The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award – Scotland’s National Music Prize – announced Fergus McCreadie’s ‘Forest Floor’ as the winner of the coveted title and £20,000 prize at the exclusive Ceremony in The Albert Halls, Stirling. In the award’s 11th year, Cocteau Twins were also recognised, picking up the Modern Scottish Classic Award for ‘Heaven and Las Vegas’, while Berta Kennedy won the Sound of Young Scotland Award and a funding package worth up to £5,000 to support the creation of her debut album.
25-year-old Scottish pianist Fergus McCreadie’s latest album ‘Forest Floor’ is recognised as Scottish Album of the Year at the Ceremony in Stirling – the city where he first developed his unique vision for jazz music. Scottish folk influences are central in defining Fergus’ sound, with precisely placed notes and rich harmonies which saw him shortlisted for the Mercury Prize which he attended earlier this week. Longlisted for a SAY Award in 2021 and shortlisted under Fergus McCreadie Trio in 2019, it’s third time lucky for this exciting and unique artist. Seonaid Aitken accepted the prize tonight on Fergus’ behalf.
Fergus McCreadie, Scottish Album of the Year Award Winner for 2022, who was sadly unable to attend the ceremony said:
I’m absolutely honoured and thrilled that Forest floor has been selected as this year’s Scottish Album of the Year. I’m really proud of how the trio comes across on the record and it’s such a privilege for us to have that recognised by the SAY award panel. I’m also so excited by what this can do for Scottish Jazz – we’re the first jazz act to win the prize and I really hope we won’t be the last. Scottish jazz is full of incredible musicians and bands that I respect so much, and I really hope this will be only one step of an incredible journey for a scene which truly punches above its weight. All that to say, thanks so much to the SAY Award and the panel, to David and Stephen for their incredible musicianship and friendship, to all my fellow musicians in Glasgow for their support and to you, the audience, who make it happen for us. I will always be grateful to make and play music.
Held for the first time in Stirling’s Albert Halls, the Ceremony was co-hosted by BBC Radio Scotland presenters Nicola Meighan and Vic Galloway, and was truly a night to remember as artists, music fans and industry figureheads gathered to celebrate 2022’s Shortlist, with all nine runners up each collecting £1,000 and a bespoke trophy created by local artists ART FUTURO via The SAY Design Commission. Following tonight’s ceremony, The SAY Award have distributed over £320,000 in prize money and championed 220 Longlisted albums across 11 previous campaigns, demonstrating the award’s continued ambition, passion and commitment to accelerating a growing Scottish music scene.
The Ceremony’s Stirling location for 2022 was unveiled earlier this year through a SAY Award projection onto the National Wallace Monument, which featured the lyrics of the iconic Scottish ballad ‘Caledonia’. Tonight, the ceremony opened with a powerful and special rendition of the song by Shortlisted RnB/Soul singer AiiTee, mesmerising an audience packed with music industry royalty hanging off every word including Dougie MacLean who wrote the song in 1977 as a love song to his homeland and thus becoming an anthem of Scottish pride.
Other spectacular performances on the night included fellow Shortlisted artists, Stirling’s own Constant Follower, Glasgow indie band The Just Joans, and Seonaid Aitken Ensemble who paid homage to the 2022 Modern Scottish Classic Award Winner – Cocteau Twins’ ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ – with a specially curated reimagined set. Seonaid Aitken said: “What an absolute honour to be asked to reimagine this incredible album”. The Sound of Young Scotland Winner Berta Kennedy also performed her debut single ‘Free-Swimming’, and previous SAY Award Winner Kathryn Joseph sang her cover of ‘A Way From Rage’ in a touching tribute to Beldina Odenyo Onassis, also known by her artist name ‘Heir of the Cursed’. Kathryn pronounced “we fucking miss you, Belinda” before signing while footage of Belinda’s performance from last year’s SAY Award Ceremony played behind her.
In alphabetical order, 2022’s The SAY Award Shortlist:
AiiTee – ‘Better Days’
Constant Follower – ‘Neither Is, Nor Ever Was’
Fergus McCreadie – ‘Forest Floor’
Hamish Hawk – ‘Heavy Elevator’
Hen Hoose – ‘Equaliser’
Kathryn Joseph – ‘for you who are the wronged’
Kobi Onyame – ‘Don’t Drink The Poison’
Niteworks – ‘A’Ghrian’
Proc Fiskal – ‘Siren Spine Sysex’
Walt Disco – ‘Unlearning’
The Sound of Young Scotland Award, supported by Ticketmaster, Youth Music and Youth Music Initiative, saw five finalists – Berta Kennedy, Dead Pony, KLEO, Psweatpants and Uninvited – recognised at the ceremony with the overall winner chosen by a panel of former SAY Award nominees. Nicola Meighan and Vic Galloway presented the award to this year’s winner, Berta Kennedy, who will receive a funding package worth up to £5,000 to facilitate the creation of her debut album, including recording time at Tolbooth Stirling.
The legacy of last year’s debut Modern Scottish Classic winners, Frightened Rabbit, continues through The SAY Award’s charity partnership with Tiny Changes, set up in memory of late frontman Scott Hutchinson. The SAY Award is developed and produced by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), with accessibility, inclusivity and diversity at the heart of their flagship project. Other partners for 2022 include Creative Scotland, Stirling Council, Stirling Alive With Scotland, YouTube Music, Go Forth, Ticketmaster, Spotify, PPL, Youth Music Initiative, Youth Music, Brewgooder, Stirling Distillery and Music Declares Emergency.
Previous winners of The SAY Award include Mogwai ‘As The Love Continues’ (2021), Nova ‘Re-Up’ (2020), Auntie Flo ‘Radio Highlife’ (2019), Young Fathers ‘Cocoa Sugar’ (2018), Sacred Paws ‘Strike A Match’ (2017), Anna Meredith ‘Varmints’ (2016), Kathryn Joseph ‘Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve Spilled’ (2015), Young Fathers ‘Tape Two’ (2014), RM Hubbert ‘Thirteen Lost & Found’ (2013) and the inaugural winner Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat ‘Everything’s Getting Older’ (2012).
