28 September 2020 - 0 Comments

For the fifth year running, Recorded Music NZ and Massey University will celebrate the unsung heroes of Aotearoa’s music industry at the AMA Artisan Awards this November.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding a live audience event, the 2020 Artisan Awards will be pre-recorded at Massey University’s School of Music and Creative Media Production in Wellington and other key locations around nga motu, where finalists across five categories will be recognised and celebrated for their contributions to the Kiwi music scene. The show will then be broadcast on Three on Friday 13th November.

The five awards presented are:

– Te Kaiwhakaputa Toa | Massey University Best Producer

– Te Kaipukaha Toa | Best Engineer

– Te Puoro Ataata Toa | NZ On Air Best Music Video

– Te Toi Ataata Pukaemi Toa | Best Album Artwork

– Kaiwhakahaere Puoro o te Tau | Recorded Music NZ Manager of the Year

Recorded Music New Zealand CEO Damian Vaughan says it’s been a challenging year for the creative industries, with COVID-19 impacting all aspects of Aotearoa’s hapori puoro.

“Safe to say, 2020 has been one of the most difficult years in recent history, but that hasn’t stopped the creation of remarkable Kiwi music. It’s important to take the time to recognise and celebrate the incredible art coming out of our musicians and the ones who make it all possible in the background,” says Vaughan.

The Massey University Best Producer finalists for 2020 are Brad Kora for his work with L.A.B on their third album L.A.B III, Josh Fountain for his work with artists BENEE, MAALA and Paige, and CHAII & Frank Keys for their collaboration on CHAII’s EP Lightswitch.

Taking the stage twice for Best Engineer, Lee Prebble is up for his work on Ria Hall’s Manawa Wera, as well as alongside Ara Adams-Tamateafor engineering L.A.B’s third album. Simon Gooding is also nominated for Best Engineer for his work on Reb Fountain’s self-titled album.

The nominees for the NZ On Air Best Music Video are Anahera Parata for SWIDT’s moving music video Bunga, Connor Pritchard for Troy Kingi’s single All Your Ships Have Sailed and Callum Devlin & Annabel Kean for I’m Not Getting Excited by Auckland indie pop band The Beths.

As a visual compliment to a musician’s work, album art is an important part of any music release. The finalists for Best Album Artwork for 2020 are Karin Canzek for Reb Fountain’s self-titled album, Lily Paris West for Mermaiden’s Look Me In The Eye and Mike Braid for The Brightest Flame by Jeremy Redmore.

Alongside the four Tui awarded on the night, the Music Managers Forum (MMF) NZ will be presenting the Recorded Music NZ Manager of the Year. This year’s finalists are Dan Woolston, for his work with Montell2099, Melodownz, SACHI, SmokeyGotBeatz & Trey Bond; Nicole Thomas & Paula Yeoman for their work with Theia, Chores, Paige, Abby Wolfe & Neko; and Paul McKessar for his work with BENEE.

MMF chair Teresa Patterson says: “We’re extremely excited to be presenting this year’s Music Manager of the Year award with the Artisan Awards again.

“While 2020 has been difficult from a live performance perspective, music managers are a crucial part of our musician’s support networks. It’s important to take the time and opportunity to recognise their wider contribution to the Kiwi music industry.”

Andre Ktori, Head of School, School of Music and Creative Media Production at Massey University says: “We are pleased to support the Aotearoa Music Awards and showcasing the phenomenal mahi of the unsung heroes, the Artisans.

“This opportunity allows us to fuse the abundant skills and talents of the music and media sector together with our staff, students and grads to produce an exciting TV show and a great fit for our college and school.”

The 2020 Artisan Awards are being pre-recorded at Massey University’s flagship recording studios in Wellington and will be broadcast on Three at 11pm on Friday 13th November. The show will also sit for one year on the ThreeNow platform.

2020 Artisan Award Finalists

Te Kaiwhakaputa Toa | Massey University Best Producer

- Brad Kora – L.A.B III (L.A.B)

- CHAII & Frank Keys – Lightswitch (CHAII)

- Josh Fountain

Te Kaipukaha Toa | Best Engineer

- Lee Prebble – Manawa Wera (Ria Hall)

- Lee Prebble & Ara Adams-Tamatea – L.A.B III (L.A.B)

- Simon Gooding – Reb Fountain (Reb Fountain)

Te Puoro Ataata Toa | NZ On Air Best Music Video

- AnaheraParata – Bunga (SWIDT)

- Callum Devlin & Annabel Kean – I'm Not Getting Excited (The Beths)

- Connor Pritchard – All Your Ships Have Sailed (Troy Kingi)

Te Toi Ataata Pukaemi Toa | Best Album Artwork

- Karin Canzek - Reb Fountain (Reb Fountain)

- Lily Paris West – Look Me In The Eye (Mermaidens)

- Mike Braid - The Brightest Flame (Jeremy Redmore)

Kaiwhakahaere Puoro o te Tau | Recorded Music NZ Manager of the Year

- Dan Woolston (Richmond Music)

Montell2099, MELODOWNZ, SACHI, SmokeyGotBeatz, Trey Bond

- Nicole Thomas & Paula Yeoman (NicNak Media Ltd)

Theia, Chores, Paige, Abby Wolfe, & Neko

- Paul McKessar (CRS Management)

BENEE

Comments

Return to News Archive