Sacred Paws have been announced as the winners of the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) for 2017.
At a ceremony presented by co-hosts Vic Galloway and Nicola Meighan at Paisley Town Hall, an audience of industry figures, music fans and some of Scotland’s leading creative talent watched as the Glasgow/London based duo scooped the £20,000 first prize for their debut Strike A Match, released on Rock Action in January.
The band received a Paisley-inspired winners trophy, created by local jeweller Lisa Crockard, winner of the The Say Design Commission.
Singer/guitarist Rachel Aggs said: “I just want to say thank you so much, thanks to the SAY Award, thanks to the judges, thanks to everyone at Rock Action and I can’t believe it! I’m trying really hard not to swear! We are not always the most confident people and I think playing music has a lot to do with confidence so this is completely overwhelming and we don’t feel like we belong here but at the same time we feel validated for what we do. Thank you.”
Formed in 2014, Sacred Paws, comprised of Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers, toured behind the album earlier this year. They featured in Music Week’s On The Radar section back in February, read the interview here.
The SAY Award is produced by The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) and is now in its sixth year. For the past two years, the award has teamed up Renfrewshire Council, supporting the Paisley bid for UK City of Culture 2021. The shortlist served to highlight the best in Scottish music, spanning a range of genres and audiences.
The winner of this year’s public vote was Future Echoes by Pictish Trail, which won an automatic place on the shortlist after a 72-hour public vote. The remaining nine slots were awarded by the SAY Award’s panel of judges. Each shortlisted band won a £1,000 prize, and all ten received a 3D printed plate produced by Glasgow School of Art graduate and Paisley jeweller, Lisa Crockard. View the full shortlist below:
C Duncan - The Midnight Sun
Ela Orleans - Circles of Upper And Lower Hell
Honeyblood - Babes Never Die
Konx-om-Pax - Caramel
Meursault - I Will Kill Again
Mogwai - Atomic
Pictish Trail - Future Echoes
Rachel Newton - Here’s My Heart Come Take It
RM Hubbert - Telling The Trees
Sacred Paws - Strike A Match
At the ceremony there were live sets from local acts including The Spook School, folk quintet Elephant Sessions, Be Charlotte plus last year’s SAY Award winner, Anna Meredith. Presenters also paid tribute to the late Gary Watson of Scottish indie-rock band The Lapelles, who died on Sunday August 14 last year.
The SAY Award’s chosen charity this year was Help Musicians UK.
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