The list includes Adele, PJ Harvey, Elbow, Tinie Tempah and… Kenny Anderson from Crail.
The East Neuk artist, who has recorded more than 40 albums, is the surprise nominee for the UK’s most prestigious music award.
Kenny, aka King Creosote, and Jon Hopkins are among the shortlist for The Barclay’s Mercury Prize 2011.
Their album, Diamond Mine, released by Domino Records in March, has been included among the elite dozen albums of the year chosen by Mercury.
The winner of the £20,000 prize will be announced on September 6.
It’s an incredible nomination for the musician, who formerly fronted the Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra and Khartoum Heroes and is also a member of Scottish collective, The Burns Unit.
Speaking from the United States, where they are currently on tour, Kenny said he was oblivious to the good news until he turned on his phone shortly after midday US time.
He said, “I’m touring the US. I switched my phone on at about 12.30 US time, missed the whole furore. We woke up in Fremont, Indiana, to this incredible piece of news, precisely six hours after every other person on the planet knew about it.
“The Fifer in me thinks, ‘If only the US phone billing system had a Mercury discount in place, today would be perfect’. Jon’s thoroughly chuffed.”
Johnny Lynch, manager of Fence Records their own label said, “We’re incredibly chuffed with the news that Fence Records founder King Creosote and Fence Collective member Jon Hopkins, have been nominated for their collaborative album Diamond Mine.”
Theoretically it’s the second Mercury nomination for members of The Fence Collective, following KT Tunstall’s 2005 nominated Eye To The Telescope.
Katie grew up in St Andrews and played and recorded with Kenny and his brothers Eoin and Gordon, among others.
The bookies have already made record-breaking star Adele one of the clear favourites, alongside previous winner PJ Harvey, at 4-1.
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Adele is nominated for her second album 21. It is the second time she has been up for the prize, with her debut 19 missing out on the prize in 2008 to Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid.
Elbow are also nominated for their latest album, Build A Rocket Boys!
PJ Harvey was awarded the prize in 2001 for Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, on the night of 9/11. It is in the running this year for her eighth album, Let England Shake, which was inspired by recent international conflicts.
Tinie Tempah’s inclusion, for Disc-Overy, follows his best British breakthrough and best single win at the Brit Awards in February. He is among the acts shortlisted for their debut albums along with Everything Everything, Anna Calvi, Katy B, producer James Blake and rapper Ghostpoet.
Among the acts to miss out on a nomination are Radiohead, who have been up for the prize for their past three releases, but King Of Limbs fails to get a nod.
Previous winners Arctic Monkeys have also been ignored this year by judges for their fourth album, Suck It And See.
Also included in the list this year is Metronomy, nominated for The English Riviera.
Gennaro Castaldo of retail chain HMV said the effect of inclusion on the shortlist cannot be overestimated.
“Because it’s widely viewed as being such a credible award, the Mercury Prize can shine a very bright on the nominees and on new talent in particular.
“The increased exposure in record stores and in the media can have a hugely galvanising effect on demand for your music both for your CDs and downloads, which can easily more than double or treble overnight and see your chart position surge.”