How Was This List Chosen?
There’s no entry fee. The DiS community helped to create this amazing longlist. Thank you for all of your suggestions.
As the founder/editor of Drowned in Sound, I have listened through all of these suggested releases and a tonne more mentioned in the Mercury Prize thread and the monthly album vote threads to create a shortlist of 20 albums from UK and Irish artists, released between July 15th 2023 and July 12th 2024, that embrace the album format.
Some feel pioneering. Others have an eternal quality to them, as if they have taken something ancient and shone a new light on it. A few were challenging at first whilst others were instantly a joy. Some were self-released and a few are on major labels whilst the majority came out via some of our favourite independent labels. Explore the list and you’ll find records that will haunt you, soothe you, exhume you, energise you, batter you or make you dance at sunrise.
How To Vote
Sign in to your DiS account (it’s free to join our community if you haven’t already done so). This year, you can vote for up to 3 albums and voting closes on Sunday 15th September 2024 at 6pm BST.
The Neptune Album Prize 2024
ANOTHER SKY - Beach Day
ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND - Soft Landing
BRUK ROGERS - Loopholes
CLEO SOL - Heaven
DRAHLA - angeltape
ELKKA - Prism of Pleasure
FOREST SWORDS - Bolted
GAZELLE TWIN - Black Dog
HILARY WOODS - Acts of Light
IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE - Pull the Rope
ISLET - Soft Fascination
KEELEY FORSYTH - The Hollow
MINING - Chimet
NEWDAD - Madra
PETER GABRIEL - i/o
PINKPANTHERESS - Heaven Knows
SPRINTS - Letter to Self
THERE WILL BE FIREWORKS - Summer Moon
YUSSEF DAYES - Black Classical Music
µ-ZIQ - Grush
0voters
The whole point of these awards is to get people listening to music they might not have heard before. Each record on the list is worth spending time with. You’ll find a 15 hour Spotify playlist to browse through here and here are the albums available on Bandcamp or Spotify
Sorry. I liked a few of yours. Def need to give Big Dreams by Rachael Lavelle another few listens - really reminded me of a few other things I like (My Brightest Diamond and Jesca Hoop)
Had heard eight (two of which were my picks for nomination, so quite happy about that), knew of 14, six completely off-radar. Plenty of catching up to do.
It’s a great list. I’ve just started listening to the albums I hadn’t heard before and a couple of good uns already, that Bruk Rogers one an enjoyable mish-mash of stuff and Hilary Woods’ beautiful drones.
In terms of what I think is missing, hmmm, maybe a bit more experimental/sound art weirdness, like Paul Rooney’s Surface Industries II, which I didn’t think of when we were compiling the longlist. It’s an album about service industry jobs and uses worker interviews, digital processing and beats to make something really interesting.
When we were nominating for the longlist, I thought folk was under-represented (think we had the Mary Wallopers but not much else), but then I couldn’t think of any really great folk albums that would be eligible. Maybe Katherine Priddy. Or Angharad, though her album is more art-pop.
Speaking of art-pop, I really like Office for Personal Development’s album and think that deserves a bit more attention.
Also a big fan of Transmission Towers, which is sort of oddball electro soul from Liverpool.
