Quebec artists Alexandra Stréiliski, Philippe Brach, Thierry Larose and Bibi Club are among the 40 semi-finalists who make up the long list for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize for the best Canadian album of the year.
A 205-member jury considered a total of 221 albums before selecting the top 40. Jury members judge offerings “solely on their artistic merit and without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity.”
Philippe Brach's “Les gens qu'on aime,” Alexandra Stréliski's “Néo-Romance,” Bibi Club's “Le soleil et la mer,” Thierry Larose's “Sprint!” and Murray Lightburn's “Once Upon a Time in Montreal” all feature alongside Feist's “Multitudes,” Dylan Sinclair's “No Longer in The Suburbs,” Isabella Lovestory's “Amor Hardcore” and many others.
Albums nominated for the prestigious award, which comes with a bursary of $50,000, must have been be released between May 1, 2022 and May 1, 2023.
“The Canada Council for the Arts is proud to once again present the long list of Polaris Music Prize nominees to support extraordinary musical talent from across Canada," said Carolyn Warren, Director General, Arts Grants Programs, Canada Council for the Arts, in a press release.
Of the 40 semi-finalists, ten will be selected for the final stage of the competition. They will be announced on July 13, after which the winning album, chosen by a select jury of 11, will be unveiled at the Polaris Gala on September 19.
Previous Polaris Prize winners include Patrick Watson in 2007, Karkwa in 2010, Arcade Fire in 2012 and Pierre Kwenders in 2022.
-- This report from the Canadian Press was written with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press news scholarships. It was first published in French on June 13, 2023.
