THE nominees for the 2025 iteration of Scotland’s national music award have been announced.
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is delivered annually by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) in partnership with Creative Scotland, with the winner receiving a £20,000 cash prize.
SAY Award nominees for this year – whittled down from 401 eligible submissions from artists across the country – include 10 debut albums, one Mercury Prize nominee and two former winners.
The full list of 2025 SAY Award nominees
- Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman: Ash Grey and the Gull Glides On
- Be Charlotte: Self Help and Fictional Doubts
- Brooke Combe: Dancing At The Edge Of The World
- Cloth: Pink Silence
- Constant Follower: The Smile You Send Out Returns To You
- corto.alto: 30/108
- Faith Eliott: dryas
- Hamish Hawk: A Firmer Hand
- Jacob Alon: In Limerence
- Kai Reesu: Kompromat vol.i
- Kathryn Joseph: WE WERE MADE PREY.
- Kitti: Somethin' In The Water
- Maranta: Day Long Dream
- Matt Carmichael: Dancing with Embers
- Mogwai: The Bad Fire
- Rebecca Vasmant: Who We Are, Becoming
- TAAHLIAH: Gramarye
- The Joy Hotel: Ceremony
- Walt Disco: The Warping
- Zoe Graham: TENT
The list was compiled after a nationwide consultation, with 100 impartial “nominators” chosen from sectors like journalism, music retail and live music venues.
They select and rank their five favourite albums in order of preference, with the SMIA assigning scores to chosen records. Albums with the highest scores are then placed on the longlist.
Nominee Jacob Alon, who is also the only Scot nominated for a Mercury Prize this year, said: “My loves, it means so much to me to be longlisted for the SAY Award – more than I can SAY… ha.
“I feel so lucky to stand alongside so many incredible artists and icons and pals making some of the most exciting art to come out of the country at the moment. As someone who, for so long, hasn’t felt like there was a place for them to belong, I feel so lucky to have found a place here with yous.
“This is fae Fife, the queers, and the ones that dare to follow their dreams. Thig crìoch air an t-saoghal, ach mairidh gaol is ceòl (The world may come to an end, but love and music will endure).”
Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and creative director of SMIA said: “In an industry increasingly driven by algorithms and metrics, each year the announcement of the longlist reaffirms the intrinsic value of the album – artistic works that soundtrack our lives, tell our stories and shape both who we are and who we can become.
“Records let us enter an artist’s inner world, and through doing so, often reflect something back within ourselves – sometimes even things we never knew were there. To me, it’s that intimate dance and unique connection that gives them their magic.”
This year’s ceremony will take place in Dundee’s Caird Hall on November 6, with performances set to include Brooke Comb, corto.alto, Dillon Barrie and rEDOLENT.
Tickets are available here.
