Quebec artists Alexandra Stréiliski, Philippe Brach, Thierry Larose and Bibi Club are among the 40 semi-finalists who make up the long list of 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 40 best. The members of the jury judge the offerings “solely on [leur] artistic merit and without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity”.
The people we loveby Philippe Brach, Neo-Romance by Alexandra Stréliski, The sun and the sea of Bibi Club, Sprint! by Thierry Larose or Once Upon a Time in Montreal by Murray Lightburn, appear alongside Multitudesfrom Feist, No Longer in The Surburbsby Dylan Sinclair, love hardcore of Isabella Lovestory and many others.
Albums competing for this prestigious award, which comes with a $50,000 cash prize, must be released between May 1, 2022 and May 1, 2023.
“The Canada Council for the Arts is proud to once again present the Polaris Music Prize long list to support extraordinary musical talent from diverse backgrounds from across Canada,” said Carolyn Warren, Executive Director of Arts Granting Programs at the Canada Council for the Arts.
Of the 40 semi-finalists, ten will then be selected for the final stage of the competition. They will be unveiled on July 13, after which the winning album, chosen by a select jury of 11 people, will be announced at the Polaris gala which will take place on September 19.
Previous Polaris Prize recipients include Patrick Watson in 2007, Karkwa in 2010, Arcade Fire in 2012 and Pierre Kwenders in 2022.