It was a busy week in Australia! From the inaugural Women in Music Awards to the ARIA Awards nomination announcement to the Age Music Victoria Awards, some of Australia’s talented emerging and established artists were recognized across various platforms.
Women in Music Awards
On October 9-10, 2018, the inaugural Women in Music Awards were held at the Brisbane Powerhouse in Australia and celebrated women who are contributing ongoing to the music community, as well as those who are actively involved in other aspects of the industry. For the first time in Australian music history, the spotlight was shifted to women focusing on their excellence and contributions.
Camp Cope via Poison City Records won Breakthrough Artist Award, sharing it with Amy Shark. Melbourne-based alternative rock trio “make music that’s hard to tune out” according to NPR Music following their Tiny Desk Concert in August. Made up of singer and guitarist Georgia Maq, Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich, and drummer Sarah Thompson, How to Socialise & Make Friends is their second album. As Pitchfork reviews “their sound is jangly but unpolished, folky but not crunchy.”
Sydney-based singer-songwriter, NGAIIRE, who specializes in an off-center hybrid of pop and R&B, won the Artist Excellence Award at the Women in Music Awards. Her most recent album Blastoma, according to PopMatters “contain visceral pleasures that lie somewhere within a range of atmospheric yet vigorous pop; heart wrenching confessional anthems with the starkness and uplift of gospel; and progressive R&B with a robust dreamworld vibe.”
The Age Music Victoria Awards
The Age Music Victoria Awards released their nomination list for the 2018 awards recognizing some of Australia’s greatest independent talent. In its 13th year, The Age Music Victoria Award winners will be officially announced on November 21 during the ceremony at the Melbourne Recital Centre. But until then, you can vote until November 9 for your favorite artist in various categories. A big congrats to Camp Cope for being nominated four times as well as lyricist and indie pop artist Didirii (via Unified Music Group) who was nominated for Best Solo Artist and Best Male Musician. Melbourne-based, Didirri writes charming melodies and thought provoking lyrics meant to soothe the heart and calm the soul.
Congrats to all the nominees — check out the list of nominations for our friends distributed through The Orchard and a full list here.
Best Victorian Album
Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends (Poison City Records)
Best Band
Camp Cope (Poison City Records)
Best Song
Camp Cope – “The Opener” (Poison City Records)
Best Solo Artist
Didirii (Unified Music Group)
Best Male Musician
Didirii (Unified Music Group)
Best Female Musician
Erica Dunn (MOD CON)
Best Victorian Breakthrough Act of 2018
MOD CON (Poison City Records)
Best Live Act
Cable Ties (Poison City Records)
Best Rock/Punk Album
Camp Cope – How to Socialise & Make Friends (Poison City Records)
Best Regional/Outer Suburban Act
High Tension (Cooking Vinyl Australia)
Best Heavy Album
High Tension – Purge (Cooking Vinyl Australia)
YLVA – Meta (Pelagic Records)
Best Hip Hop Act
Jordan Dennis (Jordan Dennis / The Operatives)
Best Global Act
Cool Out Sun (Unified Music Group)
ARIA AWARDS
The ARIA Awards, a flagship event in Australia, announced their full list of nominations! Forging the path for many artists since 1987, the awards will return to Sydney to celebrate local talent on November 28. Alongside Camp Cope (once again!), Luca Brasi’s Stay via Cooking Vinyl Australia was nominated for Best Rock Album. The Tasmanian rockers recently completed six shows to celebrate their album release and will be performing next March at the Download Festival in Australia. In Australia? Don’t forget to vote for your favorite artists and tune in to the ARIA Awards later in November to see who wins.
Best Rock Album
Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends (Poison City Records)
Luca Brasi – Stay (Cooking Vinyl Australia)
Best Hard Rock/Heavy Album
Parkway Drive – Reverence (Cooking Vinyl Australia Australia)
Polaris – The Mortal Coil (Resist Records / Cooking Vinyl Australia)
West Thebarton – Different Beings Being Different (Domestic La La / Unified Music Group)
triple j Awards
The 14th triple j Awards were presented during Ausmusic Month, which brought in more music, live events, and Australian music specials. The awards honor originality, creativity, technical excellence, and contribution to local music through four awards including Album of the Year, Double J Artist of the Year, Unearthed Artist of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. Congrats to all our triple J nominees and winners!
triple j Australian Album of the Year nominees
Camp Cope – How to Socialise & Make Friends
Ocean Alley – Chiaroscuro
Polaris – The Mortal Coil
Unearthed Artist of the Year nominees
Slowly Slowly
Australian Music Video of the Year nominees, co-presented by Rage
Golden Vessel Bigbright (Ft. Elkkle, E^st & Duckwrth) Director: Harry Deadman
Wow, what a list of impressive awards and nominations across the board. A big cheers to all our labels, partners, and friends who are making huge moves in Australia and beyond.
