Podcast: A Choice Music Prize panel discussion

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It’s Choice Music Prize week. On Thursday 11 judges will gather together virtually and crown the best Irish album of the year 2020.

In the absence of a night out for Irish music lovers, we decided to mark the occasion by gathering 5 previous judges of the prize together over Zoom to discuss each of the 10 albums on the list and ultimately, pick a winner from the 10 between us.

At the virtual round table is: Una Mullally (Irish Times / United Ireland Podcast), Eoghan O’Sullivan (The Point Of Everything / Irish Examiner), Claire Beck (Today FM) along with hosts Niall and Andrea Cleary.

We’ve all been judges before and our discussion was an interesting one that questioned the very act of crowning a piece of art above others, explored the dichotomy between transportive escapist art and muic born of lived experience and feelings.

Here’s the chat:

The 10 albums are:

Bitch Falcon – Staring at Clocks
Denise Chaila – Go Bravely
Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death
JyellowL – 2020 DIvision
Róisín Murphy – Róisín Machine
Nealo – All The Leaves Are Falling
Pillow Queens – In Waiting
Ailbhe Reddy – Personal History
Niamh Regan – Hemet
Silverbacks – Fad

In lieu of the industry shindig that normally takes place in Vicar Street, the winner will be announced on in a special broadcast on RTÉ Player and RTÉ 2FM from 12-3pm on the day.

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