Island Records Founder Chris Blackwell, Angélique Kidjo from Benin and to Arvo Pärt from Estonia are The Polar Music Prize 2023 laureates.
Blackwell’s efforts as an impresario has been a key part in the development of recorded music globally and he is credited in introducing the world to ska and reggae music. With over 60 years in the music industry, the 85 year old’s influence has pushed into the present Millennium with Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley & The Wailers having been at No. 1 album on the Billboard Reggae Albums charts for 165 weeks and his other acts U2, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens, Grace Jones, Roxy Music, Nick Drake, John Martyn together have sold more than 300 million albums.
Last November Music Business Worldwide in association with Abbey Road Studios presented Chris Blackwell with the A&R Icon award at the A&R Awards in central London.
Blackwell who signed Angélique Kidjo in 1991 to Island records where she released four albums congratulated his fellow awardee in a statement, “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 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 .
The other 2023 Laurette Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is noted by the Polar Music Prize organization for creating the compositional style ‘tintinnabuli,’ from the Latin word for ‘bell’, in which the music moves according to a given structure.
Pärt likenes his music to white light. It is in the encounter with the prism of the listener’s soul that all colors become visible. Anyone who has heard his laconic, reduced compositions will understand this perfectly.
The Polar Music Prize is one of music’s most prestigious prizes in the world, ‘crossing over musical boundaries and awarded to individuals, groups and institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements.’
Previous Laureates of the Polar Music Prize include Sting (2017), Grand Master Flash (2019), Chuck Berry (2014).
The Prize was founded in 1989 by the late pop lyricist Stig ”Stikkan” Anderson and got its name from his record label Polar Music.
