Plan B, Maccabees, Alt-J on Mercury music shortlist

LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Rapper Plan B, indie rockers The Maccabees and soul singer Lianne La Havas were among the 12 nominees for Britain's annual Barclaycard Mercury Prize announced on Wednesday.

Alternative pop act Alt-J, soul artist Michael Kiwanuka, Londoner Jessie Ware and Sheffield's Richard Hawley were also nominated for the prize, set up 20 years ago as an alternative to the Brit Awards.

Rounding out the shortlist were Ben Howard, Django Django, Field Music, Roller Trio and Sam Lee.

"The twelve albums share a common sense of adventure, pushing music in fresh and dynamic directions," organisers said of the selection. The winner will be announced on Nov. 1.

The Mercury Prize is renowned for its esoteric choices, and the most recognisable nominee this year is Plan B, real name Ben Drew, whose 2010 album "The Defamation of Strickland Banks" topped the charts.

He is shortlisted for "Ill Manors", a No. 1 hip-hop record that was also the soundtrack to his directorial movie debut of the same name about life on the streets of an underprivileged area of London.

Mercury organisers called it "a brilliantly visceral soundtrack to an angry, troubling and harsh picture of life on the underside of London in 2012."

Eight of the 12 albums shortlisted for the Mercury Prize are debut releases, and several notable records from the previous 12 months have been overlooked including Kate Bush's "50 Words For Snow" and Coldplay's "Mylo Xyloto".

Last year's winner was PJ Harvey for "Let England Shake", making her the only artist to have won the award twice. She beat chart queen Adele ("21") and Tinie Tempah ("Disc-Overy") among others.

The full list of nominees is:

- Alt-J/An Awesome Wave

- Ben Howard/Every Kingdom

- Django Django/Django Django

- Field Music/Plumb

- Jessie Ware/Devotion

- Lianne La Havas/Is Your Love Big Enough?

- Michael Kiwanuka/Home Again

- The Maccabees/Given to the Wild

- Plan B/Ill Manors

- Richard Hawley/Standing at the Sky's Edge

- Roller Trio/Roller Trio

- Sam Lee/Ground of its Own (Reporting by Mike Collett-White; editing by Patricia Reaney)