UK/FILE: MERCURY PRIZE NOMINATIONS Mercury nominees talk about having their eyes on the prize

Record ID: 343006

  • Title: UK/FILE: MERCURY PRIZE NOMINATIONS Mercury nominees talk about having their eyes on the prize
  • Date: 11th September 2014
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 10, 2014) (REUTERS) NICK MULVEY BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOMINEE NICK MULVEY SAYING: "I think because it's a meritocracy so it's not necessarily based on record sales therefore you know it can function as a real genuine way of shining light on really what's happening in music today so I am flattered."
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2014 13:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5JBH40X8AI7B3EN0VR1A4HBLB
  • Story Text: Damon Albarn, Bombay Bicycle Club, Kate Tempest and FKA twigs are among the 12 acts celebrating after being nominated for the 2014 Barclaycard Mercury Prize on Wednesday (September 10).
    The prize recognises the best British or Irish record of the last 12 months.
    Electro-funk duo Jungle, Anna Calvi, GoGo Penguin, Polar Bear and Royal Blood are also up for the 20,000 prize.
    Young Fathers, Nick Mulvey and East India Youth complete the 12-strong list.
    Electropop act James Blake took last year's prize, while other recent winners include Alt-J and PJ Harvey.
    "The whole thing is just absolutely insane and I think it's important to just own up to the fact that it feels like that. There is nothing cool about how I am feeling. I am feeling like 'aaaagh', you know," said poet and singer Kate Tempest, who is also a favourite to win the coveted prize.
    Another favourite, singer FKA twiggs, is facing increased press attention but she laughed off becoming a tabloid favourite.
    "I mean I don't know I don't look at it. (laughs) I don't know, I just make music and I keep everything pretty low key and I don't feel like there's that much more attention, like I am still getting on buses and I am still flying around, I am still doing what I have always been doing. I guess this is a new experience for me but I just try and take it in my stride and I am quite a quiet person and a calm person so maybe that helps," she said.
    Bombay Bicycle Club member Jamie MacColl explained how he heard the band was shortlisted for their fourth album, which also made number one earlier this year.
    'We were in a rehearsal in King's Cross and our manager came in and told us (about the nomination) and I thought he was lying or high or something but he wasn't, we're here,' he said.
    The prize is judged by a panel of 12 music industry figures and musicians who often use the shortlist to champion obscure or left-field choices -- indeed this year's shorlist seemed to favour relatively unknown artists, with only Damon Albarn a household name in the UK.
    "I think because it's a meritocracy so it's not necessarily based on record sales therefore you know it can function as a real genuine way of shining light on really what's happening in music today so I am flattered," said nominee Nick Mulvey, who is recognised for his first record as a solo artist.
    Internationally-flavoured hip-hop group Young Father formed in Edinburgh in 2008 and said they are taking their nomination and their music seriously.
    "We are three boys from three different parts of the world and we have different backgrounds and we know the same people and we come together in a basement and we put our hearts and souls into it and it's everything to us," said band member G Hastings.
    The winner of the prize will be announced on October 29.
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