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The AIM awards 2015 take place tonight. Swot up on the nominees with our 60-song Spotify playlist.
You can follow the action over on our Instagram where the team from AIM will be helping us bring you snapshots and quick chats with various nominees and attendees. Hopefully we'll catch up with everyone from Skepta to Wolf Alice (Ellie from the band is pictured above) via Simon from Bella Union and the folks from Earache.
And if the below playlist which we ran a few weeks ago isn't enough, we've also put together a pilot for the new DiS Review Show podcast which features a lot about this year's AIM Awards, as well as a chat with Metric (who used to be signed to our independent label).
The AIM awards 2015 nominees have been revealed.
To celebrate the Independent Music awards, we've made you a 60-song Spotify playlist to guide you through this year's nominees. And if you show your support for independent music by tweeting it, you'll be entered into a special draw to win a Spotify premium subscription (we'll pick a winner on September 6th).
Tweet This Playlist to Win A Spotify Subscription
Wait, what are these AIM Independent Music Awards of which you speak...?
They were set up by the Association of Independent Music (aka AIM) to celebrate the successes of labels as varied as Warp, Erased Tapes and XL. This year will be the 5th year of the awards. The ceremony takes place on September 8th at a boozy dinner bash in London. The sorts of people judging the awards included me alongside representatives from Radio 1 and 1Xtra, 6Music, XFM, The Quietus, Mixmag, The Independent, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, DIY and FACT Magazine.
And without further ado, here are this year's nominees...
AIM AWARDS 2015 NOMINEES
BEST SMALL LABEL
in association with Disc Manufacturing Services
Basick Records
Erased Tapes Records
High Focus Records
Planet Mu Records
Rocket Girl
INDEPENDENT ALBUM OF THE YEAR
in association with dotFans
Bjork – Vulnicura
Enter Shikari – The Mindsweep
Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
Ghostpoet – Shedding Skin
Jme – Integrity
The Bug – Angels & Devils
The Charlatans – Modern Nature
The Xcerts – There Is Only You
Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool
Young Fathers – White Men Are Black Men Too
Hey indie record shops! You'll be getting some of these lovely posters through this week :) @recordstoreday @ERALTD pic.twitter.com/QhyDz3grCl
— The AIM Awards 2015 (@AIMAwards) August 13, 2015
BEST DIFFICULT SECOND ALBUM
in association with XFM
Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
Holly Herndon – Platform
Nadine Shah – Fast Food
The 2 Bears – The Night is Young
Young Fathers – White Men Are Black Men Too
SPECIAL CATALOGUE RELEASE OF THE YEAR
in association with Amazon Music
Cities of Darkscorch Boardgame
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Inside the Pleasuredome
Bjork – Coloured Vinyl Catalogue Reissue
The Pretty Things – Bouquets From a Cloudy Sky
Imogen Heap – Sparks (Deluxe Boxset)
Oasis - (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? Reissue
AIM Awards judges met to decide this yr's nominees today! Here they are checking out some Special Catalogue entries. pic.twitter.com/pN7BcDpP6K
— The AIM Awards 2015 (@AIMAwards) July 2, 2015
HARDEST WORKING BAND OR ARTIST
Courtney Barnett
JME
Little Comets
Swans
Young Fathers
Nominated for 3 @AIMAwards!!!Hardest working slacker band, independent breakthrough & independent track of the year pic.twitter.com/pDjMz5NiS0
— courtney barnett (@courtneymelba) August 13, 2015
GOLDEN WELLY AWARD FOR BEST INDEPENDENT FESTIVAL
in association with AIF, voted for by readers of DIY
ArcTanGent
Barn On The Farm
Brainchild Festival
Pete The Monkey
Truck Festival
INDEPENDENT BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR
Courtney Barnett
FKA twigs
Run The Jewels
Songhoy Blues
Wolf Alice
INDIE CHAMPION
in association with CI
Camilla Pia - BBC 6 Music
Marc Riley - BBC 6 Music
Peter Guy - Getintothis
Rupert Morrison - The Drift Record Shop
Tim Burgess - Songwriter & O Genesis Music Ltd
INDEPENDENT VIDEO OF THE YEAR
in association with Vevo
Alt-J – Hunger Of The Pine
Flying Lotus – Never Catch Me
Ghostpoet – Sorry My Love, It’s You Not Me
Ibeyi – River
Son Lux – Change Is Everything
BEST LIVE ACT
in association with Jack Daniel's, voted for by visitors to Songkick
All Time Low
Alt-J
Erasure
Thunder
To Kill a King
Twin Atlantic
INDEPENDENT TRACK OF THE YEAR
in association with Spotify
Alt-J – Every Other Freckle
Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian at Best
FKA twigs – Two Weeks
Jamie XX – Loud Places
LA Priest – Oino
Major Lazer – Lean On
Mogwai – Teenage Exorcists
Neck Deep – Can’t Kick Up The Roots
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love
Wiley – On A Level
PPL AWARD FOR MOST PLAYED NEW INDEPENDENT ACT
FKA twigs
Ghetts
Jungle
Ward Thomas
INDEPENDENT LABEL OF THE YEAR
in association with Believe Digital
Epitaph Records
Erased Tapes Records
Heavenly Recordings
Planet Mu Records
Transgressive Records
Two of 2015's winners have already been decided by our esteemed judging panel, these will be awarded at the AIM Awards ceremony on 8th September.
PIONEER AWARD
in association with The Orchard
Digby Pearson - Earache Records
INNOVATOR AWARD
in association with Promostream
Peter Quicke, Matt Black & Jonathan More - Ninja Tune
25 years of Ninja Tune: kicking it with the maverick trailblazers http://t.co/Jq24u7B8FW #innovatoraward
— The AIM Awards 2015 (@AIMAwards) August 12, 2015
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC
in association with Merlin
Skepta
. @Skepta to receive AIM Outstanding Contribution Award | Music Week http://t.co/hwt8nenA50
— The AIM Awards 2015 (@AIMAwards) August 17, 2015
For more about the awards visit musicindie.com/awards
