Musicians shortlisted for Mercury award

This year’s Nationwide Mercury Prize winner will be announced in the UK today, with albums by Radiohead, Estelle, Last Shadow Puppets and Adele vying for the accolade.

Also up for the gong are Elbow, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and Neon Neon, the alter ego of Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys.

The Last Shadow Puppets’ debut album, 'The Age Of the Understatement', is a collaboration between Arctic Monkey Alex Turner and Miles Kane, frontman of Wirral-based The Rascals.

Radiohead’s much-acclaimed 'In Rainbows' was first released last year as a download, for which fans could select their own price.

Adele’s debut album '19', which features her powerful voice, has also been put forward.

She said on her official website: “The whole album is about being between 18 and 19; about love.”

The Nationwide Mercury Prize, which is open to all genres of music, has generated more entries than ever before in 2008.

Chairman of judges Simon Frith said previously: “It’s been a strong year for UK music and we again saw a rise in the number of albums entered for the prize.

“One of the intriguing developments is the increasing blurring of different genres, with musicians clearly absorbing influences from a growing array of divergent sources – resulting in some great albums.”

Frith said that about 240 albums had been put forward, which surprised him as he kept reading in the media that people do not make albums any more.

He said there was a perception that the record industry was in trouble “but this process is about musicians – they’re making more albums than ever”.

The shortlist of 12 albums of the year is chosen by a panel of musicians, producers, presenters and music journalists.

The decision is based solely on the music on the albums rather than on commercial sales success, organisers said.

Albums released between July 2007 and July 2008 are eligible for this year’s prize and previous winners include Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Antony and the Johnsons, and Dizzee Rascal.

Hip-hop sensation Estelle, whose single 'American Boy' featuring Kanye West was a massive success, is up for 'Shine', her US debut album.

Elbow are also in the running with 'The Seldom Seen Kid' and British Sea Power for 'Do You Like Rock Music?'.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are up for the critically-praised Raising Sand.

Also in the mix are Burial with 'Untrue', Laura Marling for 'Alas, I Cannot Swim', jazz musicians Portico Quartet with 'Knee Deep In The North Sea' and Rachel Unthank and The Winterset for 'The Bairns'.