Zaho de Sagazan or Acid Arab are two of the ten artists in the running for the Joséphine Prize, one of the alternatives to the Victoires de la Musique, which will be awarded on September 27, the organizers announced on Monday. Who will succeed November Ultra, the first winner last year?
Zaho de Sagazan is the revelation of the year with his first album La symphonie des éclairs. The Franco-Algerian collective Acid Arab (latest album Trois) is a regular at festivals in France and around the world with its orchestrated collision between Western techno and Eastern trance. Also named are Benjamin Epps (The Great Disillusion), BlauBird (The sky is everywhere), Blick Bassy (Madiba), Eesah Yasuke (Prophecy), Flavien Berger (In a hundred years), Prince Waly (Moussa), Killing (Monarque Butterfly) and Thug (The Tiny Kingdoms).
The Joséphine Prize has the particularity of being led by a jury of artists, whose president this time is Eddy de Pretto. Among the jurors, we find in particular Arthur Teboul (singer of Fire! Chatterton) and the twins of the group Ibeyi. The Joséphine Prize takes its name from Joséphine Baker and Alain Bashung’s Osez Joséphine. This new award was born out of frustration with the Victoires de la Musique awards, which have been criticized in recent years for their lack of diversity.
Les Flammes, a new ceremony dedicated to rap and its currents, was also born on the same ground of this observation. On September 27, the finalists of the Joséphine Prize will perform live at Studio 104 of the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique in Paris. Broadcast live on Fip, the evening will culminate with the presentation of the award for the album of the year 2023.