Mogwai guitarist Stuart Braithwaite picked up the trophy and £20,000 prize at Usher Hall in Edinburgh on Saturday, October 23. He dedicated the award to the band’s long-time booking agent Mike Griffiths, who passed away earlier this month.

Braithwaite told magazine The Scotsman “I really was not expecting this. I have not thought of anything to say other than thank you and I wish I’d got steaming,” “This has been a really mental year for the band. Loads of things have happened that we didn’t think would happen and this is just another. This is nuts. I want to thank everyone who has bought the record, supported the record, played it on radio and all that stuff.”

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Other artists nominated for the SAY award this year include AiiTee, Joesef, Lizzie Reid, Rachel Newton and The Ninth Wave. The winner last year was Edinburgh-based rap star Nova, who opened last night’s ceremony. Other performances came from Hamish Hawk, Sacred Paws, Bemz and Alasdair Roberts.

Elsewhere during the night, Edinburgh singer Lvra was honoured with a new Sound of Young Scotland Award. Whilst Frightened Rabbit was crowned the inaugural winner of a new award that recognises a ‘Modern Scottish Classic’ album, with the group being recognised for their 2008 album The Midnight Organ Fight.

The honour for Mogwai comes three years after the death of frontman Scott Hutchison, who took his own life in 2018 after a battle with depression.

Scott’s brother and bandmate Grant Hutchinson said when accepting the award: “All of us can come at it from the same place that all of you can – this was and is Scott’s album. These are his words and they should be shared by all of us. It’s amazing to have an album that’s 13 years old and still inspires artists today, because it still inspires me everyday.”

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat