David Bowie and newcomers Laura Mvula and Jake Bugg
are among the nominees for the 2013 Barclaycard Mercury Prize.
The
competition, which names the best British and Irish album of the year, also
includes Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Laura Marling, Rudimental and Savages.
Completing the
list are Disclosure, Jon Hopkins, James Blake and Villagers.
"It's been
a great year," said BBC 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, as she revealed the
shortlist for the £20,000 prize.
"It's
always a challenging task to decide a shortlist of just 12 releases and that
has been made all the more difficult by the sheer volume and quality of music
that's been released."
The finalists
were chosen from more than 220 albums, submitted to the panel by their record
labels. A winner will be announced on 30 October in London.
Bookmakers
William Hill have installed Bowie as the favourite alongside the Arctic Monkeys
album AM.
Released this
week, AM follows the Sheffield quartet's second headline slot at Glastonbury in
June, and a performance at last summer's Olympic opening ceremony.
The group said
they were "delighted and hugely flattered" by the nomination.
Bowie, aged 66
years, eight months and 3 days, is the Mercury Prize's oldest nominee, beating
renowned jazz pianist Stan Tracey by a month.
The Ziggy
Stardust singer broke a 10-year silence in the early hours of 6 January this
year by releasing a new single, Where Are We Now.
It preceded his
24th studio album, The Next Day, recorded in secret over two years with
long-time producer Tony Visconti.
He has never
won the Mercury, now in its 21st year, whereas the Arctic Monkeys picked up the
accolade in 2006 for their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What
I'm Not.
At the
announcement, most artists were in awe of the prospect of Bowie attending
October's ceremony.
"It's
surreal to be on the same shortlist," said electronic artist James Blake.
"But its a testament to how inventive and effortless [he is]."
"But what
would be better out of meeting him and winning the Mercury? Winning the Mercury."
Sales boost
Only five of
this year's nominees are in the running for the first time.
Among them is
BBC Sound Of 2013 candidate Laura Mvula, whose critically-acclaimed Sing To The
Moon mixes soul melodies, orchestral flourishes and gospel chants.
Others include
19-year-old singer Bugg, dance duo Disclosure, exuberant dance outfit
Rudimental and the four-piece female guitar band, Savages.
Confessional
singer-songwriter Laura Marling, on the other hand, notches up her third
nomination at the age of just 23.
Jon Hopkins,
who has collaborated with Brian Eno and Coldplay, gets his second commendation,
this time for his expansive techno album, Immunity.
He said:
"I am a bit stunned to have been nominated this year. For an album of not
exactly hummable electronic music to get such an accolade is amazing and a
total surprise."
Oxford quintet
Foals are also on their second nomination, for the contorted rock of their
fourth album Holy Fire.
Drummer Jack
Bevan remembered the 2010 ceremony, when the band lost to The xx, as "a
very weird experience".
"Every
single person in the room has the same anxiety, so you have thousands of people
together who are not relaxed."
Despite that,
bands appreciate the exposure a Mercury nomination can bring.
"It makes
a huge difference," said Conor O'Brien, frontman of two-time nominees
Villagers.
"Last
time, many more people bought our album, many more people came to our shows.
"We just
suddenly felt this mainstream interest - which was interesting for a band like
us, because we don't try to write the obvious, mainstream hits. We just follow
our dreams."
Simon Frith,
chair of the judging panel, described the list as a celebration of "a
fascinating year for British and Irish music."
The eclectic
mix of artists reflects "that there is no dominant pop sound" at the
moment, he told the BBC.
"You don't
have Adele and all her imitators in the charts, so it's kind of an open field."
A number of
heavily tipped records failed to make the list, including London Grammar's If
You Wait and Bad Blood from pop four-piece Bastille.
The winner will
be revealed on Channel 4 next month.
They will join
previous victors such as Primal Scream, PJ Harvey, Pulp and last year's winners
Alt-J.
2013 Mercury nominees in full
Arctic Monkeys - AM
David Bowie - The Next Day
Disclosure - Settle
Foals - Holy Fire
Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg
James Blake - Overgrown
Jon Hopkins - Immunity
Laura Marling - Once I Was An Eagle (pictured)
Laura Mvula - Sing to the Moon
Rudimental - Home
Savages - Silence Yourself
Villagers - Awayland
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