Island Records Founder Chris Blackwell, Angélique Kidjo and Arvo Pärt on Saturday received The Polar Music Prize 2023 at a ceremony in Stockholm.
Blackwell’s efforts as a music impresario started in the 1960s and has spawned some of the biggest stars and moments in music.
He has been a key player in the development of recorded ska and reggae music. The 85 year old’s work and influence has pushed way into the present Millennium with Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers having been the No. 1 album on the Billboard Reggae Albums charts for 175 weeks. His other signed acts to Island Records were U2, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens, Millie Small, Grace Jones, Roxy Music, Nick Drake, and John Martyn. All together he has sold more than 300 million albums.
Blackwell also signed fellow Polar Prize 2023 recipient Angélique Kidjo in 1991 to Island records where she released four albums. He had congratulated her in a previous statement on Instagram ahead of the ceremony: “Angélique it is such an honor to be recognized for such a prestigious award with you. You have continued to inspire…and taken charge of your destiny through the power of your music to the world. Thank you for your kind words however it is your incredible passion that has brought you to where you are today. I am so proud that I was a part of it. I love you Angélique.”
Angélique Kidjo in her acceptance speeches reflected, “I had sent my music to every record company in Paris. No one was interested, no one cared,” via Music News.
“Then the African activist Mamadou Konté sent it to someone in Jamaica who showed true passion for my work, signed me right away and started me down the path to success. This person was Chris Blackwell. He has allowed me to build these bridges between all the beautiful music and peoples of the world, so that we can celebrate our common humanity,” she continued.
Kidjo is said to have invented the word “batonga,” in protest of authorities who didn’t allow girls to be in schools, and she ha subsequently launched the Batonga Foundation, with a primary focus on girl’s education. U2’s Bono regards her as, “the warmth of the rising sun”. Angélique speaks and sings in five languages: Fon, French, Yorùbá, Goun and English and is largely influenced by soul, jazz, reggae, afrobeat, pop, and classical.
In 2021 Kidjo was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people .
“I started my career at the age of six when my dear mother shoved me on stage in front of a live audience,” Kidjo added. “I was so scared that I could feel my whole skeleton shaking. But the audience started to laugh and clap. It made me feel good, it made me feel at home. Since that day I haven’t left the stage!”
Arvo Pärt’s son Michael Pärt accepted the Polar Music Prize on his behalf as the Estonian composer did not make the ceremony.
He is known for creating the compositional style ‘tintinnabuli,’ from the Latin word for ‘bell’, in which the music moves according to a given structure.
