The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) awards has revealed its longlist of nominees for 2019, all hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year’s champions Young Fathers. 

The longlist contains 20 albums across many musical genres that have been whittled down from almost 300 submissions.

Ten names will now be cut from the longlist, leaving ten final contenders for the prestigious award that comes with a £20,000 prize.

Among the nominees are electro indie pop outfit Chvrches with their third album Love Is Dead, The Twilight Sad for It Won/t Be Like This All The Time and Edwyn Collins with Badbea.

Mastersystem – the group comprised of members of Editors and Grant Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit fame – are also among the nominees for their debut Dance Music.

Now in its eighth year, the SAY awards have risen to become one of the country’s most popular music awards.

In a positive step, the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) has also confirmed there was a 50:50 gender split among the judging panel who shaped the longlist. The panel that will select nine of the places on the final shortlist will also be split in this way, with the last place going to the winner of a public vote.

The winner will then be announced at an award show at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh on September 6th. 

The longlist for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) award in full:

Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert - Here Lies The Body

Aidan O'Rourke - 365: Vol. 1

Andrew Wasylyk - The Paralian

Auntie Flo - Radio Highlife

Brìghde Chaimbeul - The Reelin

C Duncan - Health

Carla J. Easton - Impossible Stuff

Chvrches - Love Is Dead

Edwyn Collins - Badbea

Fatherson - Sum Of All Your Parts

Fergus McCreadie Trio - Turas

Free Love - Luxury Hits

Graham Costello's Strata- Obelisk

Karine Polwart with Steven Polwart and Inge Thomson- Laws of Motion

Kathryn Joseph - From When I Wake The Want Is

Kinnaris Quintet - Free One

Mastersystem - Dance Music

Niteworks - Air Fàir an Là

Sean Shibe - softLOUD

The Twilight Sad - It Won/t Be Like This All The Time

Find out more about the SAY awards.