Plan B, Alt-J and The Maccabees lead the nominees forthis year's Barclaycard Mercury Prize. Thecompetition, which names the album of the year, also includes Sheffieldtroubadour Richard Hawley, soul singer Jessie Ware and BBC Sound Of 2012 winnerMichael Kiwanuka.
Completing theshortlist are Django Django, Lianne La Havas, Roller Trio, Field Music, Sam Leeand Ben Howard.
The winner ofthe £20,000 prize will be announced on 1 November.
Last year, PJHarvey became the first act to win the Mercury Prize twice, for her album LetEngland Shake, after previously winning in 2001.
Eight of thisyear's albums are debut releases, with Richard Hawley the only artist to havebeen nominated for the prize before.
Plan B, akawriter, director and actor Ben Drew, is the most recognisable name on the list,having scored several top 10 hits from soul-tinged 2010 album The Defamation OfStrickland Banks.
Hishard-hitting hip-hop record Ill Manors accompanies his film of the same name -a tale of life on the streets of London - and he is already joint favouritewith Hawley to win the prize.
It went tonumber one in its first week of release in July and the rapper is aware suchsuccess could hinder his chances of winning the prize.
"Probably,but it's good enough to be part of this," said Drew after the nominationswere revealed. "My name's on this list, this album and what this albumrepresents. UK hip-hop is on this list."
Only two womenmade the cut in Lianne La Havas and Jessie Ware, who performed at Wednesdaynight's nominations launch in London.
"I justwanted to make something that I would love in 10 years and still be proud ofwhen maybe there isn't a music career," she said of her R&B influenceddebut Devotion.
Fellow nomineesThe Maccabees have tipped Ware to win, not least because they are old friends.
Guitarist FelixWhite said: "It's kind of bizarre. I'm just so happy that the girl I knewwhen I was 12, who said she wanted to be a singer, is here now. It's just areally beautiful thing."
The Maccabeesare nominated for their third album, Given to the Wild, which took a while tosink in despite the record' s critical acclaim and top five chart position.
"It wasn'tuntil we were outside and we were let in that we knew for sure. Hugo was saying'there's no way that people can take it back now!'," revealed singerOrlando Weeks.
"We've gota really early flight to Boston, we just don't want to miss that - but I thinkthis warrants a little bit of celebration."
Kiwanuka saidhe had followed the Mercury Prize as a teenager.
"I lovealbums and I worked hard to try and really make an album," he told theBBC.
"The waywe listen to music now, it's difficult sometimes to hear a piece of work as analbum and this gives people the opportunity to do that, so it's such coolnews."
Several heavilytipped records failed to make the list, including Kate Bush's 50 Words For Snowand Florence + The Machine's Ceremonials.
The shortlist'smore esoteric choices include Roller Trio, dubbed "the new sound ofBritish jazz" and folk artist Sam Lee, who sourced a lot of his music fromthe gypsy traveller community.
"I thinkI'm privileged that I'm not in competition with anybody," said Lee."If I win, I win on account of being different. If I just stay as one ofthe nominees then I'm there as a justified member of a group of would-bes."
Along withDjango Django, who said it was "amazing" to feature on such a"brilliant list", Alt-J's experimental art-rock has also been heavilytipped to take the prize.
In a statementsent from New York, drummer Thom Green said it felt "very surreal": "Iwant people to know if there's anything you want to do just go out and do it.That's basically what I did, do what you want and do what you love," hesaid.
Chairman of thejudging panel Simon Frith said the shortlist "showcases a wonderfulvariety of musical voices, emotions and ambitions".
This year,Channel 4 takes over coverage of the event from the BBC and will broadcast theceremony, featuring live performances from each of the nominees, from its newhome at Camden's Roundhouse.
The four-yearagreement also includes a series of intimate Album of the Year Live gigs aroundLondon from the 12 shortlisted acts.
Source:BBC
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