Last year was a banner year for Australia’s critically acclaimed artists and chart-busting music-makers alike, often with the two not mutually exclusive. Which makes the decision of choosing 2013’s best Aussie song a particularly hard task.
Rising to the challenge for another year is APRA, who have unveiled the shortlist for their coveted Song Of The Year 2014, naming a shortlist of the best Australian tunes of 2013 for final consideration in the peer-voted gong.
After polling final votes by APRA AMCOS members, the final 20 contenders for the APRA Song Of The Year award includes an impressive assortment of Australian talent both established and emerging.
Persistent national treasures Nick Cave & The Cave Seeds and popular nu-folkies Boy & Bear lead the nominations with two nods a piece. Cave and his band are up for ‘Jubilee Street’ and ‘We No Who U R’, both highlights from their 15th studio album Push The Sky Away; Boy & Bear earn dual showings from their sophomore album Harlequin Dream, specifically the title track and lead single ‘Southern Sun’. The final 20 contenders for the APRA Song Of The Year award includes an impressive assortment of Australian talent both established and emerging.
The remaining 14 Aussie artists in the running features a lot of crossover with selections made by you – the reader- in the Tone Deaf readers poll results for the Top 15 Aussie songs of 2013.
Namely, Melbourne singer-songwriter Vance Joy and his Hottest 100-topping, uke-led hit ‘Riptide’; The Preatures’ breakout ‘Is This How You Feel?’ (which made the Sydney band $50k richer last year); Chet Faker and Flume’s team-up on ‘Drop The Game’, and grunge disciples Violent Soho’s instant mosh-a-thon ‘Covered In Chrome’.
Other Song of the Year contenders include ‘A Moat You Can Stand In’, the “musical bar-fight” by critical darlings The Drones, ‘The Only One’ by John Butler Trio – the track that landed the roots rock trio on late night US television recently. Ditto for ‘Lanterns’ by Birds Of Tokyo, who performed the ‘most played song on Aussie radio’ for Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week; meanwhile frontman Ian Kenny’s other band, Karnivool, earn the APRA nod for ‘We Are’ from their ARIA-scooping Asymmetry.
Rounding out the nominations are entries from Dan Sultan, Empire Of The Sun, The Cat Empire, Bernard Fanning, Gurrumul, Matt Corby, and two more female representatives on the list, Sarah Blasko, for her collaboration with The Slavery Folklore Quartet, ‘God Fearing’ and The Bamboos for ‘Avenger’, starring vocalist Emma Thompson.
APRA’s some 87,00 members – including Australian songwriters, publishers, and rights holders – will now decide on the crowning victor, with votes closing on Tuesday 29th April at 5pm ahead of the full list of 2014 APRA Music Awards nominees being unveiled on Thursday 29th May.
The full list of winners, including the Song of the Year, will be announced at the awards ceremony, set for Monday 23rd June. The event will take place at Brisbane’s City Hall, a first for the APRA Awards in its 32 years.
APRA Song of the Year 2014 Contenders
‘A Moat You Can Stand In’ – The Drones
Written by Fiona Kitchin/Gareth Liddiard/Dan Luscombe/Mike Noga/Stephen Hesketh
‘Alive’ – Empire Of The Sun
Written by Jonathan Sloan/Luke Steele/Nick Littlemore/Peter Mayes/Steven Bach
‘Avenger’ – The Bamboos
Written by Lance Ferguson/Ella Thompson
‘Battleships’ – Bernard Fanning
Written by Bernard Fanning
‘Bayini’ – Gurrumul Yunupingu
Written by Corey Noll/Galarrwuy Yunupingu
‘Covered In Chrome’ – Violent Soho
Written by Michael Richards/Luke Boerdam/James Tidswell/Luke Henery
‘Drop The Game’ – Flume & Chet Faker
Written by Flume & Chet Faker
‘God Fearing’ – Sarah Blasko & The Slavery Folklore Quartet
Written by Sarah Blasko
‘Harlequin Dream’ – Boy & Bear
Written by David Hosking/Killian Gavin/Jonathon Hart/Timothy Hart
‘Is This How You Feel?’ – The Preatures
Written by Isabella Manfredi/Luke Davison/Thomas Champion/Jack Moffitt
‘Jubilee Street’ – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Written by Nick Cave/Warren Ellis
‘Lanterns’ – Birds Of Tokyo
Written by Adam Spark/Ian Kenny/Glenn Sarangapany/Ian Berney/Adam Weston
‘Only One’ – John Butler Trio
Written by John Butler
‘Resolution’ – Matt Corby
Written by Matt Corby/Dominic Salole
‘Rip Tide’ – Vance Joy
Written by Vance Joy
‘Southern Sun’ – Boy & Bear
Written by David Hosking/Killian Gavin/Jonathon Hart/Timothy Hart
‘Steal The Light’ – The Cat Empire
Written by Harry Angus/Felix Riebl
‘Under Your Skin’ – Dan Sultan
Written by Alexander Burnett/Phillip Norman/Dan Sultan
‘We Are’ – Karnivool
Written by Andrew Goddard/Mark Hosking/Ian Kenny/Stephen Judd/Jonathan Stockman
‘We No Who U R’ – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Written by Nick Cave/Warren Ellis
