For the last fifteen years, the Polaris Music Prize has awarded the best album of the year by a Canadian artist. Previous winners have included Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, Caribou’s Andorra, Kaytranada’s 99.9%, and perhaps the most controversial decision, when Feist’s Metals beat out Drake’s Take Care in 2012.
As of late, the Polaris Prize panel of Canadian journalists and music industry professionals that vote on the award have done an excellent job of selecting the music that best encompasses Canadian identity and representation. Recent winners in Lido Pimienta, Jeremy Dutcher, and Backxwash illustrate that. Now the 2022 field has been narrowed down to a shortlist of 12 nominees that include Charlotte Day Wilson’s incredible Alpha, Destroyer’s enduring Labyrinthitis, Pierre Kwenders’ shape-shiftin José Louis And The Paradox Of Love, and more.
The #Polaris2022 #ShortList is here.https://t.co/TmqceQPgA6 #FACTORFunded#Destroyer@pierrekwenders@lisaleblancyo@lebaronbandit
@kelly_mcmichael@ombiigizi@ouririou@shadkmusic@TheRezKids@chardaywilson pic.twitter.com/5qaYVuijdX— Polaris Music Prize (@PolarisPrize) July 14, 2022
The winner will be crowned and awarded a $50,000 cash prize (about $38,000 in US dollars) at the Polaris Music Prize Gala in Toronto on September 19th. Check out the entire Polaris Music Prize 2022 shortlisted albums below.
Charlotte Day Wilson — Alpha
Destroyer — Labyrinthitis
Hubert Lenoir — Pictura de Ipse : Musique Directe
Kelly McMichael — Waves
Lisa LeBlanc — Chiac Disco
Ombiigizi — Sewn Back Together
Ouri — Frame Of A Fauna
Pierre Kwenders — José Louis And The Paradox Of Love
Ombiigizi — Sewn Back Together
Ouri — Frame Of A Fauna
Shad — Tao
Snotty Nose Rez Kids — Life After
