Mercury Prize goes to Sampha for his debut album Process

South London artist accepted his award at the ceremony in London

Sampha has been named as the winner of this year's Mercury Prize with his debut album Process, beating competition from the likes of The xx, Stormzy and Loyle Carner.

The south London artist accepted his award at the official ceremony which took place at the Eventim Apollo in London.

"Thank you to the judges for thinking that my album was good enough for this," he said. "I'd like to dedicate this award to my parents... I'd like to thank all my brothers for always giving me encouragement."

The Independent's critic Andy Gill said in his review of the album: "The British producer/singer, already a low-key presence on albums by Solange, Kanye and Frank Ocean, not only employs a fresh palette of sounds – from the harp-like pluckings of “Plastic 100ºC” to the beguiling Celtic-flavoured organ of “Timmy’s Prayer” – but also applies them to matters beyond romance: notably here, the process of bereavement.

"A multitude of Sampha’s layered voices laments the lack of closure in “Incomplete Kisses”, while “(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano”, picked out on the family’s out-of-tune instrument, offers a more personal tribute to the singer’s domestic roots. Elsewhere, “Blood On Me” confronts his fear of being mugged by faceless hoodies (“I swear they smell the blood on me”); though Sampha’s escape, embodied in the twirling kora and scuttling beat of “Kora Sings”, will always lie in his music."

See our interviews with the shortlisted acts on the red carpet in London:

Among the other shortlised artists/albums were:

Alt-J: Relaxer

The Big Moon: Love In The 4th Dimension

Blossoms: Blossoms

Loyle Carner: Yesterday's Gone

Dinosaur: Together, As One

Glass Animals: How To Be A Human Being

J Hus: Common Sense

Ed Sheeran: ÷

Stormzy: Gang Signs & Prayer

Kate Tempest: Let Them Eat Chaos

The xx: I See You

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for the latest news, features and video