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Gruff Rhys has been shortlisted for the Welsh Music Prize – for the second time in just four years.

The Super Furry Animals frontman is among a dozen artists named today as contenders for the award.

Rhys – who previously bagged the prestigious accolade for his Hotel Shampoo LP – has been given the nod for his American Interior project, a musical odyssey chronicling the life of Rhys’ Snowdonian ancestor and 18th century explorer John Evans.

Manic Street Preachers have also made it onto the roll call of hopefuls for their latest critically-lauded album Futurology, their 12th and a companion-piece to last year’s intimate Rewind The Film.

Listen to songs from the Welsh Music Prize shortlist

The eclectic list also acknowledges recent efforts from the disparate likes of fellow previous winners Future Of The Left (the hard-hitting three-piece risen from the ashes of Cardiff alternative firebrands McClusky), North Wales folk revisionists 9Bach, Pembrokeshire singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon, unabashed punk-poppers Joanna Gruesome, former Gorky’s Zygoti Mynci singer Euros Childs and lilting Welsh language singer-songwriter Gareth Bonello – AKA The Gentle Good.

Also featuring in the final line-up are Samoans, Gulp (featuring SFA's Guto Pryce), Slowly Rolling Camera and The People The Poet - the Valleys rockers who enlisted the help of their fans in creating their debut LP The Narrator, many of whom submitted their own real-life tales as possible inspiration for the songs therein.

The other 11 hopefuls:

Created in 2011 by BBC Radio One DJ Huw Stephens and music promoter John Rostron, with whom he founded Cardiff’s NME award-winning Swn Festival, the Welsh Music Prize was the pair’s way of ensuring home grown talent was celebrated and the profile of those musicians spotlighted raised to a far greater level.

“We want people to discover records they might have been overlooked or never have stumbled upon before,” said Rostron before the inaugural ceremony three years ago .

“We want to provide an additional opportunity for music from Wales to be recognised internationally, as well as helping emerging bands to succeed and established acts, who might otherwise get overlooked, to receive critical praise where it’s due.”

And, with the ceremony now in its fourth year, that passion remains undimmed.

“It’s really exciting to be announcing this shortlist, and to see a few ‘known’ names up against some newcomers,” added Rostron.

“There’s so much great music released from this country and it’s a delight that the Welsh Music Prize helps highlight a dozen of those albums.

“I hope that people will go out and buy the whole bundle for their music loving friends this Christmas and discover some new favourites, as I have through the past year of listening to so many of these records”.

Indeed, since taking home the award in 2013 for her Week of Pines record, Georgia Ruth has seen her career skyrocket, the bilingual, harp-playing chanteuse from Aberystwyth going on to wow gig-goers all around the world, have her music regularly broadcast on the likes of BBC6 Music and see her track Codi Angor nominated for the best upcoming artist mantle at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in February.

And Ruth could also find herself honoured again this year – albeit by proxy – having been one of the guest vocalists to feature on the Manics' hotly-tipped Futurology platter.

Recorded in Berlin and in thrall to the Krautrock sound of of such continental synth pioneers as Kraftwerk, the album won rave notices from critics for veering daringly away from the Welsh band’s guitar-led signature sound.

Although, whether that will deem it a worthy enough winner is down to the awards’ judging panel which, once again, is made up of the usual industry experts, musicians and personalities – including Sian Rowe from renowned label XL Recordings, Ben Lovett from the chart-topping Mumford & Sons and Laura Snapes from the NME – all of whom will cast their deciding votes via a secret ballot.

A concert featuring some of the bands in the running will also take place at an as yet undisclosed venue on Thursday November 27, with the prize giving happening the following evening.

For more information about the Welsh Music Prize visit welshmusicprize.com or follow them on Twitter @welshmusicprize