2024-09-10 03:24:40
English Teacher won the Mercury Prize for the best British or Irish album of the year on Thursday night for This Could Be Texas. She received it at a private ceremony in London’s Abbey Road studios, the BBC reported.
The four-member group was formed in 2020 at the conservatory in Leeds, where the members of English Teacher studied. They are closest to being labeled indie-rock. According to the BBC, their victory came as a surprise to some of the journalists on the ground, as well as to the musicians themselves, who at times did not know what to say.
Singer and guitarist Lily Fontaine has thanked her mother for creating their album cover. “We didn’t plan to make it this far,” she admitted. “What are we going to do now?”
Their recording This Could Be Texas was praised by a ten-member jury for originality, individuality or a fresh approach to the classic format of a band with an electric guitar, whose dreamy sound evokes, for example, Manchester’s The Smiths from the 80s of the last century. However, the record “reveals unsuspected depth with every listen”, according to the evaluators. Musicians sing about love, loss of loved ones, their identity or the mistakes of politicians and social problems such as racism.
According to the BBC, after a long time the statue has been taken away by artists from a different part of the British Isles than London. The last time in 2014, hip-hoppers Young Fathers from Scotland rejoiced.
On Thursday, singer Lily Fontaine thanked clubs in Leeds such as Hyde Park Book Club or Brudenell Social Club, where the bandmates started. “Thanks to them, musicians from Leeds have someone to lean on. They are organizers willing to give space to new faces, which is very important for the whole scene,” emphasizes the musician.
English teacher’s job. | Photo: Tatiana Pozuelo
Nevertheless, members of English Teacher also described to the Guardian newspaper this spring how difficult it is for start-up groups after the pandemic. By that time, they had already signed a contract with Island Records, appeared on Jools Holland’s famous TV show, had their songs played by the BBC, the album received five-star reviews in magazines, and their first major tour awaited them.
“But in reality, all these successes do not exclude the fact that at the same time you have to apply for benefits and live with your parents or on couches with friends,” the singer admitted. They slept on couches with guitarist Lewis Whiting during the recording of their debut album, when they had no rent.
For the first four years of the band’s existence, all members, including bassist Nicholas Eden and drummer Douglas Frost, only invested money in the band. Even though they went on tour, in the end they didn’t even cover the accommodation and travel expenses from the royalties. “We manage to make money only at festivals, which pay a little better, but the money will immediately go to other concerts anyway,” the singer admitted. Their goal was that each of the four members could pay 500 pounds per month from what they earn together for playing, i.e. about 15 thousand crowns. Even this spring, it seemed rather unrealistic, the artist estimated before their first major tour, including 16 performances in the USA and Canada. The band will end this string of concerts at the beginning of September “for health reasons” she cancelled. But in the fall, he will head to Berlin or Belgium.
Last year, the Mercury Prize went to the quintet Ezra Collective for the recording Where I’m Meant to Be. His style is characterized by a combination of different genres, such as jazz, soul, afrobeat, hip-hop and reggae.
The Mercury Prize has only one category. The winner takes home 25,000 pounds, which translates to about 740,000 crowns. In addition, his sales always increase, but his other albums also raise even higher expectations, the BBC wrote earlier.
Video: Song from the band’s first album English Teacher
The World’s Biggest Paving Slab from English Teacher’s debut album. | Video: Island Records