The Jezabels have just won this year’s Australian Music Prize (AMP) for their debut album Prisoner. The band were honoured at an event at the Sydney Opera House earlier today and walked away with $30,000 courtesy of PPCA as well as the waning kudos of winning the AMP award, beating out the likes of Abbe May, Adalita, Boy & Bear, Gotye, Gurrumul, Jack Ladder, Kimbra and The Middle East.
The band, currently overseas, provided the following statement:
“To all involved in the process of awarding the Australian Music Prize, The Jezabels would like to recognise the difficulty with which you have come to your decisions this year, both in the nominations and the final judging process. What is clear through out all the difference of opinion, regarding both the politics of the prize and musical tastes, is that The Amp is made up of people who care a great deal about Australian music and the importance of maintaining the ideals that the prize has come to represent, the encouragement of excellence and quality in Australian albums, regardless of their popularity or success, but to also recognise that those things are not mutually exclusive.
We are also aware that it an incredibly strong year for Australian albums, and the sound of those albums has resonated beyond this nation’s borders. It is with these things in mind that we realise the full extent of the privilege of being nominated for The Amp, let alone winning. This band knows as well as anyone the challenge of choosing to make your dream your career and the gambles involved. We have immense respect for any Australian artist who made an album this year, whether they made the short list or not. In holding these views we feel we hold thesame values as The Amp and we promise to fulfill the amps intentions, to use this internationally-recognised prize to further our music and to be encouraged by your faith in us in our future musical endeavours. So from the bottom of our hearts, we thank the Australian music industry, the Australian public, but of course The Australian Music Prize for this incredible honour.”
