The Scottish Album of the Year Award announces longlist for 2025

25 September 2025 - Press release

20 OUTSTANDING ALBUMS FEATURING BROOKE COMBE, JACOB ALON, KATHRYN JOSEPH, MOGWAI AND MORE IN THE RUNNING FOR £20,000 PRIZE

 

Stream the Longlist at www.sayaward.com

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The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award, Scotland’s national music prize, has today revealed the 20 outstanding albums on 2025’s Longlist. Spanning a range of genres, and featuring two previous SAY Award winning artists, one 2025 Mercury Prize nominee and 10 debut albums,  The SAY Award Longlist for 2025 in alphabetical order is: 

Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman Ash Grey and the Gull Glides On

Be Charlotte Self Help and Fictional Doubts

Brooke Combe Dancing At The Edge Of The World

Cloth Pink Silence

Constant Follower The Smile You Send Out Returns To You

corto.alto 30/108

Faith Eliott dryas

Hamish Hawk A Firmer Hand

Jacob Alon In Limerence

Kai Reesu Kompromat vol.i

Kathryn Joseph WE WERE MADE PREY.

kitti Somethin' In The Water

Maranta Day Long Dream

Matt Carmichael Dancing with Embers

Mogwai The Bad Fire

Rebecca Vasmant Who We Are, Becoming

TAAHLIAH Gramarye

The Joy Hotel Ceremony

Walt Disco The Warping

Zoe Graham TENT

 

All 20 albums are now in the running for the £20,000 prize and coveted title of Scottish Album of the Year, with the winner set to be unveiled at this year’s Ceremony, taking place on Thursday 6th November at the new location of Dundee’s Caird Hall. Buy tickets for The SAY Award Ceremony now via www.sayaward.com. Plus, an outstanding line-up of Scottish talent will perform on the night including Brooke Combe, corto.alto, Dillon Barrie, rEDOLENT. 

The SAY Award Longlist is a result of an extraordinary nationwide consultation amongst Scotland’s music and arts communities. 100 impartial ‘Nominators’, chosen from sectors including journalism, music retail and music venues across Scotland, nominate and rank their five favourite eligible albums in order of preference. The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) – who produce the award – assigns a score to each title in a Nominator’s Top 5, with the 20 highest scoring albums forming The SAY Award Longlist.

Whittled down from 401 eligible album submissions, this year’s Longlist showcases Scottish talent from across the country with artists from Glasgow, Fife, Edinburgh, Dundee and more. The Longlist features two former SAY Award winners, one 2025 Mercury Prize nominee and genres from indie pop to R&B/soul, folk, jazz, dance and more. 

Robert Kilpatrick, CEO and Creative Director of the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) said, “What does it mean to be alive in Scotland right now? To get a sense of that, in all its idiosyncratic glory, take a deep dive into this year’s 20-strong SAY Award Longlist. 

“In an industry increasingly driven by algorithms and metrics, each year the announcement of the Longlist reaffirms the intrinsic value of the album – artistic works that soundtrack our lives, tell our stories and shape both who we are and who we can become. Records let us enter an artist’s inner world, and through doing so, often reflect something back within ourselves – sometimes even things we never knew were there. To me, it’s that intimate dance and unique connection that gives them their magic. 

“With 401 eligible submissions this year, today’s announcement is about celebrating the 20 outstanding Scottish albums that are now in the running for the coveted title of Scottish Album of the Year, as well as the £20,000 first prize. We implore you to listen to them, and through doing so, maybe you'll find something more than a few new favourites.

“On behalf of the SMIA, I’d like to say a massive congratulations to each of this year’s nominees. We look forward to celebrating them – and the strength and diversity of Scottish music –  at The SAY Award Ceremony on Thursday 6 November at Dundee’s Caird Hall. I hope you can join us.”

Alan Morrison, Head of Music at Creative Scotland said, “This year’s SAY Award Longlist proves that the album will always triumph over an industry driven by AI and algorithms. These 20 works of art are where true musical creativity is to be found – beyond easy categories, across genres and genders. It is encouraging to see so many debut releases included here and to know that the album remains such a valid format for anyone making their first artistic statement in an ever-changing world. It’s also why The SAY Award, supported by the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland funding of the SMIA, continues to grab the attention of music-loving audiences and industry alike.”

Anna Day, Head of Libraries and Cultural Services at Leisure & Culture Dundee said, “This is a Longlist of real quality and marks another exciting milestone as we build momentum towards The Scottish Album of the Year Award Ceremony at Dundee’s iconic Caird Hall. 

“We’re absolutely delighted that The SAY Award will call Dundee home for the next three years, thanks to a partnership with Leisure & Culture Dundee, V&A Dundee, Dundee City Council and UNESCO Dundee City of Design.

“Hosting Scotland’s most anticipated night in music is a real honour for the city. We can’t wait to welcome the nation’s finest artists, industry leaders and music fans to Caird Hall this November for one of the standout events in the country's cultural calendar.”

 

Cloth: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have been Longlisted for the 2025 SAY Award. Every year, the award shines a light on Scotland’s incredible musical output, further cementing its long-held reputation as a country which punches well above its weight when it comes to the arts. To be included on a list of the year’s best albums alongside your peers is a really special feeling.”

Hamish Hawk: “It's never anything short of a privilege to be Longlisted for The SAY Award. It's so inspiring too, to see the incredible artists that Scotland continues to produce. It's a rare thing to be part of that kind of story; it makes me extremely proud.”

Jacob Alon: “My loves, it means so much to me to be Longlisted for The SAY Award - more than I can SAY… ha. I feel so lucky to stand alongside so many incredible artists and icons and pals making some of the most exciting art to come out of the country at the moment. As someone who, for so long, hasn’t felt like there was a place for them to belong, I feel so lucky to have found a place here with yous. This is fae Fife, the queers, and the ones that dare to follow their dreams.

Thig crìoch air an t-saoghal, ach mairidh gaol is ceòl.

(“The world may come to an end, but love and music will endure”).”

 

Kathryn Joseph: “I’m very proud that ‘we were made prey’ is on the SAY Longlist. Thank you so much for having us. I was very lucky to get to work with Lomond Cambell again and also to get to go to Black Bay studio. Thank you for being so kind to our record. I love you the say award.”

 

In a few weeks time, the Longlist will be whittled down to a Shortlist of 10 albums, one of which will be chosen by music fans via a 72-hour online public vote. The remaining nine albums will be chosen by The SAY Award judging panel, with the Shortlist announced on Thursday 16th October. Along with The SAY Award Shortlist Announcement, the five nominees for 2025’s Sound of Young Scotland Award will be exclusively revealed; all in the running to win a funding package worth up to £10,000 to support the creation of a debut album. 

One of the most highly anticipated nights in Scotland’s musical calendar, music fans can buy tickets to attend The SAY Award Ceremony, joining an audience of artists, industry professionals, press and cultural tastemakers to celebrate outstanding Scottish music, with a series of special live performances on the night including: 2024 SAY Award winners rEDOLENT, 2024’s Sound of Young Scotland winner Dillon Barrie,  Brooke Combe and corto.alto, both of whom are Longlisted for this year’s award. The SAY Award judging panel will reconvene to select 2024’s Scottish Album of the Year Award winner, exclusively announced at 2025’s ceremony, alongside this year’s Modern Scottish Classic and Sound of Young Scotland winners. 

The SAY Award is a Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) production. The SAY Award 2025 is delivered in partnership with Creative Scotland, Leisure & Culture Dundee, V&A Dundee, Dundee City Council, UNESCO Dundee City of Design, Seabass Vinyl, PPL, HMV, FOPP, Help Musicians, the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative, Youth Music, 71 Brewing, Bon Accord, Apex Hotels, Malmaison and Music Declares Emergency. The project is part-funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 

Previous winners of The SAY Award include; redolent ‘dinny greet’ (2024), Young Fathers ‘Heavy Heavy’ (2023), Fergus McCreadie ‘Forest Floor’ (2022), 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).

 

Early-bird SAY Award Ceremony tickets on sale now via  www.sayaward.com 

£28 + booking fee

 

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