If you’re anywhere near any drum & bass artists today, please be considerate and refrain from loud or sudden noises… There’s a strong chance they’ll be nursing a slight hangover due to our ninth annual Drum&BassArena Awards.
As always, spirits were high throughout the night as many of the scene enjoyed the rare opportunity to meet up without having to rush off to play sets or catch flights. Time to kick back, catch up, wind down and look back over another dynamic and creatively exciting year in the genre.
There was a lot to celebrate: this year three times the amount of people were given props by hosts Jenna G and Pav as, for the first time in our awards history, we revealed the second and third place awards. Adding a whole new sense of energy and victory to the awards, the new revelations provided a much wider snapshot of how the votes fell and who’s close to scooping up gold themselves in future awards. This proved exciting for likes of DRS who, as well as winning Best MC came second place for Best Vocalist and Video. A.M.C also had a great year as he scored two third place acknowledgements for Best DJ and Best Remix.
Of course when it came to straight up success stories of the night, the biggest winners of the night were Camo & Krooked. The Austrian duo won three awards outright (Best Producer, Best Track, Best Album) came second (Best DJ) and third (Best Newcomer Label). No other act came close to such a whitewash but Hospital’s presence was prominent once again as they won Best Label for the fourth year running, Best Event for Hospitality and second place for Best Festival for Hospitality In The Park.
Other highlights of the night included Pav dedicating the Best MC award to the one and only Stevie Hyper D, Andy C paying homage to Randall during hisand an emotional farewell to three talented and dearly missed artists: Dominator, Apex and Marcus Intalex. Jenna gave a heartfelt tribute to Marcus stating “Manchester wouldn’t have the voice and energy it does now without his consistency and energy”. This energy and consistency could be felt heavily during the after party as LSB paid homage with a special tribute set of Marcus’s countless musical blessings.
An emotional night on many levels, we say this every year but this year’s Drum&BassArena Awards have undoubtedly been our most highly vibed and memorable show so far. Awards aren’t to everyone’s taste but, as we always see on the night, this is a genuinely unique event. As anyone who makes the effort to come down and get involved will agree, the real winner is the music and the passionate and tight community we are all part of.
Big love all round: We’d like to thank our sponsors Cygnus Music and Beatport and every single one of you who took the time to register, get involved and vote. Without your participation the awards couldn’t happen at all. Here’s who you voted for the most this year….
Best DJ
Andy C (Winner)
Camo & Krooked
A.M.C
Best Producer
Camo & Krooked (Winner)
Noisia
S.P.Y
Best MC
DRS (Winner)
Dynamite MC
Harry Shotta
Best Vocalist
Tasha Baxter (Winner)
DRS
Charlotte Haining
Best Newcomer
1991 (Winner)
Dub Elements
Pola & Bryson
Best Club Night
Hospitality (Winner)
FABRICLIVE
Rampage
Best Festival
Let It Roll (Winner)
Hospitality In The Park
BoomTown
Best Album
Mosaik – Camo & Krooked (Winner)
Elements – Hybrid Minds
The Wrong Room – Black Sun Empire
Best Label
Hospital Records (Winner)
RAM Records
Critical Music
Newcomer Label
1985 Music (Winner)
Get Hype Records
Mosaik Musik
Best Track
Ember – Camo & Krooked (Winner)
Dominator – June Miller, James Marvel & MC Mota
The Invaderz – Turno
Best Remix
We Got It (S.P.Y Remix) – Metrik Feat. Rothwell (Winner)
Bristol (Break Remix) – Technimatic
Tap Ho (A.M.C Remix) – TC
Best Video
Tentacles – Noisia (Winner)
I Will – DRS Feat. Patife & Vangeliez
Dominator – June Miller, James Marvel & MC Mota