Montreal's Karkwa takes the Polaris Prize... really!

In a shocking upset, Montreal altern-rockers Karkwa – affectionately known as the francophone Coldplay – beat out heavily favoured frontrunners Broken Social Scene and the Besnard Lakes to win the coveted 2010 Polaris Prize tonight for their dreamy fourth album Le Chemins De Verre (Audiogram).

The invitation-only crowd of music biz insiders and indie-rock revelers assembled at the Masonic Temple for the Polaris Gala watched in puzzled silence as the similarly gob-smacked Karkwa members slowly stepped forward to accept the giant-sized $20,000 cheque. With a bemused grin Karkwa frontman Louis-Jean Cormier shook his head in disbelief saying "That's weird. This is very strange."
The Polaris Prize is awarded annually for the best Canadian album, regardless of genre, as selected by jury based on artistic merit rather than sales.   



Karkwa perform at the 2010 Polaris Prize Gala


LINKS
Karkwa site www.karkwa.com
myspace http://www.myspace.com/karkwa