The Metaphorical Boat: Chordblossom

Monday, 15 October 2018

The Metaphorical Boat Podcast Episode 08 - The Northern Ireland Music Prize 2018

The nominations have been announced for the 6^th annual Northern Ireland Music Prize, the annual award given for the best album from Northern Ireland over the past 12 months. This year’s ceremony, on November 15^th, promises to be the biggest to date. It will be held in the Ulster Hall for the first time, and in addition to the best album category, it will also feature new awards for Best Single (which will be decided by a public vote), Best Live Act, and the Oh Yeah Contender award for the best up and coming act. And for the first time, there will be a cash prize for all the winners on the night.

The nominees in each of the categories are:

Best Album

And So I Watch You From Afar - The Endless Shimmering
Ash - Islands
Bicep - Bicep
Brand New Friend - Seatbelts For Aeroplanes
Ciaran Lavery - Sweet Decay
Girls Names - Stains on Silence
Hannah Peel - Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia
Malojian - Let Your Weirdness Carry You Home
Robocobra Quartet - Plays Hard To Get
Ryan Vail - Distorted Shadows
Snow Patrol - Wildness
The Wood Burning Savages - Stability

Best Single

Arvo Party - Liberté
Ash - Buzzkill
Brand New Friend - Girl
Cherym - Take It Back
Hot Cops - Decay
Joshua Burnside - A Man of High Renown
Kitt Philippa - Human
Robocobra Quartet - You’ll Wade
ROE - Hey Thomas
Rosborough - Burn Blue
Snow Patrol - Life on Earth
The Wood Burning Savages - I Don’t Know Why I Do It To Myself

Oh Yeah Contender Award

Cherym
Hand Models
Hunkpapa
Rebekah Fitch
Roe

Best Live Act

And So I Watch You From Afar
Brand New Friend
Robocobra Quartet
Ryan Vail
The Wood Burning Savages

To discuss the 2018 Northern Ireland Music Prize, the captain of The Metaphorical Boat, Christopher McBride, is joined on the podcast by Robert Brown, the editor of Northern Irish music website Chordblossom, to talk through all the nominees, and who we think will win each of the prizes on the night. Plus, find out what happened to the captain when he found himself sat beside the lead singer of Snow Patrol at a prior Northern Ireland Music Prize ceremony.

Listen or download now on Soundcloud, Google Podcasts or on Apple Podcasts:

Monday, 13 February 2017

Chordblossom Kickstart Competition 2017

Our good friends over at Chordblossom have launched their annual Kickstart competition, which is open to Northern Irish bands and artists, and has a great smorgasbord of prizes up for grabs for acts who are starting off on their career. If you're eligible to take part, we would encourage you to submit an application, as we have seen how beneficial it has been for those artists who have taken part.

Press release follows:

We are pleased to announce that our highly anticipated competition for local bands and musicians across Northern Ireland is returning for 2017.

As usual, we will be offering the eventual winner of the competition, the opportunity to "kickstart" their year with an impressive package of prizes including a single recording, music video and festival slot up for grabs.

For 2017, we are pleased to be partnering with Help Musicians NI to launch the competition. Help Musicians UK is the leading UK charity for professional musicians and offer support and advice to musicians at different stages of their careers. They launched themselves in Northern Ireland last year and we feel that their expertise will be of a real benefit to the musicians taking part in Kickstart.

Our winners from last year, Brand New Friend, went on to have an incredibly successful year with their music being played on Radio One and BBC 6 Music, their debut EP receiving critical acclaim and obtaining a number of significant support slots throughout the year. Other notable winners of the competition include SOAK, Lauren Bird and In An Instant.

Prizes ►

► Professional Career Advice - Courtesy of Third Bar Artist Development

► Single Recording - Courtesy of Millbank Studios

► Video for your Single - Courtesy of Dog Kennel Productions

► Festival Slot - Courtesy of Stendhal Festival of Art

► First Play of your Single - Courtesy of Electric Mainline

► CD Duplication - Courtesy of Wilson Creative

► Single Artwork - Courtesy of Studio McCooke

► Professional Photoshoot - Courtesy of Ciara McMullan Photography

► Single Launch Gig in Belfast - Courtesy of Chordblossom

► Support Slot in Portrush - Courtesy of Atlantic Live Lounge

► Support Slot in Derry/Londonderry - Courtesy of Bennigans Introducing

How To Enter ►

You must be a musician or band originally from Northern Ireland and have not released a full length album. If you meet this criteria please send an email to kickstart@chordblossom.com with the following information:

- Band/Musician Name
- Hometown
- Influences
- A Social Media Link
- An MP3 of your best track

Timeline For The Competition ►

- Monday 6th February 2017 - Competition announced and entry opens
- Sunday 26th February 2017 - Entries Close at 8PM
- Monday 6th March 2017 - Top 20 Announced
- Monday 13th March 2017 - 4 Finalists Announced
- End of March (TBC) – Showcase Gig & Winner Announced