2014-03-05



The organisers of annual Liverpool music prize The GIT Award have revealed their 12 shortlisted artists for the 2014 edition.

The GIT Award 2014 shortlist is: All We Are, Circa Waves, Dan Croll, Evian Christ, Ex-Easter Island Head, Forest Swords, Mad Brains, Ninetails, Outfit, Bill Ryder-Jones, Tea Street Band and VEYU.

Now in its third consecutive year, The GIT (Getintothis) Award champions the best of Merseyside music, recognising significant artistic achievement across a range of musical styles.

This year’s shortlist was selected by national music industry types consisting of The Quietus editor John Doran, Music Week editor Tim Ingham, former Creation Records’ boss Alan McGee, BBC Radio 6 Music’s Camilla Pia, author and journalist Simon Price, Popjustice editor Peter Robinson, Guardian journalist Jude Rogers, XFM deputy programme manager Mike Walsh and NME radar editor Matt Wilkinson.

The judging panel was completed by respected Merseyside music players including Liverpool Music Week director Mike Deane, Sound City and Club EVOL promoter Steve Miller, Liverpool International Music Festival curator Yaw Owusu, Bido Lito! editor Craig Pennington – and GIT Award founder and Liverpool Echo journalist, Peter Guy.

Dubbed ‘the Scouse Mercury Prize,’ backed by Yoko Ono and the cornerstones of Merseyside’s flourishing cultural community, the winner of the GIT Award 2014 is revealed on Friday April 11 at The Kazimier in Wolstenholme Square - picking up a cheque for £1,000.

Mike Walsh, XFM Head Of Music, said: "The GIT Award shortlist proves yet again that Liverpool continues to be one of the most consistently creative and musically rich cities in the world. The strength and diversity of artists on this list reminds us why Liverpool is still the benchmark for other cities to envy."

The GIT Award 2014 received more than 500 entries with the judges carefully whittling them down to just 12.

The industry showcase on Friday, April 11 is strictly invite only and will include performances from the shortlisted artists plus an aftershow and specially produced set piece spectacles by the Kazimier team.

On the night, the overall GIT Award winner will receive a cash prize of £1,000 and a special Inspiration Award, recognising services to Liverpool’s music industry (won by The Hillsborough Justice Collective in 2013 and the team behind The Kazimier in 2012), will also be presented.

NME's Matt Wilkinson, said: "The GIT Award 2014 shortlist is seriously impressive. What I like most about it is the sheer variety of the nominated acts. None of them fit together on paper as they're all so different musically, yet each act is pushing the boundaries in their own special way. Liverpool is thriving in its own diversity - and I can't remember the scene being this eclectic for decades."

New for the GIT Award 2014 edition, an under-18 artist will receive the One To Watch Prize receiving studio time at Liverpool's legendary Parr Street Studios, mentoring from sponsors Merseyside Arts Foundation and a slot at the Liverpool International Music Festival.

Live visuals, the One To Watch Award and mementoes for each nominee will be created by Liverpool architectural design agency ArchiPhonic who have overseen projects in the Baltic Triangle. Meanwhile Liverpool’s Royal Standard Art Gallery director, Mike Aitken will create two specially designed awards for the winners of the GIT Award 2014 and The Inspiration Award.

GIT Award founder and chair of judges, Peter Guy, said: “The 2014 GIT Award reaffirms my belief that there’s no region in the UK that can match the artistic ambition, technical craft and musical innovation that’s currently unfolding across Merseyside. Each of the artists on this year’s shortlist have garnered international press and radio while entertaining sell out audiences in Tokyo, South Africa, Sydney, New York and almost the entirety of Europe – and yet, most exciting of all, the majority are in their infancy. April 11 at a transformed Kazimier is set to be an exhilarating evening.”

THE GIT AWARD SHORTLISTED ARTISTS:

All We Are

All We Are is Norwegian bassist Guro Gikling, Irish drummer Richard O’Flynn and Brazilian guitarist Luis Santos who formed in 2011 while studying in Liverpool at LIPA. The trio’s rhythmic grooves and irresistible pop melodies were showcased in debut single Utmost Good which drew praise in NME and the Guardian, marking them out as serious ones to watch. Their efforts were rewarded in 2013 when they signed to Domino Records’ imprint Double Six earning UK tour slots with Warpaint and Everything Everything. They are currently working on their debut solo album.

https://www.facebook.com/thisisallweare

Circa Waves

In a little over six months, Kieran Shudall, Sian Plummer, Sam Rourke and Joe Falconer, aka Circa Waves have become a UK music sensation. From the bedroom demos of singer/guitarist Shudall to being championed by Radio 1’s Zane Lowe as the hottest band in the world, life’s been a whirlwind for this Liverpool quartet. One online track secured a deal with Transgressive Records (Foals, Two Door Cinema Club) before European tour dates, national press and a prize slot on the NME Awards Tour supporting Interpol followed. Their second single Stuck In My Teeth was released in February.

https://www.facebook.com/CircaWaves

Dan Croll

From budding Merseyside songwriter to emerging global pop star, Dan Croll’s meteoric rise has been unstoppable during the last 12 months. Endorsed by Paul McCartney, Dan has headlined tours on both sides of the Atlantic, racked up 4million online plays of his singles, featured on Radio 1, 6 Music and garnered blanket international press while having his music soundtrack Grand Theft Auto and FIFA 2014. Dan, who shortlisted for the GIT Award 2012, releases his debut album Sweet Disarray through Universal Music on March 10.

http://dancroll.com

Evian Christ

Ellesmere Port producer Joshua Leary, aka Evian Christ, was discovered in 2011 through a series of dark electronic tracks he uploaded to YouTube which spread like wildfire over the internet in a single day. Signing to Brooklyn’s Tri Angle Records, his first mixtape, Kings And Them, led to Leary co-writing and producing a track on Kanye West’s 2013 album Yeezus. A publishing deal with West's G.O.O.D. Music followed with the 24-year-old’s Waterfall EP out on March 17 one of the most anticipated of the year. 

https://www.facebook.com/evianchrist

Ex-Easter Island Head

Ex-Easter Island Head is a Liverpool collective driven by Aigburth multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Duvall. Using electric guitars struck with percussion mallets, they have performed as a small collective or large ensemble sharing stages with Rhys Chatham, Tim Hecker and more. New works have been commissioned by World Museum Liverpool, Switzerland's Les Urbaines Festival, The British Cultural Olympiad and Tokyo Experimental Festival teaming up with the likes of KLF's Bill Drummond. Their 2013 and 2014 LPs Mallet Guitars One - Three and Large Electric Ensemble have received critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, The Wire and The New York Times. Having been nominated for the GIT Award in 2012, this year they will tour with musicians from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

http://www.exeasterislandhead.com/

Forest Swords

Forest Swords is Wirral producer Matthew Barnes, and in little over two years has garnered unanimous acclaim from both sides of the Atlantic. His textured, gauzy music is as indebted to the region’s rich musical heritage as it is the windswept and beautiful coastal environment from which it was born. The result is something completely organic, sounding like a mix of Massive Attack’s sample strewn claustrophobia, King Tubby’s sweating dub, with hints of Ennio Morricone’s legendary guitar soundscapes. His debut EP Dagger Paths was widely lauded before his first album, Engravings, released in summer 2013 via Tri Angle Records saw Barnes lavished in praise from the likes of Pitchfork and The Guardian while also cementing festival slots across Europe. Forest Swords was nominated for the GIT Award 2012.

http://forestswords.tumblr.com/

Mad Brains

Mad Brains is the guise of 21-year-old emerging hip hop artist Cameron Toman. Schooled in the North West, Brains learnt his craft in Liverpool cutting his teeth on the live circuit before heading to Barcelona. Relocating to London, in 2012 he released his debut mixtape, ZADES, which fused the likes of MF Doom, Mr Scruff and Two Lone Swordsmen garnering international recognition. ZADES is a laid back, groove-busting whistle-stop tour of getting smashed on rum and chemicals before growing up and realising some of your ambitions. A new EP is due later in 2014 which promises to cement his reputation as Merseyside's most exhilarating hip hop talent in years.

http://madbrains.bandcamp.com/

Ninetails

Philip Morris, Jake King and Washington DC’s Jordan Balaber are Liverpool-based trio Ninetails. Having formed in 2012, the band has evolved from a math-pop quartet to their fully realised sound blending expansive orchestration, field-recordings, idiosyncratic samples and concrète textures. The result is a deeply musical, constantly shifting sonic atmosphere. Having been nominated for the GIT Award 2012 picking up praise in NME, The Quietus and overseas online press, they will release their third EP, Quiet Confidence, in March via former Talk Talk manager Keith Aspden's label Pond Life.

https://www.facebook.com/ninetailsband

Outfit

Outfit are a Liverpool based art rock group who released their debut album Performance in 2013 to widespread critical acclaim. Their music takes the style and poise of new wave, the clatter of collaged electronica and articulates a very modern sense of ennui. Having toured the UK and Europe alongside the likes of Everything Everything, Dutch Uncles and Crystal Fighters they completed their first UK headline tour in January. Having been nominated for the GIT Award 2012, the band are now locked away in their south Liverpool studio to record their second LP harnessing new sounds and exploring ever expanding musical horizons.

http://www.everynightidressupasyou.com/

Bill Ryder-Jones

Bill Ryder-Jones is a songwriter from West Kirby signed to Domino Records. Drawing influences from contemporary cinema and the classic song-writing canon, Ryder-Jones’ 2012 debut album If, and 2013 follow up A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart drew unanimous international critical acclaim. A GIT Award nominee in 2012, Ryder-Jones was touring guitarist with the Arctic Monkeys during their AM Arena dates while he began his musical career began in 1996 as lead guitarist of Liverpool psychedelic rock band The Coral.

http://www.dominorecordco.com/artists/bill-ryder-jones-/

Tea Street Band

James Albertina, Dominic Allen, Nicholas Otaegui, Lee Smith and Timo Tierney are The Tea Street Band. Marrying euphoric acid house, Balearic sun-kissed beats and shimmering guitar-flecked rock and roll, they’ve been a staple on the Merseyside live circuit for two years earning a GIT Award nomination in 2012. Recent single Lost For Words was BBC Introducing host Huw Stephens’ Single of the Week while they’ve played sell out shows in New York, Sydney, Melbourne and Ireland. An extensive UK tour is next on the horizon ahead of their debut eponymous album in May.

https://www.facebook.com/TeaStreetBand

VEYU

Adam Bresnen (vocals/guitar), Thomas McCabe (drums), Chris Beesley (guitar), Donovan Collins (synth) and James Tidd (bass) are Wirral quartet VEYU. Like their name - a made up word which makes them a search engine instant hit - they're a one-off proposition fusing a kaleidoscopic array of stylistics underpinned by glorious reverb-drenched hooks and soaring harmonies. In six short months they've set Merseyside alight with their sweeping musical panoramas melded to a post-punk vitality drawing national acclaim including the likes of Q Magazine. With a debut EP in the offing this is just the start for one of the region's most exciting new collectives.

https://www.facebook.com/weareveyu

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