Franz Ferdinand, KSI, The Mysterines, Sam Ryder and The Staves have been announced as artist ambassadors for this year’s National Album Day.
Presented in association with official audio partner Bowers & Wilkins and official broadcast partner BBC Sounds, the theme for National Album Day 2022 is Debut Albums. Now in its fifth year, National Album Day aims to celebrate and the work that goes into making an album. In keeping with this year’s theme, the focus of the day will be on first releases, covering multiple genres and decades.
Since its launch in 2018, National Album Day has been supported by a diverse range of artists and musicians including Kylie Minogue, Joy Crookes, Sharleen Spiteri, Ray BLK, Lewis Capaldi, Mark Ronson, La Roux, Elbow, Paloma Faith, Blossoms, Alice Cooper, Novelist, Tom Odell, Mahalia, Toyah Willcox and Jazzie B among others. It is jointly organised by National Album Day is organised jointly by the BPI and ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association. Highlights from the day’s events are available to listen to on BBC Sounds, with support also coming from OfficialCharts.com, AIM (Association of Independent Music), PPL and other trade associations, retailers and streaming services.
Artist ambassador for 2022 and frontman of Franz Ferdinand Alex Kapranos says ‘What a glorious medium the album is. On the most basic level it's a bunch of songs that sound good together, but what I love is that it is a moment in time for the artist and the listener, a way to define a period of a lifetime. It's the long form: a novel rather than a short story, a film rather than a trailer. Sure, you can get a panel of writers to construct a song to meet the criteria of the algorithm, and that's a distinct skill, but it will never have the complexity or richness and deep reward of a good album.’
Chart-topping musician KSI, another of this year’s ambassadors, says, ‘With an album, it's essentially you living in the mind of an artist. What they're thinking, what they're feeling and how it makes me feel listening to it. Do I relate? Do I agree or disagree, what emotions do I feel? Even the instrumental can make you feel a certain way. Albums at different stages in our lives can be so pivotal and help inspire different ways of thinking or feeling and why I feel it is so important in our lives. Listening to certain albums is like looking back at history of how I was feeling in the moment in time. And the nostalgia is truly amazing.’
