Songlines Music Awards 2010 winners announced

Posted on April 27th, 2010 in Songlines Blog by Songlines.

Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural awards, Songlines is delighted to announce this year’s winners. The Songlines Music Awards recognise outstanding talent in world music and are voted by Songlines readers and the general public.

There are four categories: Best Artist, Best Group, Cross-Cultural Collaboration

and Newcomer – the results from the public vote generate the final nominees, the top four in each category.

The winners, selected by the Songlines editorial team, listed below, will be published in the June issue of Songlines, (#68) on sale from April 30 2010. The winners will also be announced on BBC Radio 3’s ‘World on 3’ programme, on April 30, by last year’s Best Artist winner, Rokia Traoré.

A 16-track compilation album (SPLCD003) featuring the four winners and 12 final nominees is out now on CD and download. A Songlines Music Awards 2010 app, for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, featuring excerpts and profiles on the winners and nominees, is also available to download for free from the iTunes App store.

“The audience for world music is greater now than it’s ever been,” says Simon Broughton, editor-in-chief of Songlines, “and it’s reaching out in ever more diverse directions. It’s still essential to have awards in which the leading names can be celebrated and the new and innovative names highlighted.”

And the winners are…

Best Artist

Goran Bregović

(for the album Alkohol on Wrasse Records)

Goran Bregović will be presented with his Songlines Music Award by Simon Broughton after his performance at the Festival de Jazz de Nice on July 18

Best Group

Staff Benda Bilili

(for the album Très Très Fort on Crammed Discs)

Staff Benda Bilili will be presented with their Songlines Music Award after their performance at WOMAD Charlton Park on July 23

Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara

(for the album Tell No Lies on Real World)