Drum&BassArena Awards 2016

Drum&BassArena Awards 2016 – Date announced

All crews unite: The 8th annual Drum&BassArena Awards are upon us!

Date: December 7 2016
Destination: Electric Brixton London
Mission: To celebrate another exciting year in D&B

It’s been an eventful 12 months: Ground-breaking releases have dented the scene across every possible corner, more new labels have launched and more D&B focused events and festivals have landed on the calendar. The return of critical key OGs has kept our roots firmly in check as the old guys make new sounds and the new guys pay homage to the old sounds – creating a healthy boundary-free fusion between sub-genres.

It’s been one helluva year and we have plenty to celebrate… And commiserate.

2016 has also seen more iconic venues across the world being threatened than ever before. Club culture is experiencing its most momentous kicking in years, and as a whole is in serious jeopardy of being suppressed and homogenised. There has never been a more crucial time for the music community to unite and protect the foundations this scene was built on.

This is your opportunity to big up the entire scene, and our opportunity to get the d&b community under one loved-up roof on our favourite day of the year.

As always the results are 100% up to YOU.

We really can’t stress this point enough… 2015 saw our biggest voting turnout to date: Over 15K votes poured in from over 145 countries. This year we want to go even bigger. The results of the Awards rest solely in your hands, and we have some brand new categories for you to consider too…

Out with the old (category), in with the new

It’s time for a remix. We’ve changed a few categories and added some new options: Following the addition of the Best Remix category last year, this year’s Awards will also include a prize for Best New Label.

We all know the big players, but it’s time the newer labels got some props for pushing the scene forward, taking risks and providing platforms for new talent. Any new label that launched since December 2013 will be eligible for the Best New Label award.

The Best Newcomer award has also been introduced: Open for all new producers, MCs and DJs, the prestigious category will take the place of previous Best Newcomer DJ, Best Newcomer Producer and Best Newcomer MC awards.

Finally, we have added the Critic’s Choice award. Voted for by drum & bass’s leading bloggers, writers, reviewers and reporters who continue to champion the music, the idea is that this award will shed light on the furthest corners of D&B’s wide, and ever-developing spectrum.

Register to vote

As always the winners are 100% voted for by YOU, so make your vote count! Register to vote and you will receive an alert when voting officially begins. The first 200 people to vote will also get a ticket to attend the awards ceremony itself at Electric Brixton on December 7. See you there!