Issue 53 / March 2015

18
Bido Lito! March 2015
GIT
Award
2015
Now in to its fourth year, the GIT AWARD is set
bidolito.co.uk
to once again applaud the cream of Liverpool’s
latest musical exports, while also shining a light
on some of the city’s lesser-known gems. Behold,
on the page opposite, the twelve nominees who’ve
been shortlisted for the 2015 Award. Ahead of the
ceremony – set to be held at The Kazimier on 4th
April – we catch up with a few of the accolade’s
national judging panel, to find out how the
city’s current musical crop are perceived outside
Merseyside.
By way of celebrating what has been another fine
year of musical creativity on Merseyside, the 2015
edition of the GIT Award has left no stone unturned
in compiling its final shortlist. These twelve nominees
represent a fine cross-section of where they city is
at right now, and the list boasts some pretty major
players. And it took a crack team of judges, with both
local knowhow and national expertise, to finally decide
on who would be in the GIT Award 2015’s dirty dozen.
As a member of the sixteen-strong judging panel this
year, let me assure you that it was far from an easy task.
When I joined the panel – as a local judge alongside
head judge and Award chief Peter Guy, Mike Deane
(Liverpool Music Week director), Victoria Smith (Arts
Club manager), Yaw Owusu (LIMF creative director) and
Words: Christopher Torpey / @CATorp
Steve Miller (EVOL and Sound City booker) – I thought I
had a pretty good idea of what was going on and who
I’d likely be voting for. But even I was surprised at the
strength and breadth of the two hundred-plus long
list that was circulated around the judging panel as a
starting point for our deliberations. And I wasn’t the
only one pleasantly surprised.
“The sheer diversity on display in Liverpool is
incredible,” says Clash Magazine’s Deputy Online Editor
Robin Murray, one of the Award’s national judges. “Truly,
there's little I can say to do it justice. The breadth and
depth of talent is intimidating and I just hope that we
– as the judging panel – can give the wider world a
flavour of what's going on in the city.” Award-winning
music journalist Simon Price was also impressed by
the variety of music presented to him on the long list
this time round. “I didn't realise there was such a strong
scene [on Merseyside] for hip hop/R&B/grime until
I got involved with this process. A lot of my favourite
nominees came from that side of things.”
Having attended the GIT Award Final for the last
couple of years and been “passionate about its ethos”,
journalist, blogger and Amazing Radio show host
Shell Zenner was delighted to be part of the judging
process this year, and has been heartened not just
by what she’s heard, but also by the platform the GIT
Award has become. “The process to me has solidified
the confidence that it's not where you're at, it's the
potential you have, too – whatever the genre, whatever
the type of music or artist you are,” Shell tells me,
evidently brimming with enthusiasm. “You will be heard
and considered. This year we've pitched commercially
viable artists against leftfield heroes, and even those
taking their tentative first steps into the industry. It's
seriously heart-warming and exciting to see what will
happen in the future.”
Music journalism has come a long way in the past
decade, and regional stereotypes – in terms of sound
at least – are gradually becoming a thing of the past.
The erosion of the idea that certain regions only
produce certain types of musicians is a welcome one,
with Merseyside a prime example. “I don't think there's
any one dominating flavour in Liverpool's music scene,
which is partly why it's so creative,” agrees Robin
Murray. “It feels like right now the city is a great place to
make music, with musicians supporting one another in
whatever bizarre concoctions they dream up. Sure, The
La's and The Coral were great bands, but there's more
to Liverpool than that.” Shell Zenner agrees, and is
proud of the final shortlist that the judging panel have
settled on. “To say all the artists from the area sound
like [The La’s and The Coral] is completely incorrect:
Circa Waves are a stadium indie band in the making;
Låpsley is an electronic genius who’s carrying the
electronic torch forward from last year’s winner Forest
Swords; Esa Shields is completely far-out and it fills me
with excitement to see his live show; and then you've
got the stunning sound of the incredible Jane Weaver,
whose latest album topped the Piccadilly Records
album of the year list in 2014. Liverpool and its music
are not to be pigeonholed!”
Dot Levine – Head of Campaigns and Communications
at UK Music, which represents the collective interests of
the UK’s commercial music industry – has got to know
Liverpool pretty well over recent months, thanks to her
dad (record producer Steve) setting up his new home
in the city. Her experiences judging this year’s process
have instilled in her a renewed vigour for a region that’s
always been proud of its musical chops. “Liverpool is
a city full of music lovers and music makers – people
who are always trying to listen for something new and
exciting, and music makers creating something new
and exciting. Liverpool’s scene breathes life into the
industry – it’s full of people who are the lifeblood of
our vibrant and diverse UK music industry,” she reveals.
From my own point of view, selecting the final
twelve artists to be shortlisted has been a satisfying
experience. I’m as convinced as anyone else that this
city is as good as any other at creating and nurturing
musical talent; what the GIT Award nominees for 2015
show is that we have deep reserves of high-class skill
in our midst, and we’re right to praise it. Now we’ve just
got to pick a winner. Any ideas?
The GIT Award final ceremony takes place at The
Kazimier on 4th April.