random gigs. We had no facebook or soundcloud to listen to the bands first so you just took a chance. A lot of the time it paid off and some of the bands I still go see or listen to today.
The truth about popular music
http://youtu.be/IP0wuwJBdMI
No it’s not the best album, not by a long shot
The judges obviously didn’t agree. But each of us to our own.
Its a nice album, listened to it when it got nominated for the mercury music prize last year. Wonderful voice and a great talent. I hope she does well
There’s at least 3 better albums on the list
Heard her on the radio, not bad, I like guitar singers, but have to be honest here…..as a man I just cannot relate to lesbian lyrics.
Otherwise it’s grand.
Lyrics are about love and her being a lesbian has got nothing to do with it, Don’t be a dick
Oran’s a mouthpiece for the Catholic church. He doesn’t see a young girl with talent, he sees a lesbian sinner. Her sexuality is nobody’s business but hers. So Oran, stop being a dick.
She does use her songs as a platform for LGTG issues though.
Oran…your such a moran..go back to listening to your gospel choir…
Chill out, it’s just an opinion.
Jeez!
Precious or what.
You mean jesus..but guess you can’t take his name in vain..I’m chilled don’t worry about that.
Fair play to her cant wait to see her for a second time in July.
Oran may be a man , but he is no gentleman, somebody’s sexuality has nothing to do with anything, its only perve’s that think that way!
So “Affinity” you dont get out much then do you??
Shame Girl Band didn’t win it, but in the grand scheme of things the Choice Prize will be small things to what they’ll be doing in a few years time! Have the potential to be huge.
Sea creators
If you want a good irish album go get the strypes album .. it will blow your socks off and beats this rubbish
With the exception of Gavin James, each of the nominated albums is deserving of huge recognition. Just my opinion of course.
@Affinity, you’re really missing out. I can’t afford to go to France, Brazil, etc. But I know there’s lots of really great music being made here in Ireland right now, so I don’t let it bother me.
For an eclectic listen, check out Brian Deady, the Gloaming, AE Mak, Niamh Regan, Mongoose, Dovecote, etc.
And that’s only if you’re not a fan of trad or bluegrass – in which case there’s more quality to listen to than you could handle.
have your say