The 16 judges – all professionals from different areas of the music industry – initially started with 364 albums by eligible artists. They then whittled this number down to a longlist of over 60 titles, which was revealed in December, from which it has today been announced there are a remaining nine.
The judgements are made irrespective of commercial success, either as a recorded product or from the act’s live performances, previous releases or reputation.
The final nine albums on the AMP’s shortlist are:
Reclaim Australia by A.B. Original
Wildflower by The Avalanches
Camp Cope by Camp Cope
Utopia Defeated by D.D. Dumbo
Nonagon Infinity by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Skeleton Tree by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Self Talk by Olympia
Joy by The Peep Tempel
Animal by Big Scary
The judges will meet again in March to select one act to be the recipient of the 12th Australian Music Prize. The prize itself involves $30,000, which last year was won by Courtney Barnett for her album Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit.
For your interest, here is the longlist from which the final nine albums were culled.
A.B. Original – Reclaim Australia
Archie Roach – Let Love Rule
The Avalanches – Wildflower
Big Scary – Animal
Big White – Teenage Dreams
Camp Cope – Camp Cope
Cash Savage and the Last Drinks – One Of Us
Chook Race – Around The House
Curse Ov Dialect – Twisted Strangers
D.D Dumbo – Utopia Defeated
Deborah Conway/Willy Zygier – Everybody’s Begging
The Delta Riggs – Active Galactic
Dope Lemon – Honey Bones
Dorsal Fins – Digital Zodiac
The Drones – Feelin’ Kinda Free
Ducks! – Ding Ding Ding
Ela Stiles – Molten Metal
Emma Russack – In a New State
Flume – Skin
friendships – Nullarbor 1988 – 1989
Gabriella Cohen – Full Closure And No Detail
Gawurra – Ratja Yaliyal
Gentleforce – Refuge From The Great Sadness
Halfway – The Golden Halfway Record
Jagwar Ma – Every Now & Then
Jarrow – 2003 Dream
The Jezabels – Synthia
Julia Jacklin – Don’t Let The Kids Win
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity
Koi Child – Koi Child
Liz Stringer – All Of The Bridges
Marcus Whale – Inland Sea
Mark Pritchard – Under The Sun
Melody Pool – Deep Dark Savage Heart
Mike Noga – King
The Moles – Tonight’s Music
Mt. Mountain – Cosmos Terros
The Nation Blue – Black
NGAIIRE – Blastoma
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree
NO ZU – Afterlife
Olympia – Self Talk
Pale Earth – Always
The Peep Tempel – Joy
Pikelet – Tronc
Rainbow Chan – Spacings
REMI – Divas & Demons
Richard Cuthbert – Peach Plum
Safe Hands – Tie Your Soul To Mine
Sara Storer – Silos
Sarah Mary Chadwick – Roses Always Die
Solo Andata – In The Lens
Sophie Hutchings – Wide Asleep
Stu Hunter – the migration
Summer Flake – Hello Friends
Teeth & Tongue – Give Up On Your Health
Troy Cassar-Daley – Things I Carry Around
Twelve Foot Ninja – Outlier
Urthboy – The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat
Violent Soho – WACO
Yeo – Ganbaru
