Tunbridge Wells punk duo Slaves have been confirmed as one of twelve acts to appear on the shortlist for this year’s Mercury Music Prize.
The Prize is judged by a panel of twelve industry experts, designed to reward the best British or Irish album of the year. This year’s shortlist is dominated by singer-songwriters, ranging from the likes of BBC Sound of 2015 top 5 artist Soak, to Supergrass vocalist Gaz Coombes.
Slaves are only one of two bands to make the shortlist, joining experimental indie-rockers Wolf Alice. The list does not include Everything Everything, to the surprise of many.
Although the Mercury Music Prize has celebrated the achievements of British bands more heavily in the past, the 2015 shortlist marks a rare appearance for a punk record.
Slaves released ‘Are You Satisfied?’ in May, injecting a wealth of social commentary and politically dissatisfaction into mainstream music. They have since enjoyed various sold out performances and festival appearances, including at Reading and Leeds Festival in August.
“We never thought we would play a gig on a stage, let alone by played on Radio 1,” the band opened up to Punktastic at the start of the year. “When in the studio or writing songs we regularly have moments of disbelief that music like ours is being played on the radio. We never considered it getting this big. It’s a blessing. We love being Slaves.”
The winning album will be announced at a ceremony at the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House on Friday 20 November, hosted by BBC 6Music presenter Lauren Laverne. A live broadcast will be available on BBC Four and 6Music, the latter of which will provide commentary and reflection throughout the evening.
The full list of nominations looks as follows:
Aphex Twin – Syro
Benjamin Clementine – At Least For Now
Gaz Coombes – Matador
C Duncan – Architect
Eska – Eska
Florence + The Machine – How Big How Blue How Beautiful (pictured)
Ghost Poet – Shedding Skin
Jamie xx – In Colour
Roisin Murphy – Hairless Toys
Slaves – Are You Satisfied
Soak – Before We Forgot How To Dream
Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool