It’s Mercury Music Prize season again, with an outstanding British album from a shortlist of 12 set to be singled out as the best of the year (between the period of July 15, 2023 and July 12, 2024).
This year there are five London acts on the shortlist, and, here’s a fact for you: every winner of the Mercury Music Prize since 2014 has been London-based (from 2023 going back: Ezra Collective, Little Simz, Arlo Parks, Michael Kiwanuka, Dave, Wolf Alice, Sampha, Skepta, and Benjamin Clementine). Will the next winner follow suit? Time shall tell.
Let’s celebrate the music this city has produced in the past, present, and future, shall we?
BERWYN – Who Am I
BERWYN has already enjoyed a previous Mercury nomination for his 2021 mixtape Tape 2/Fomalhaut, and his debut studio album has followed suit. From the gliding and far-reaching opening track BAD THING to the reflective tribute of MAMA to close the album, this record demands your attention.
đź“… ‘Who I Am’ was released on July 12, 2024.
Cat Burns – Early Twenties
Cat Burns released one of the most-anticipated debut albums of the year last month. It swiftly received her first Mercury nomination – coming after her Brit nominations last year in Song Of The Year (Go), Rising Star, and Best Pop/R&B. Early Twenties has been praised for Burns’ stunning vocal performance that melds pop with gospel influence, and is one that should be high up on your lists for the year’s top records.
đź“… ‘Early Twenties’ was released on July 12, 2024.
Charli XCX – Brat
No one’s heard of this one, have they? What’s a Brat summer? What’s green got to do with anything? Von Dutch cult classic in your eardrums? Apple? Lorde and Billie Eilish subsequent releases?
At this point, Charli XCX‘s sixth studio album has to be a frontrunner, given it’s taken over London (and the world) in the blink of an eye. Though she may have grown up just outside, the capital is truly under the spell of the London queen that is Charli XCX as Brat summer is embraced far and wide – through the speakers and the state of mind.
đź“… ‘Brat’ was released on June 7, 2024.
Ghetts – On Purpose, With Purpose
A celebration of UK Rap comes in the form of Ghetts‘ fourth album which follows on the critical and chart success of 2021 record Conflict Of Interest. His nomination for the Mercury Prize is a testament to his strength as one of the city’s top songwriters. Check out the record to hear exactly why, as well as catching some top features from the likes of Kano, Wretch 32, Moonchild Sanelly, Unknown T, and more.
đź“… On Purpose, With Purpose was released on February 23, 2024
The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy
Blowing up after the release of first single Nothing Matters last year, London-based quintet The Last Dinner Party have delivered a record of strange and soaring pop-rock sounds that collide as one that often reaches a point of, well, ecstasy (see: Caeser On A TV Screen). Fresh from a large slot on Glastonbury’s ‘Other Stage’, TLDP will be hoping to go 1:1 on ratio albums to Mercuryy Prizes later this year.
Prelude To Ecstasy was released on February 2, 2024
Who else has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize 2024?
- Barry Can’t Swim – When Will We Land?
- Beth Gibbons – Life Outgrown
- CMAT – Crazymad, For Me
- Corrine Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows
- corto.alto – Bad With Names
- English Teacher – This Could Be Texas
- Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud
The winner of the 2024 Mercury Music Prize will be announced in September. You can find out more details here.