Polaris Music Prize

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Better Know Your 2010 Jury #34: Amanda Farrell-Low July 15 2010

Name: Amanda Farrell-Low (Victoria)
Arts Editor, Monday Magazine
Polaris Jury Member since: 2009

Please share the Top 5 Canadian albums you put on your first ballot.

Caribou Swim
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Amelia Curran Hunter Hunter
Brasstronaut Mt. Chimaera
Young Galaxy Invisible Republic

Tell us about your top ranked choice. Why #1?

More than any of the other records in my top five (and the subsequent five or so that I wanted to put on the list), Swimwas the album I kept coming back to. I felt it really represented a step forward in Dan Snaith's sound. There's so much playfulness and interesting stuff going on on this album—and a lot of the tracks can still make me want to go bust a move on the dance floor. What more do you need?.

What record that's perhaps local or under the radar did you suggest to the jury and/or would like to plug here to the whole world?

I'm kicking myself for not suggesting Aidan Knight's Versicolour. Aidan's a super talented Victoria musician who has appeared on a number of great records that have come out of the West Coast the past couple years (the Zolas, Maurice) and his solo album is a real gem.

Describe the state of the Canadian music industry in five words or less.

Vibrant, busy, exciting!

Imagine the tables are turned and you are the nominee: What would you do with the $20,000 prize money?

Probably something boring, like pay off a student loan or put a down payment on a house (okay, maybe a small condo, given the real estate market here). Maybe I'd use some of it to go a festival like the Dawson City Music Fest (I grew up in the Yukon, but never made it there!) or Mutek.

Related Link: Monday Magazine