Skinny Puppy and Maestro Fresh Wes win 2023 Polaris Heritage Prizes
The albums beat out works from k.d. lang, Robbie Robertson, the Guess Who and others
Rapper Maestro Fresh Wes' 1989 album Symphony in Effect and industrial rock band Skinny Puppy's 1985 record Bites are this year's winners of the 2023 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize.
The prize was created to honour classic Canadian albums released before the Polaris Music Prize began in 2006, regardless of album sales and affiliations. Every year, one album is selected by an 11-member Polaris Heritage Prize jury, and the other by a public vote.
Bites, an album considered to be "a foundational work in the industrial-electronic genre," according to a press release was the publicly voted winner, while Symphony in Effect, "a groundbreaker for hip-hop music in Canada" was voted on by the jury.
"I am thrilled to receive this prize," said Maestro Fresh Wes, in a statement thanking his producers and music industry colleagues.
"Symphony In Effect is the backbone, not only for Canadian hip-hop, but for Black music in Canada. It is the first album from a Black Canadian artist to reach gold and platinum status in this country, so it's a must that I thank all my fans and DJs who supported me. The album is a major part of our legacy here and it's an absolute honour to be acknowledged. Thanks again. Greatly appreciated."
"Thank you for noting Skinny Puppy and our album Bites with Polaris's Heritage Prize," said Skinny Puppy's cEvin Key, in a statement, adding that the album was made "without considering commercial acceptability."
"It's also not common for Skinny Puppy to be noted within the industry through history, except through the support of our devoted fanbase," he said. "Thank you for the 40 years to our fans and for your Polaris Heritage Prize."
The two winning albums triumphed over records from the Guess Who, Robbie Robertson and k.d. lang. The full list of this year's heritage prize nominees is below:
- Beau Dommage, Beau Dommage
- American Woman, the Guess Who
- Exit, k-os
- Absolute Torch and Twang, k.d. lang
- Le dôme, Jean Leloup
- Symphony In Effect, Maestro Fresh Wes
- Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Sarah McLachlan
- Consumed, Plastikman
- Rap Essentials Volume One
- Robbie Robertson, Robbie Robertson
- Bites, Skinny Puppy
- Arias & Symphonies, Spoons