THE SCOTTISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR AWARD REVEAL HANDCRAFTED PRIZE WITH JUST ONE WEEK TO CEREMONY |

With just one week to go until The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award announces 2025’s winner, Scotland’s national music prize has revealed a first look at this year’s prizes – handcrafted by local Dundee makers No Comply, and made completely from discarded skateboard decks and reclaimed hardwood. As the UK’s first and only UNESCO City of Design, the art prizes are intended to reflect the city’s dynamic design philosophy.

Next week, The SAY Award Ceremony will take place outside the Central Belt for the first time as it welcomes Scotland’s music industry to Dundee’s Caird Hall on Thursday 6th November. As well as crowning this year’s winner of the £20,000 prize, the ceremony will celebrate the 10 albums on the Shortlist and honour KT Tunstall as 2025’s Modern Scottish Classic Award winner with a special live set. Plus, the next generation of music talent will be recognised with the winner of 2025’s Sound of Young Scotland Award also announced live on the night.

Final tickets for The SAY Award Ceremony available from www.sayaward.com

KT TUNSTALL CELEBRATES DEBUT ALBUM WITH SPECIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE AS MODERN SCOTTISH CLASSIC WINNER

This year’s Ceremony will recognise KT Tunstall’s debut album ‘Eye to the Telescope’ as 2025’s Modern Scottish Classic winner, presented by the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA), and chosen by this year’s SAY Award Longlist as an iconic album from Scotland’s past that still inspires today. Growing up in St Andrews and attending school in Dundee, KT Tunstall’s live set on the night will be a homecoming gig of sorts as the iconic singer-songwriter marks 20 years of her debut album.

KT Tunstall’s ‘Eye to the Telescope’ joins a list of outstanding Scottish albums to be honoured with the award including: Martyn Bennett’s ‘Grit’ (2024), Paolo Nutini’s ‘These Streets’ (2023), Cocteau Twins’ ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ (2022) and Frightened Rabbit’s ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ (2021). ‘Eye to the Telescope’ catapulted KT Tunstall into the global spotlight and kickstarted a career spanning over 20 years, seeing the singer release eight critically acclaimed albums, sell out world tours and receive an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection.

KT Tunstall said, “I am so grateful these deeply personal songs that I recorded and shaped with Steve Osborne in such a stripped back, blues-inspired way still resonate with people 20 years later. Scotland’s incredible musical output continues to inspire me, and I am very proud to see my debut album join the phenomenal lineage of Scottish music recognised by the Modern Scottish Classic Award and the Scottish Music Industry Association.”

LOCAL DUNDEE MAKERS TURN WASTE INTO BESPOKE ART PRIZES FOR WINNERS

Each year, The SAY Award Design Commission funds local makers to create bespoke prizes for the musicians recognised at the Ceremony, including all Shortlisted artists and The SAY Award winner, plus the Modern Scottish Classic and Sound of Young Scotland winners.

This year, local Dundee artists No Comply were appointed and have used donated skateboards and reclaimed hardwood to handcraft distinctive, sustainable designs celebrating Dundee’s thriving live music scene and its skate culture.

Cat Loots and Andy Donaldson, of No Comply, transformed 45 donated skateboards and used walnut, locally sourced from a 300-year-old Dundee tree felled for safety reasons, to create 12 stunning prizes. 90 noses and tails of skateboards were sanded and pressed into solid blocks, before being cut down to reveal colourful layers that carry traces of their past life. With sustainability at its core, the Design Commission encourages awards inspired by the local area – and this year, No Comply’s design traces the coastline of Dundee with each piece unique and hand-finished with natural oils.

Cat Loots and Andy Donaldson of No Comply said, “Designing this year’s SAY Award prizes has been a great experience. Each piece combines responsibly sourced local walnut from a 300-year-old tree with layers of broken skateboards, donated by skaters across the country. Our design traces the coastline of Dundee, celebrating its people, community, and landscape. We’re drawn to materials with history; objects that have already lived full lives and now carry their stories forward in a whole new form.”

Anna Day, Head of Library and Cultural Services at Leisure & Culture Dundee said, “There’s just one week to go until The SAY Award arrives in Dundee and we couldn’t be more excited to host the best night out of the year. Dundee has quickly evolved into one of Scotland’s most exciting cultural destinations. It’s a city full of character, design and creativity that pairs perfectly with Scotland’s vibrant music scene. With the Caird Hall as our stage, we’re ready to celebrate in style and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to this iconic venue.”

Copyright – Grant Anderson / www.grantanderson.me / @grantandersondotme

WINNER OF SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL MUSIC PRIZE UNVEILED ON THE NIGHT

Dundee’s Caird Hall will welcome musicians, industry and fans alike on 6th November to celebrate Scottish music past, present and future, before announcing 2025’s Scottish Album of the Year live onstage. Presented by Nicola Meighan and Vic Galloway, the Ceremony will feature live performances from 2024 winners redolent, corto.alto, Brooke Combe and 2024’s Sound of Young Scotland winner Dillon Barrie.

Nine Shortlisted artists will receive £1,000 and their bespoke award, whilst the ultimate SAY Award winner takes home a uniquely crafted prize, the coveted title of Scottish album of the year, and the £20,000 first prize; one of UK music’s biggest prize funds.

The SAY Award 2025 Shortlist, in alphabetical order, is:

Brooke Combe Dancing At The Edge Of The World

Cloth Pink Silence

Hamish Hawk A Firmer Hand

Jacob Alon In Limerence

Kai Reesu KOMPROMAT vol. I

Kathryn Joseph WE WERE MADE PREY.

Matt Carmichael Dancing with Embers

TAAHLIAH Gramarye

The Joy Hotel Ceremony

Zoe Graham TENT

The SAY Award is a Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) production. The SAY Award 2025 is delivered in partnership with Creative Scotland, Leisure & Culture Dundee, V&A Dundee, Dundee City Council, UNESCO Dundee City of Design, Seabass Vinyl, PPL, HMV, FOPP, Help Musicians, the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative, Youth Music, 71 Brewing, Bon Accord, Apex Hotels, Malmaison and Music Declares Emergency. The project is part-funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.