Year: 2015

Ballymena Today favourite SOAK has picked up the Northern Ireland Music award for her album Before We Forgot How To Dream. Read out blog post about SOAK here. Stuart Bailie, chief executive of the Oh Yeah Music Centre, said: “There were many great records on the shortlist this year, but we’re delighted that Soak was the winner.”It’s a remarkable statement and a milestone for Northern Ireland music. The Sound of Belfast programme has once again shown so much amazing potential from our music makers and Soak is one of the artists that will take us into the future.” (Source) SOAK, who is from Londonderry, is going from strength to strength with a Mercury Music Prize nomination too. This Friday Lauren Laverne will announce the winner of the prize and we are all behind out Northern Ireland girl. The other acts which are up for the Mercury Music include: Aphex Twin: Syro Benjamin Clementine: At Least For Now Gaz Coombes: Matador C Duncan: Architect Eska: Eska Florence + the Machine: How Big How Blue How Beautiful Ghostpoet: Shedding Skin Jamie xx: In Colour Roisin Murphy: Hairless Toys Slaves: Are You Satisfied? Wolf Alice: My Love is Cool We love Benjamin Clementine, Ghostpoet and Wolf Alice and, as always, there are other acts which we have never heard of. To find out if SOAK wins tune into BBC 4 on Friday night...