For the fifth year running, Aotearoa’s behind-the-scenes musical talent will be celebrated with the AMA Artisan Awards this November. RNZ Music’s Charlotte Ryan announced the finalists on Music 101 today.
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
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.
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, alongside Ara Adams-Tamatea for 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.
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 be available (for one year) on the THREENow platform.
