Nearly a month after the Polaris Music Prize longlist was announced, the 10 artists and albums that will be considered for the grand prize were named today at the Drake Hotel in Toronto.
At around 11 a.m. Holy Fuck – a band shortlisted last year for the $20,000 cash prize – helped announce those selected by holding up a copy of each artist’s album.
The criteria is that the album must have been released by a Canadian artist between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009; the winning album is chosen based purely on musical quality, completely disregarding record sales and popularity.
This year’s list features a large number of Polaris veterans – artists who were shortlisted in the past, including Metric, Malajube, K’Naan, Joel Plaskett, Chad VanGaalen and Patrick Watson, who won the prize in 2007.
Last year’s winner was Caribou, with the album Andorra, and fellow nominees included Kathleen Edwards, Stars, The Weakerthans and former WLU student Shad.
The gala event where the prize is presented will take place on September 21 at the Masonic Temple Concert Hall in Toronto.
Keep watching The Cord for an in-depth look at this year’s shortlist, including reviews of each album and favourite picks from staff.
So here it is, 2009’s Polaris Music Prize shortlist:
Elliot Brood – Mountain Meadows
Fucked up – The Chemistry of Common Life
Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels
Hey Rosetta – Into Your Lungs (and around your heart and on through your blood)
K’NAAN – Troubadour
Malajube – Labyrinthes
Metric – Fantasies
Joel Plaskett – Three
Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane
Patrick Watson – Wooden Arms
