The lovely and talented Richie Egan AKA Jape was announced the winner of the 4th Annual Choice Music Prize last night at a ceremony in Vicar Street. Jape beat out an extremely high calibre of nominees including RSAG, Halfset, Messiah J and the Expert and Fight Like Apes.
Below is a clip of the Hot Chip-esque ‘Strike Me Down’.
The 10 nominees for the Choice Music Prize were announced earlier today. Chosen on merit, rather than radio play or album sales, the ten albums are intended to represent the cream of Irish music released in 2008. By and large, it’s one of the stronger lists to have emerged since the innaugeral Choice Music Prize in 2005. The Script are obviously the token ‘mainstream’ nominee and there are a few predictable contenders in the shape of Fight Like Apes and Jape, both of whom put out extremely popular albums last year. I hope in my little heart of hearts that RSAG wins but my money’s on Jape all the way. Speaking of which, Paddy Power are now taking bets.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday 4th March at a ceremony in Vicar street that will feature performances from as many of the nominees as possible, subject to their availability on the night. Tickets for the event go on sale Monday 19th January at the bargain price of €27.00.
So, without further ado…
The Choice Music Prize shortlist for Irish Album of the Year 2008
Fight Like Apes ”Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion” (Model Citizen)
Mick Flannery ”White Lies” (EMI)
Halfset ”Another Way of Being There” (Casino Gravity Records)
Lisa Hannigan ”Sea Sew” (Own label)
David Holmes ”The Holy Pictures” (Canderblinks)
Jape ”Ritual” (Co-Op)
Messiah J & The Expert ”From The Word Go” (Inaudible)
Oppenheimer ”Take The Whole Mid-Range And Boost It” (Fantastic Plastic)
R.S.A.G. ”Organic Sampler” (Psychonavigation)
The Script ”The Script” (Sony Music)
Ok so I was adamant that I was going to survive this whole ‘No Music Day’ malarkey… in fact looking back at my previous post I was quite ‘haughty’ about it. Well… I can humbly admit now that I am a complete failure. In my defence, I survived the whole day without listening to the radio or slyly fluting about on myspace in work. The problem was when I got home. I hopped out of the shower and resisted my hand’s natural reaction to flick on the radio until I realised what was on the fancy USB yoke that I have hooked up to my fancy stereo. A few days ago I downloaded Van Morrison’s classic album Astral Weeks and had NEVER listened to it (I know, sacrilege, blah blah). So I battled with my will power for a (very short) while and then decided to justify my weakness by allowing myself to listen to only ‘QUALITY’ music for the rest of the evening – still no Phantom FM or ‘zany’ DJ duos allowed. Oh it was so good. I felt so satisfied. Until I got in the car and realised that my car radio (not so fancy) doesn’t have a fancy USB port. Dilemma. Silence? Phantom? Oh no…. Sitting beside me on the passenger seat like a shining beacon of hope was the beautiful monochrome digipack containing my just-purchased copy of Organic Sampler by the afore-raved about RSAG. No downloading for you my sweet, you get actual hard-earned cash for your talent (in fairness, Van has plenty of the stuff up there on Cypress Hill or wherever it is he lives). Oh happy day. So on it goes and Sweet Jesus what an album. I don’t know if it really was that good or if my pathetic attempt at abstinence just made me lap it up like a hidden track on a Joy Division album but good ‘oul Jeremy Hickey’s still up there on my list of Geniuses of the Year.
So what have I learned from my experiences?
One: I have the willpower of Kate Moss in a crackhouse. Two: If it takes trying to abstain altogether to ignore the constant drone of repetitive shite in the background and actually take note of and absorb the music that we are listening to then I’m all for it. I may have failed dismally but at least I fully appreciated the two fantastic pieces of work that I did listen to yesterday, and not a Crystal Castle or Kaiser Chief in sight. Result!
There’s been a quiet buzz rising since late Summer about R.S.A.G (Rarely Seen Above Ground) AKA Jeremy Hickey, Kilkenny multi-instrumentalist/singer/producer/latest Irish prodigy providing an alternative to the stale taste that the ‘indie scene’ has left in our mouths. As per usual, those intrepid heavyweight bloggers got the skinny on him months ago but as yet he’s still not a household name. Hickey’s debut under the R.S.A.G. psudonym Organic Sampler recieved rave reviews from those in the know. Everyone from Talking Heads to Zeppelin to The Chemical Brothers are sited as influences but the most prominant sound is one not dissimilar to a young Ian Curtis.
R.S.A.G plays Kennedy’s Underground and Andrew’s Lane in December with stints in Tralee and Tullamore before Christmas too, details of which can be found on his myspace page. The clip below is a bit tinny sounding but does the job, some great songs up on said myspace page too. More to follow regarding my latest obsession very, very soon….
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