The finalists for this year's NZ Music Artisan Awards have been announced and include Estère, Marlon Williams, director Shae Sterling and the engineers and producers behind Alien Weaponry's Tū.
Neil an Liam Finn, Tami Neilson, Alien Weaponry, Estere and Marlon Williams Photo: Supplied
Five Artisan Awards will be presented at a special ceremony on Monday, November 5 at Massey University in Wellington:
- The inaugural Music Teacher of the Year
- Best Producer
- Best Engineer
- NZ On Air Best Music Video
- Best Album Cover
Jon Toogood's collaborative project The Adults will perform at the ceremony with a lineup including Raiza Biza, Ben Wood (Trinity Roots) Emily C. Browning and VNZMA finalists Estère, JessB and Kings.
The Best Producer finalists for 2018 are Simon Gooding, Tom Larkin and Hammerhead for their joint efforts on Alien Weaponry's debut Tū, Estère for her work on her own double album My Design, On Others Lives, and Neil and Liam Finn for their production on Neil's Out Of Silence.
READ: Neil Finn on the creation of Out of Silence
Impressively, Simon Gooding (of Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios) has two nods for Best Engineer. He’s been recognised alongside Tom Larkin, Scott Seabright and Samuel Sproull for his work on Tū, as well as for his efforts alongside Jordan Stone on Out Of Silence. Chris Chetland is a finalist for Best Engineer for the second year in a row for his work on REI's Rangatira.
Best Music Video sees three outstanding finalists this year: Chris Graham for Louis Baker's ‘Black Crow’; Shae Sterling for The Adults' ‘Bloodlines’, which features powerful performances from Estère & JessB; and Marlon Williams for his work on ‘Vampire Again’.
Finalists for Best Album Cover are Barny Bewick for Cairo Knife Fight's Seven, Jaime Robertson and Matthias Heiderich for Sola Rosa's In Spaces EP, and Tami Neilson, Ashley Church, Xoe Hall and Jules Koblun for their group effort on Tami’s Sassafrass.
Also announced on the night will be the winner of the inaugural Music Teacher of the Year, and finalists (previously announced) are Elizabeth Sneyd, founder of Virtuoso Strings Charitable Trust in East Porirua, Jane Egan from Gisborne Girls High School, and Judith Bell who has led the development of the music program at Chisnallwood Intermediate School for the last 20 years.
The Artisan Awards specifically acknowledge those who capture, craft and enrich the artists’ musical works into final recordings, as well as the talented visual artists translating the musicians’ visions into album artworks and music videos.
Recorded Music New Zealand CEO Damian Vaughan says: “We are thrilled to bring the Artisan Awards to Wellington and shine a light on the incredibly talented people bringing world-class quality to Aotearoa’s music industry. This is the third iteration of the Artisan Awards, and every year the calibre of the finalists continues to impress!”
Artisan Award Finalists:
Best Album Cover:
- Jaime Robertson & Matthias Heiderich - In Spaces EP (Sola Rosa)
- Barny Bewick - Seven (Cairo Knife Fight)
- Tami Neilson, Ashley Church, Xoe Hall, Jules Koblun - Sassafrass! (Tami Neilson)
Best Engineer:
- Chris Chetland - Rangatira (REI)
- Simon Gooding, Tom Larkin, Scott Seabright, and Samuel Sproull - Tū (Alien Weaponry)
- Jordan Stone & Simon Gooding - Out Of Silence (Neil Finn)
NZ On Air Best Music Video:
- Chris Graham – ‘Black Crow’ (Louis Baker)
- Shae Sterling – ‘Bloodlines’ (The Adults ft Estère & JessB)
- Marlon Williams – ‘Vampire Again’ (Marlon Williams)
Best Producer:
- Estère - My Design, On Others' Lives (Estère)
- Simon Gooding, Tom Larkin, Hammerhead - Tū (Alien Weaponry)
- Neil and Liam Finn - Out Of Silence (Neil Finn)
Music Teacher of the Year:
- Elizabeth Sneyd
- Jane Egan
- Judith Bell
On the same day the awards are presented a number of seminars will be held at Massey University’s School of Music and Creative Media Production:
- 11:00am – 12:00pm: Designmakers Studio with Tami Neilson, Jaime Robertson, Barny Bewick, and Ashley Church with a focus on design.
- 12:30pm – 1:30pm: Filmmakers Studio with Shae Sterling and David Ridler with a focus on music video making.
- 2:00pm – 4:00pm: NZ Music Producer Series masterclass with Sylvia Massy, Gil Norton, Clint Murphy and moderated by Greg Haver.
The VNZMA Artisan Awards will be presented at a ceremony at Massey University’s School of Music and Creative Media Production in Wellington on Monday, 5 November.
The Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards will be broadcast live on TV Three on 15 November from 8.30pm. Tickets are on sale now, $35 general admission + booking fee, available from Ticketmaster.
