The LP Our Love by Canadian artist Caribou haswon IMPALA‘s annual European Independent Album Award – dubbed a ‘European Mercury-style prize showcasing the musical talent and diversity of releases by European independent labels’.
Our Love is the sixth studio album from Caribou, otherwise known as Daniel Victor Snaith. It was released in June 2014 by City Slang in Europe and by Merge Records in North America.
It was shortlisted together with 22 other artists whose albums were released in 2014 by European independent record labels. The shortlist included The Dø, Young Fathers, Tremenda Trementina, Fai Baba, Batida, Broken Twin, Sleaford Mods and Aphex Twin among others, as well as previous IMPALA Album of the Year award nominees Alt-J and IceAge.
Caribou succeeds last year’s winner Guadalupe Plata (Everlasting Records).
With the artist currently touring Australia, City Slang founder Christof Ellinghaus commented: “Wow, this is a huge honor for the artist and my label! Thanks. Caribou deserve this award for his outstanding talent and hard work. We´re happy to support Caribou´s career.”
Jörg Heidemann, Secretary General of VUT, the German association of independent record labels, added: “We are thrilled that Caribou is this year´s winner of the IMPALA Album of the Year Award, and also very proud to see this award honour a German independent label for the very first time. Caribou and City Slang are a great example of a strong and fair relationship between artists and independent labels.”
Helen Smith, Executive Chair of IMPALA also declared: “Caribou emerged a worthy winner in a vote which pitched “Our Love” against Europe’s very best releases of 2014. This year’s award winner also underlines the work by European independent labels, not only with European artists but with acts from all over the world.”
City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. Founded by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus exclusively to put out the Flaming Lips’ 1990 album In A Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine Stares), it quickly became a home for U.S. bands such as The Lemonheads, Das Damen and Yo La Tengo looking to bring their music to Europe.
More than 20 years later, City Slang’s catalogue has grown to encompass a broad and colourful spectrum of artists, with a roster including Lambchop, Nada Surf, Arcade Fire, and many more.
The full list of nominees for this year’s IMPALA’s Independent Album of the Year Award:
- ALT-J – This Is All Yours (Infectious Music)
- APHEX TWIN – Syro (Warp)
- BATIDA – Dois (Soundway Records)
- BROKEN TWIN – May (ANTI/Epitaph)
- CARIBOU – Our Love (City Slang)
- DANS DANS – 3 (Unday Records)
- THE DØ – Shake Shook Shaken (Wagram Music)
- EMIS KILLA – Mercurio (Carosello Records)
- FAI BABA – Savage Dreamer (A Tree In A Field Records/Irascible)
- FKA TWIGS – LP1 (Young Turks)
- FRANKIE CHAVEZ – Heart And Spine (Search Records)
- HIGHASAKITE – Silent Treatment (Propeller Recordings)
- ICEAGE – Plowing Into The Field of Love (Escho)
- JENNIE ABRAHAMSON – Gemini Gemini (How Sweet The Sound)
- NINA ROMIC – Stablo (Aquarius Records)
- THE NOTWIST – Close To The Glass (City Slang)
- OCHO MACHO – De Puta Madre (CLS)
- PEPE WILLBERG – Pepe & Saimaa (KHY Suomen Musiikki)
- SLEAFORD MODS – Divide And Exit (Harbinger Sound)
- TREMENDA TREMENTINA – Sangre Pop (Everlasting Records)
- TWIN ATLANTIC – Great Divide (Red Bull Records)
- WITHIN TEMPTATION – Hydra (BMG)
- YOUNG FATHERS – Dead (Big Dada/Anticon)
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