The Coopers AMP has delivered the first round of finalists vying for the 2013 prize, which comes with bragging rights and $30,000, seeing some of Australia’s most prominent talent recognised, be they up-and-coming, current or legendary.
The Australian Music judges have today revealed 6 albums from the year deemed worthy of the recognition – The Drones for their album I See Seaweed, the beloved Bob Evans and his latest solo effort Familiar Strangers, Abbe May and Kiss My Apocalypse, Not Art from Big Scary with Dialectrix’s The Cold Night Of Day reppin’ the Aussie hip hop side of things and the legendary Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds for their album Push The Sky Away.
For its 9th year, Coopers AMP has put emphasis on just albums for the first time, ruling out rereleases, repackages, best-ofs, compilations and the like. To meet the criteria, albums must have been released from Tuesday, 1st January and submissions will be open until Friday, 1st November. Organisers have commented that albums released after that date are still eligible for the 2013 award but artists must send through an advance copy.
Last year saw Hermitude take out pole position, scoring a cool $30,000 in cash and a spot with fellow AMP winners such as The Jezebels, Cloud Control and Lisa Mitchell. The 2013 winner will be announced March 2014.
The 9th Coopers AMP First Longlist Finalists:
I See Seaweed – The Drones
Familiar Stranger – Bob Evans
Kiss My Apocalypse – Abbe May
Not Art – Big Scary
The Cold Light Of Day – Dialectrix
Push The Sky Away – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
