Drake, Feist make Polaris Prize short list

Established Canadian stars like Drake,Feist, Cadence Weapon and F--ked Up are in the running for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.

Organizers unveiled on Tuesday a short list of 10 finalists vying for the annual $30,000 music honour.

The 2012 tally is dominated by established, evolving Canadian talent like rapper Rollie Pemberton, aka Cadence Weapon, andsinger-songwriter Kathleen Edwards. Many are nominated for their third or fourth studio albums.

Former Polaris winner F--ked Up,which won in 2009 for The Chemistry of Common Life, also made the cut.

Two relative newcomers landed on the list for their debut efforts:singer Al Spx, who performs as Cold Specks, and the collective Yamantaka // Sonic Titan.

"Our jury is showing an ever-growing passion and dedication to reviewing, discussing and advocating their selections. This has resulted in a short list of records that are musically focused, intense and, in some cases, highly personal," prize founder and executive director Steve Jordan said in a statement.

"The process of selecting a winner should prove to be an invigorating challenge for our grand jury."

The 10 finalists are:

• Rapper andformer Edmonton poet laureateCadence Weapon, now based in Montreal, for his third album Hope In Dirt City.
• Powerhouse Etobicoke, Ont. singer Cold Specks for her soulful debut I Predict A Graceful Expulsion.
• Hit Toronto rapper Drake for his second studio album Take Care.
• Ottawa-born, Toronto-based Kathleen Edwards for her country-tinged fourth album Voyageur.
• Toronto-based singer-songwriter Feist for Metals, the follow-up to her blockbuster release The Reminder.
• Hardcore punk troupe F--ked Up, for David Comes To Life, the Toronto band's third studio album.
• Montreal singer Grimes (Claire Boucher), nominated for the pulsating dance-pop album Visions, her fourth release.
• Handsome Furs, Montreal's electronica duo Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, for their third full-length album Sound Kapital.
• Vancouver's garage rockers Japandroids for Celebration Rock, the band's sophomore album.
• Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, a collective out of Montreal and Toronto, for the debut album YT//ST, an ambitiouspan-Asian fusion of rock, J-pop, folk and other musical styles.

Along with awarding $30,000 to the artist deemed to have created the best Canadian album of the past year, organizers will also present $2,000 each to the nine remaining finalists.

"We live in a time where pop culture has never been so fragmented... If you look, there are a million different little scenes that are really big. Sometimes the commercial acknowledgement is not always forthcoming for all artists," F--ked Up frontman Damian Abraham told CBC News just after the announcement.

"An award like this [is] obviously not just a financial reward, but also gives an acknowledgement that commercial success isn't everything."

The winner will be announced at a Toronto gala on Sept. 24.

Established to celebrate creativity and diversity in Canadian musicwithout regard to musical genre or sales historythe Polaris Prize has previously been awarded to artists like Arcade Fire, Karkwa, Patrick Watson, Caribou and Final Fantasy.