THREE IRISH ARTISTS are among ten acts to be named on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Artist of the Year list.
The list, which is announced every November, features ten acts who have been championed by the station and have made a cultural impact over the last year.
CMAT, Fontaines DC and Kneecap all made this year’s list, which was announced on the station’s Breakfast Show by Nick Grimshaw.
The other acts named on the list are Charli XCX, English Teacher, Fat Dog, Jamie xx, Kim Gordon, Little Simz and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
CMAT’s second studio album, Crazymad, for Me, was released to universal acclaim last year and was ranked by The Guardian as the 50th best album of 2023.
It is the singer’s second studio album, following 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead. CMAT was also nominated for a BRIT Award, an Ivor Novello Award and the Mercury Prize this year.
“A 6 Music Artist of the Year? I’m CMAT and I approve this message!” the singer said, adding that having John Grant join her on stage for a duet at the 6 Music festival in Manchester this year was “one of the highlights of my life”.
Dublin band Fontaines DC released their fourth studio album, Romance, in August this year. The album reached number two in the Irish and UK album charts and was the first of the band’s albums to chart in US Billboard 200.
The post-punk band have just toured Romance across North America, with a series of UK and Ireland dates to follow later this month.
They recently won Best International Rock Video for their track Starburster at the UK Video Music Awards, and have been named as the ‘Best Band in the World’ by NME magazine.
“We’re delighted that 6 Music have picked us as one of their Artists of the Year. Thanks for all the support over the years,” the band said.
Kneecap released their second studio album Fine Art in June this year, which debuted at number two on the Irish album chart. The release came just before the band performed at Glastonbury.
The rap group gained acclaim for their blend of Irish and English rap about the realities of growing up in post-Troubles Belfast. It was first featured on Irish radio by late-Raidió na Gaeltachta broadcaster Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí.
The band’s film, a self-titled, dramatised biopic of the rap trio’s origin is currently enjoying widespread success, having surpassed €1 million at the Box Office.
“We’re buzzing to be one of the 6 Music artists of the year,” the band said.
“It’s especially important to us given our use of Irish language, and for it to be now fired out by the BBC thanks to you lot! We hope this inspires other artists using indigenous languages worldwide to be confident in their own identity.”
Meanwhile, Charli XCX released her sixth studio album Brat over the summer, which quickly became a viral sensation.
The term ‘Brat’ was named as the Collins Dictionary Word of the Year for 2024. The album saw Charli XCX nominated for a Mercury Prize in September.
Alternative indie band English Teacher won the Mercury Prize in September this year for their debut album, This Could Be Texas.
South London band Fat Dog released their debut studio album, Woof, in September to critical acclaim. The band toured the UK in April and May of this year and are playing in Dublin this month.
DJ and producer Jamie xx released his second solo album, In Waves, in September. His first in nine years, the album features songs with The xx members Romy and Oliver Sim, as well as Robyn and Erykah Badu. He is currently touring the album worldwide.
American musician Kim Gordon, formerly of the rock band Sonic Youth, released her second solo studio album, The Collective, in March and has since been touring the album worldwide.
Award winning UK rapper Little Simz released her EP Drop 7 in February. Her fourth album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, won the 2022 Mercury Prize and earned her the 2022 Brit Award for Best New Artist.
Australian alternative rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released their eighteenth studio album, Wild God, in August. The band is currently on tour and will perform in Dublin this month before.
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