Polydor Records has praised the current state of music in the UK, stating that British music “continues to excite and thrive’.
The label spoke out after three of its acts were named in the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize albums of the year list, with The 1975’s I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet SO Unaware Of It, Michael Kiwanuka’s Love & Hate and Jamie Woon’s Making time all shortlisted.
"The success of all these artists, both here and internationally, shows that British music continues to excite and thrive,” said Polydor Records co-president Ben Mortimer. “The accolades should obviously lie with the artists and the special music they have created but if there's one thing we can be proud of as a label, it’s that all of these are second albums. Polydor, and our partner labels such as Dirty Hit, are committed to taking time when needed, and truly allowing our artists to develop."
The 12 albums of the year were revealed earlier today in London, with David Bowie and Radiohead emerging as early favourites to win the coveted award.
The Hyundai Mercury Prize Albums of the Year celebrate and promote the best of UK music, recognising artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres.
The online vote is now open, which will enable music fans to select the first of six 2016 finalists from the 12 Albums of the Year. To vote visit www.mercuryprize.com
The shortlist, five remaining finalists and overall winner are chosen by the Hyundai Mercury Prize Judging Panel, based solely on artistic merit.
The six finalists and the overall winner will be announced as part of the 2016 Awards Show, which will take place on Thursday September 15, at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
The event will feature live performances from the shortlisted artists and will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner of the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize for Album of the Year.
For the second year BBC Music is the official UK broadcast partner and will be providing live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music with additional content at bbc.co.uk/music and via the BBC Music app.
