The Gloaming - a folk supergroup with a modern take on Irish trad music - have won the Meteor Choice Music Prize for Best Irish Album of 2014 for their eponymous debut album.
Comprising the impressive talents of Iarla O’Lionaird, Martin Hayes, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Dennis Cahill and Thomas Bartlett, the group were not in attendance at the live awards night due to tour dates in Australie but they sent a message to say how thrilled they were to win the prize. The win was made all the sweeter when you look at the competition which included hot favourite Hozier, international stars like U2, Damien Rice and Sinead O'Connor, and many Irish bands on the crest of a wave at the moment such as The Riptide Movement and Delorentos.
The judging panel, made up of Irish music media professionals, deliberated at length tonight before choosing the winning album. Instead of using sales or airplay as criteria, the Meteor Choice Music Prize judges focus, simply and solely, on the music.
Critically acclaimed upon it's release The Gloaming shot straight to number one in the Irish charts and months later anded in the upper echelons of many 'best of year' lists at the end of December. It garners the group a prize of €10,000, a prize which has been provided by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) - as well as a specially-commissioned award.
Here they are in full flow:
The sold-out awards night, MC’d by our own Paul McLoone, was broadcast live on Today FM and featured live performances from seven of the nominated acts playing live. The winner was announced by two-time Choice Prize winner Richie Egan from Jape who described The Gloaming as a "spiritual band".
The @meteorchoice Album of the Year goes to... The Gloaming #MeteorChoice
— Today FM (@todayfmofficial) March 5, 2015
Also announced on the night was the winner of the Meteor Choice Music Prize Irish Song of the Year was awarded to The Script for their hit "Superheroes". Decided by the public via the Meteor website, there was a fantastic response as fans got behind their favourite song, with a record number of votes cast.
The 10 acts and albums shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of 2014 were (in alphabetical order):
- Aphex Twin - Syro (Warp)
- Delorentos - Night Becomes Light (Universal Ireland)
- The Gloaming - The Gloaming (Real World)
- Hozier - Hozier (Rubyworks/Universal)
- James Vincent McMorrow - Post Tropical (Faction)
- Sinead O’Connor - I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss (Nettwerk)
- Damien Rice - My Favourite Faded Fantasy (Warner Music)
- The Riptide Movement - Getting Through (Universal Ireland)
- U2 - Songs of Innocence (Island)
- We Cut Corners - Think Nothing (Delphi)
