The 20 albums which form the longlist for the Scottish Album of the Year award have been announced.

Famous name like Biffy Clyro, Edwyn Collins and Mogwai rub shoulders with indie acts Adam Stafford and Rick Redbeard.

There is also a conspicuous sprinkling of classical efforts for the first time, including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra reinterpreting Berlioz, and Tommy Smith’s Scottish National Jazz Orchestra‘s take on the work of Duke Ellington (and thus making some do a second take – not the National Jazz Trio of Scotland, awards stalwart Bill Wells being conspicuous by his absence this year).

The full (alphabetical) list reads thus:

Adam Holmes and the Embers – Heirs and Graces
Adam Stafford – Imaginary Walls Collapse
Biffy Clyro – Opposites
Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest
Camera Obscura – Desire Lines
CHVRCHES – The Bones of What You Believe
Dunedin Consort (Dir. John Butt) – J. S. Bach: Six Brandenburg Concertos
Edwyn Collins – Understated
Frightened Rabbit – Pedestrian Verse
Hector Bizerk – Nobody Seen Nothing
Kid Canaveral – Now That You Are A Dancer
Mogwai – Les Revenants
Rick Redbeard – No Selfish Heart
RM Hubbert – Breaks & Bone
Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire – Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire
Scottish Chamber Orchestra (R. Ticciati) – Berlioz: Les Nuit D’été
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra – In the Spirit of Duke
Steve Mason – Monkey Minds in the Devil’s Time
The Pastels – Slow Summits
Young Fathers – Tape Two

The process for choosing the list above was via the top 5s of 100 nominators (including this site) – voting is of course secret, but you can get an idea of what made it and what missed the cut here.
A total of 122 albums received a top 5 vote from the 100.

The 20 albums will now be streamed in rotation before a public vote allows one album to join the shortlist alongside those chosen by the judging panel. The final shortlist will then be announced at a reception on 29th May at the CCA in Glasgow.

More at www.sayaward.com