The Polaris Music Prize has revealed the Lengthy Record of 40 albums nominated for the annual prize. The Polaris Music Prize is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2025, and the group introduced two new initiatives.
The SOCAN Polaris Tune Prize and 2025 Polaris Pageant had been introduced together with the Lengthy listing members at an occasion at Paradise Wine Bar in Toronto’s west finish which additionally featured an artwork set up by Polaris Group Accomplice Oasis Skateboard Manufacturing facility.
The Polaris Music Prize is exclusive in that it considers musical advantage solely, with out regard for gross sales figures or style. The winner obtained $30,000 courtesy of the Slaight Household Basis to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Yr.
Previous winners embrace Jeremy Dutcher (2024 and 2018), Pierre Kwenders (2022), Lido Pimienta (2017), and Tanya Tagaq (2014).
The brand new SOCAN Polaris Tune Prize class, is the primary enlargement of the Prize because the Corridor of Fame Heritage Prize was launched in 2015. The Polaris Tune Prize shall be chosen by the identical jury primarily based on creative advantage alone. On June 24, a 20-song Lengthy Record shall be introduced, and the 5 remaining Tune Quick Record shall be revealed on July 29.
The inaugural SOCAN Polaris Tune Prize winner will obtain $10,000, to be break up between the music’s Canadian performers and the music’s credited Canadian songwriter(s).
The Lengthy Record
The Lengthy Record was compiled from the ideas of greater than 200 music trade writers and professionals who make up the preliminary jury — together with yours really. The very lengthy preliminary listing consisted of 189 albums.
This yr, the official Lengthy Record contains 16 first-time nominees in addition to two previous winners (Backxwash, Caribou) and one previous Polaris Heritage Prize recipient (Rick White, as a part of Eric’s Journey).
Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at two of the nominees that ended up on this Jury Member’s listing.
Hildegard: Jour 1596
Sure, classical music followers, the Montreal duo of Ouri and Helena Deland is called after the medieval German nun, composer and polymath Hildegard von Bingen. The title is a little bit of a play on phrases, and suggests a earlier historic period, however really refers to what number of days the 2 musicians spent writing and recording the 10-track album, which emerged from the extended inactivity of the COVID pandemic.
Stylistically, you’d name the music a mixture of avant-garde jazz/modern music, RnB, electronica, and extra, with a way of creative invention in each monitor. Ouri’s classical music coaching (she will lay cello, piano, and harp, alongside along with her compositional talents), emerges in monitor titles like “Bach In City”, and friends by way of the musical layers in Beverly, a fascinating contrapuntal piece with ethereal vocals, Le Jardin la Nuit, and different tracks.
Kaïa Kater: Unusual Drugs
Canadian singer-songwriter, guitar, piano and banjo participant Kaïa Kater is a local of Montreal. She’s been taking part in the banjo since she was 12, and studied in West Virginia on a banjo scholarship. With a mixture of conventional banjo method and contemporary-minded lyrics, she’s put her personal distinctive stamp on the time-honoured instrument.
Unusual Drugs is one other pandemic child, born of that contemplative time, and options visitor appearances by musicians reminiscent of Allison Russell, Aoife O’Donovan, and Taj Mahal. Kater’s lyrics sort out society’s points, like racism and sexism, imagining each revenge and therapeutic for the injuries of each right now and yesterday.
Musically, on her newest album she expands on the banjo with jazzy percussion impressed by Brian Blade, and orchestration that owes a nod to the likes of Steve Reich and his minimalistic creed, in addition to movie composer Jonny Greenwood.
The Full 2025 Polaris Music Prize Album Lengthy Record is:
- Artwork d’Ecco: Serene Demon
- Backxwash: Solely Mud Stays
- Quinton Barnes: CODE NOIR
- Bibi Membership: Feu de garde
- Basia Bulat: Basia’s Palace
- Caribou: Honey
- Lou-Adriane Cassidy: Journal d’un Loup-Garou
- Choses Sauvages: Choses Sauvages III
- Chilly Specks: Gentle For The Midnight
- Antoine Corriveau: Oiseau de Nuit
- Marie Davidson: Metropolis Of Clowns
- Destroyer: Dan’s Boogie
- Myriam Gendron: Mayday
- Gloin: Your entire anger is definitely disgrace (and I wager that makes you offended)
- Saya Grey: SAYA
- Hildegard: Jour 1596
- Yves Jarvis: All Cylinders
- Kaïa Kater: Unusual Drugs
- Bells Larsen: Blurring Time
- Richard Laviolette: All Wild Issues Are Shy
- Wyatt C. Louis: Chandler
- Kelly McMichael: After The Sting Of It
- Males I Belief: Equus Asinus
- Mustafa: Dunya
- N NAO: Nouveau langage
- Nemahsis: Verbathim
- Eliza Niemi: Progress Bakery
- The OBGMs: SORRY, IT’S OVER
- Dorothea Paas: Suppose Of Mist
- Klô Pelgag: Abracadabra
- Inhabitants II: Maintenant Jamais
- Ribbon Skirt: Chew Down
- Ariane Roy: Dogue
- Mike Shabb: Sewaside III
- Sister Ray: Believer
- Snotty Nostril Rez Youngsters: RED FUTURE
- The Climate Station: Humanhood
- Rick White and The Sadies: Rick White and The Sadies
- Donovan Woods: Issues Have been By no means Good If They’re Not Good Now
- Yoo Doo Proper: From the Heights of Our Pastureland
The Quick Record
The Quick Record of 10 albums shall be introduced on July 10.
What’s subsequent?
From the Quick Record, the 11-member tremendous jury will vote on the winners in every class.
The winners shall be introduced throughout the Polaris Live performance & Award Ceremony Toronto’s Massey Corridor on September 16. This would be the third straight yr that Massey Corridor serves because the venue for the Prize gala.
The Polaris Pageant, introduced by SiriusXM Canada, options new programming like Salons, Listening Events, Poster Reveals, and Concert events, and takes place in September main as much as the Live performance & Award Ceremony, with the purpose of shining a light-weight on a number of the a whole lot of previous nominees.
The Slaight Household Polaris Heritage Prize, the group’s corridor of fame for Canadian albums of distinction from the previous, will transfer from October into late-summer. This yr’s 12 nominated Heritage albums shall be revealed on July 29.
The Gala: September 16
The Awards Gala on September 16 will embrace 15 performances by nominees from the Quick Record.
In celebration of the Polaris Album Lengthy Record drop, you will get 25% off Polaris Live performance & Award Ceremony tickets utilizing code POLARIS25 — however solely till June 15.
- Discover tickets and occasion particulars [HERE].
Are you seeking to promote an occasion? Have a information tip? Have to know the most effective occasions occurring this weekend? Ship us a be aware.
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Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. Beforehand, she was a contract author with a specialty in tradition and journey for 3 many years, and a inventive writing teacher for Ontariolearn.