The 2017 WAMAwards went down last night, an evening to honour the best of the best in Western Australian music. Fremantle experimental outfit Koi Child came away as the night’s biggest winners, securing four wins from a total of five nominations.
The group, whose music combines elements of jazz, hip-hop, and psychedelic music and whose debut album was produced by Tame Impala leader Kevin Parker, picked up the wards for Most Popular Act, Best Urban Act, Most Popular Music Video, and Best Album.
Singer-songwriter Abbe May also nabbed multiple awards, picking up the gongs for Best Female Vocalist and Best Single for ‘Doomsday Clock’, as did up-and-comers POW Negro, who took out the awards for Most Popular New Act and Live Act.
The evening also belonged to manager Jacob Snell, whose bands Tired Lion and Methyl Ethel picked up the awards for Best Rock Act and Best Pop Act, respectively, whilst Snell himself was presented with the Management Award and the Golden WAMi.
Check below for the full list of winners.
2016 WAMAWARDS WINNERS
BEST ALBUM Koi Child – Koi Child
BEST EP Verge Collection – Open Plan Living
BEST SINGLE Abbe May – ‘Doomsday Clock’
BEST POP ACT Methyl Ethel
BEST ROCK ACT Tired Lion
BEST URBAN ACT Koi Child and Mathas (tie)
BEST FOLK ACT Lucy Peach
PUNK/HARDCORE ACT Scalphunter
METAL/HEAVY ACT Voyager
BLUES/ROOTS ACT Old Blood
COUNTRY ACT Ruby Boots
ELECTRONIC ACT (LIVE) Slumberjack
EXPERIMENTAL ACT Eduardo Cossio
INDIGENOUS ACT Gina Williams
WORLD MUSIC ACT Grace Barbe
JAZZ ARTIST Daniel Susnjar Afro-Peruvian Jazz Group
BEST RECORD LABEL Pilerats
MANAGEMENT AWARD Jacob Snell
MEDIA AWARD Caitlin Nienaber (RTRFM)
GOLDEN WAMi Jacob Snell
MOST POPULAR ACT Koi Child
MOST POPULAR NEW ACT POW Negro
MOST POPULAR LIVE ACT POW Negro
MOST POPULAR MUSIC VIDEO Koi Child: 1-5-9
MOST POPULAR VENUE Mojos Bar
MOST POPULAR MUSIC EVENT Camp Doogs
BEST SOUND ENGINEER (LIVE) James Newhouse
BEST SOUND ENGINEER (STUDIO) Dave Parkin (Blackbird Sound Studio)
BEST RECORD PRODUCER Joel Quartermain
BEST ELECTRONIC PRODUCER Regan Matthews (Ta-ku)
BEST FEMALE VOCALIST Abbe May
BEST MALE VOCALIST Jacob Diamond
BEST GUITARIST Benjamin Witt
BEST BASSIST Vanessa Thornton (Jebediah/the Tommyhawks)
BEST DRUMMER/PERCUSSIONIST Daniel Susnjar
BEST KEYS/SYNTH ARTIST Timothy Nelson