News The Welsh Music Prize - What Actually Is It?

So a few weeks ago we heard that the Welsh Music Prize was being launched by Swn Festival organisers John Rostron and Huw Stephens, and a few hours ago we heard the shortlist for the award – but what actually is it?

Well, the clue’s in the name you’d think, right? It’s a prize to highlight the best in Welsh music – much like the ‘Barclaycard Music Prize’ does for the whole of the UK and Ireland, or the Nordic Music Prize does for, erm, the land of Nordovia. A noble effort indeed. Wales has a rich musical history (it spans even wider than Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, don’t y’know?) and produces lots of excellent bands and albums that sometimes – possibly due to being sung in the Welsh language or for a number of other possible reasons that it might take longer to discuss – don’t get the recognition that they deserve.

Indeed, names like Colorama, The Gentle Good, and Sweet Baboo might not be all too familiar with those not from the land of the lovespoon, and anything helping to highlight some of these under-appreciated acts to a wider audience is a good thing. The albums of these three, which were released between 1st August 2010 and 31st July 2011 as the rules stipulate – along with albums from Al Lewis, Funeral For A Friend, Gruff Rhys, Lleuwen, Stagga, The Blackout, The Joy Formidable, and Y Niwl – will go in front of a panel of ten (as-of-yet unconfirmed) judges, of which Huw and John will look over but not be part of. These judges will then vote to decide a winner, which will then be announced at Swn Festival this October.

So that’s what the Welsh Music Prize is. But there are some questions about the prize that seem pretty difficult to find answers for.

Exactly how the shortlist has been put together seems to be a tough question to answer. One would hope that albums wouldn’t simply be being picked by two men – albeit men with a very good understanding of Welsh music – alone, however there is no released information to the contrary of this. According to John, though, much like the Nordic Music Prize, himself and Huw – helped by suggestions from the public and submissions from bands – asked the advice of 50 Welsh music industry professionals and used that as ‘a basis for discussion’ on which albums should be shortlisted. But, once again, what exactly does ‘a basis for discussion’ actually mean?

And exactly what constitutes ‘Welsh’ music? It may seem like a silly, pedantic point to make but, actually, it’s kinda not. Must the band have simply formed in Wales, regardless of the nationality of the band members? Must all the band members be Welsh, regardless of where they formed or where they are now based? Could the band be originally from Wales, but be currently based in London? What is the ratio of Welsh to non-Welsh band members that would be acceptable? Of course, we music writers parade that kind of tag around all the time. ‘Welsh seven-piece Los Campesinos!’, ‘The Victorian English Gentlemens Club are a trio from Cardiff’, ‘Welshman Gruff Rhys’ etc. But for a music prize that is getting a good amount of attention and that will be a big coup for any artist that wins it, a black-and-white rule is important for ensuring a fair, objective judgement rather than varying, subjective one to decide each band’s fate – to know in no uncertain terms which bands could and which couldn’t have been considered for the short-list and the prize. Perhaps there is a rule in place and it’s simply yet to be made public. If so, it really could do with being announced somewhere. If not, a strict rule simply has to be put together to ensure this prize is fair and right.

So, to summarise, Welsh Music Prize: we like your concept, we appreciate your efforts, we believe in what you’re trying to do, and we even like that your shortlist reflects a wide range of genres from bands both big and small dotted all around your country releasing on both major and indie labels… but we just need to know a little bit more information.