With 2013 now in its final dash, the music awards season is in full swing.
Triple J have revealed their final list of J Awards 2013 nominees, joining the likes of The Age Music Victoria Awards, the 2013 ARIA Awards, and The AMP in announcing their full list of nominations, and even Melbourne’s Cherry Bar are even getting in on the action.
AIR kicked off proceedings with their Independent Music Awards ceremony last month, the same night that WAM, Western Australia’s peak music body, handed out their Song of the Year Awards and over the weekend handed out the rest of the gongs in the annual WAM Awards.
Held in the new environs of Perth’s Astor Theatre and celebrating its 20th anniversary, the 2013 WA Music Awards ceremony, held last Friday 8th November, saw 28 awards handed out to recognise the best achievements in the state’s music scene, along with live performances from locals like San Cisco Jordi Davieson and WAM Song of the Year winner Mathas.
Just as Flume dominated the winning pool at the AIR Awards, it was Perth psych rock heroes Tame Impala that walked away with an armful of awards for the trophy cabinet at the ceremony.
The Kevin Parker-led outfit earned four wins in the major categories of Best Group, Best Album (for Lonerism), Best Single (for ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’), and Music Video Of The Year (for ‘Elephant’). The WAM wins arrive as the band continue overseas touring, playing with friends and collaborators The Flaming Lips, their first return Australian dates coming in the form of next year’s Big Day Out. There’s a good chance that those festival dates could follow a few ARIA wins at next month’s ceremony, given Tame Impala have seven nominations to their name.
Back at the WAM Awards, emerging rock dilettantes, The Love Junkies, had reason to celebrate, claiming the Rock Act Of The Year category as well as Best Breakthrough Act over the likes of Mt. Mountain, Rainy Day Women, and Dianas.
Though the prog rock heavyweights earned multiple nominations off the back of their critically acclaimed, ARIA-topping third album Asymmetry, Karnivool only walked away with one win, namely Heavy Act Of The Year. Likewise the Perth-bred rocker-turned-electro chanteuse Abbe May, taking out the Solo Act Of The Year award.
The coveted Golden WAMi was gifted to promoter/venue manager/musician/festival promoter Andrew Ryan, for his various contributions in bands (such as Long Lost Brothers and Fall Electric), as the venue manager of Mojo’s and director of Cool Perth Nights.
Other award winners included Rainy Day Women, crowned Pop Act Of The Year, Gina Williams for Indigenous Act Of The Year, Walking Horse Music handed the Record Label Of The Year win, while the Folk Act Of The Year was democratically split between Mama Kin and Timothy Nelson & The Infidels.
The public also got in on the action, voting in St Jerome’s Laneway Festival as the event of the year (above In The Pines and the troubled Soundwave 2013), and 78 Records for the inaugural Record Store Of The Year category.
WAM Awards 2013 Winners
GOLDEN WAMi
Andrew Ryan
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Tame Impala
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Tame Impala – ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’
SOLO ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Abbe May
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Tame Impala – Lonerism
RECORD STORE OF THE YEAR
78 Records
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Tame Impala – ‘Elephant’
MUSIC VENUE OF THE YEAR
The Astor Theatre
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
St Jerome’s Laneway Festival
ROCK ACT OF THE YEAR
The Love Junkies
BREAKTHROUGH ACT
The Love Junkies
INDIGENOUS ACT OF THE YEAR
Gina Williams
HEAVY ACT OF THE YEAR
Karnivool
POP ACT OF THE YEAR
Rainy Day Women
FOLK ACT OF THE YEAR
Mama Kin and Timothy Nelson & The Infidels – TIE
EXPERIMENTAL ACT OF THE YEAR
Kucka
ELECTRONIC ACT OF THE YEAR
Diger Rokwell
WORLD MUSIC ACT OF THE YEAR
Grace Barbe
PUNK ACT OF THE YEAR
Chainsaw Hookers
BLUES AND ROOTS ACT OF THE YEAR
Morgan Bain
URBAN ACT OF THE YEAR
Mathas
JAZZ ACT OF THE YEAR
Graham Wood
MUSIC WEBSITE OF THE YEAR
theMusic.com.au
MEDIA INDIVIDUAL OF THE YEAR
Adam Trainer (RTRFM)
WA BASED RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
Walking Horse Music
2013 MANAGEMENT AWARD
Luke Rinaldi
