13th Australian Music Prize

The 13th Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize is an organisation established to discover, reward and promote new Australian music of excellence. This is achieved on an annual basis through the judgment of new Australian artist albums of work which have been made commercially available to a portion of the Australian public. Each year an Australian artist or group of artists is awarded The AMP, receiving a cash prize in recognition of the outstanding creativity they exhibited based on an original album released in that year. 

The Australian Music Vault congratulates Sampa the Great , winner of the 13th AMP Best Album of 2017

The Shortlist

Beaches – 'Second of Spring'

Iconic Melbourne psych rock quintet Beaches make the AMP Shortlist for the third time with their double album ‘Second of Spring’. Following extensive Australian and US tours, Beaches have garnered glowing critical acclaim for their recordings and an avid following for their trancelike, sonic overdrive live shows.

Darcy Baylis – 'Intimacy & Isolation'

Singer/producer/songwriter Darcy Baylis released his debut album ‘Intimacy & Isolation’ in February 2017. Part of Melbourne’s club scene, Baylis’ album was released as he also juggled the demands of studying his Honours in Music and follows the release of EPs ‘How Can I Live?/Ecstasy’ and ‘Envelopes’.

HTMLflowers – 'Chrome Halo’

‘Chrome Halo’ is the debut album from Melbourne artist and musician HTMLflowers (Grant Gronewold), featuring Banoffee, Oscar Key Sung, Sui Zhen, Marcus Whale and Felicity Yang. Gronewold lives with Cystic Fibrosis, and with raw detail ‘Chrome Halo’ tells of this battle.

Jen Cloher – 'Jen Cloher’

Jen Cloher’s self titled fourth album is the culmination of a period of artistic and personal growth, with the NIDA graduate an outspoken advocate for artist rights and the co-founder of the Milk! Records label (Courtney Barnett, Fraser A Gorman, Loose Tooth). ‘Jen Cloher’ is Cloher’s second AMP nomination following her Shortlisted ‘In Blood Memory’ album in the 9th AMP.

Jordan Rakei –'‘Wallflower’

With a fistful of highly praised releases under his belt and a soulful, jazz and hip-hop driven sound, 25 year-old multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer Jordan Rakei is a rare talent whose artistry transcends the confines of age. Recently signed to Ninja Tune, Jordan released his second LP “Wallflower” in September 2017.

Liars – 'TFCF'

‘TFCF’ which stands for ‘Theme From Crying Fountain’, marks a new creative process for Angus Andrew and his eighth Liars album – following years of recording in Brooklyn, LA and Berlin, it’s recorded in his hometown of Sydney and without his Liars band mate and only constant collaborator Aaron Hemphill. There’s no defining style to ‘TFCF’ as it shifts between sampled elements, brash processed sounds and “real” instrumentation, passages of pointed abstraction and passages of willful songcraft, avant gestures and genuine pop moments.

Paul Kelly – 'Life is Fine'

Paul Kelly is one of Australia’s most iconic and prolific songwriters and a name synonymous with some of the most cherished Australian songs of all time. ‘Life is Fine’ is his 23rd studio album and was the highest selling Australian album of 2017. Debuting at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart - the first #1 of Kelly’s career - ‘Life is Fine’ has been certified Gold.

Sampa The Great – 'Birds and the BEE9'

Born in Zambia and now based in Sydney, rapper Sampa Tembo, aka Sampa The Great, has set about making music that combines her natural style and energy with thought-provoking, socially-conscious themes. Sampa found a love for hip-hop at an early age, and following previous releases, ‘Birds and the BEE9’ is her debut album.

The Vampires –'‘The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke'

Sydney based The Vampires’ music is a unique blend of soulful jazz, old-school reggae, romantic Afro- Peruvian, danceable Afro-Cuban, exotic Balkan and all-out funk-laden Afrobeat. Combined with risk-taking improvisation, sophisticated compositions and an uncanny sense of dialogue and emotion between the sax/trumpet front line, the band defies genres to have developed a style of their own. ‘The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke’ is their fifth album.

www.facebook.com/australianmusicprize
www.australianmusicprize.com.au