THE nominees have been announced for the sixth Scottish Alternative Music Awards on October 8, celebrating a diverse music scene that has produced 42 candidates over seven categories.
The SAMAs show, held at the Garage in Glasgow, will feature performances by previously successful acts Crash Club and Holy Esque.
“The shortlist is extremely strong this year, with nominees from every corner of Scotland,” said SAMAs founder Richy Muirhead. “There is a huge surge in nominations for new bands which goes to show that Scotland is forever churning out new and exciting talent.”
Best Rock/Alternative
Power pop collective We Came From Wolves are the most recognisable act in this year’s rock category with new material that is their most ambitious yet.
Catholic Action get the nod for their snappy indie-pop, although their lack of official releases may hinder them.
Other nominees include experimentalists Dear John and Monogram, as well as riffy propositions Huxtable and SchnarffSchnarff.
Best Newcomer
In possibly the most diverse category, Edinburgh’s Man of Moon produced one of the tracks of the year in The Road, but they face stiff competition in fellow duo Bella and the Bear. The latter’s traditional acoustic sound will garner a fair few votes.
Indie acts White Baer, from Dundee, Inverness’s Lionel, and Alphas from Aberdeen are also among the nominations. Irish songwriter Martha Ffion’s distinct retro/grunge approach makes her the dark horse.
Best Hip-Hop
It’s hard to see past veteran Glasgow emcee Mog for this one. He could easily have won this award several years over, but his latest project, Nomads Land, sees him at his nihilistic best.
Cross-genre collective Spring Break are in the mix, as are beatbox and rap duo Bigg Taj & Spee Six Nine for their Verses 2. Delighted Peoples, DJ Yemster & Hextasy and The ill Collective all get the nod too, demonstrating the diversity in Scotland’s rap scene.
Best Electronic
Crash Club are on the list for the second year running in the electronic category, while it seems experimental synth pop act Our Future Glory are finally starting to gain traction.
Bdy_Prts, the exciting electro-pop coalition of Jill Stephenson and Jenny Reeve, are a newer proposition but deserve their nomination. Elsewhere, noisy techno producer Sequel and house practitioner DJ Clyde Rouge are also nominated. For sheer artistry, Lockah has arguably earned this award for his magnificent sophomore LP It Gets More Cloudy, a fascinatingly progressive interpretation on funky electro.
Best Acoustic
In July we referred to C Duncan as a fascinating bedroom artist, yet that description only touches the surface. In fact, Duncan’s inclusion in the “acoustic” category almost undermines his crossing of lo-fi indie pop with more sophisticated classical techniques.
It’s to the SAMAs’ credit that they haven’t simply gone for the straightforward nominations. Best Girl Athlete is a 16-year-old who has a developed a sound far beyond her years, while male-and-female duo The Jellyman’s Daughter utilise both guitar and strings, often in a quite unorthodox way. And Dr Wook imparts an earthy Americana, via Inverness.
If none of those are your bag, then perhaps the highly talented Sean C Kennedy and Stella Reilly, who are in the traditional singer-songwriter mould, would be more up your street.
Best Live Act
SAY award-winner Kathryn Joseph’s inclusion here proves that it’s not only energy and volume that makes a good live show. Similarly, fellow SAY nominees Errors possess a live show that is designed to impress as much as invigorate.
Rock acts Neon Waltz, Ded Rabbit and Copper Lungs are all exciting live performers in their own right, but funk/rock ’n’ roll collective Colonel Mustard & The Dijon Five may have the strength in numbers here. Representing the phenomenal DIY “Yellow Movement”, their fans are literally considered by the band to be members – also known as the “Sixth Dijon” – leading to a carnival atmosphere at their shows.
Best Metal
Last but not least, Scotland’s heavy metal community continues to build and diversify. This year’s nominations cover everything from technical post-rock (Mountains Under Oceans) to classic hard rock (The Amorettes) to post-hardcore (Divides).
Meanwhile, psychedelic trio Holy Mountain sound more influenced by Jimi Hendrix than Iron Maiden, though their bluesy undercurrent is tempered by blistering heavy parts that justify their inclusion.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see whether a more extreme act triumphs in the public vote. Melodic death five-piece Seed of Sorrow and thrash metallers Blackened Ritual are criminally underrated.
The public vote for each category opens soon. You can learn more at http://officialsama.co.uk. Tickets for the awards are available now via Eventbrite.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here