It’s time: the seventh annual Drum&BassArena Awards are open for business. From now until October 15 our sole mission is this… To encourage as many drum & bass fans to get involved and show some love and get behind their favourite artists and crews in the scene.
Last year’s awards was our largest, most successful award ceremony to date with tens of thousands of votes from over 147 countries. We want to top that this year and reflect an even broader vision of the global phenomenon.
Drum & bass is worldwide, it punches its weight on both the underground and mainstream worlds and it’s one of the most technically perplexing genres that’s home to some of the most daring sound design. From liquid lushness to facemelting tech via balls-out jump-up and twisted, future-flexed jungle: no other genre has spawned so many little subgenres and scenes, no other genre has such a passionate community.
It’s time to turn that passion into actual gold. There are thousands of hard working individuals in the scene. Beyond the DJs, producers and MCs are stacks of enterprising independent labels, promoters, agents, managers, video makers and many more D&B enthusiasts contributing to the wider scene, supporting the scene from every angle. This is our opportunity to make sure their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed… Here are seven reasons why you should vote in the Drum&BassArena Awards 2015.
Don’t be too cool…
The elephant in the room: drum & bass has tightly knit roots. Dubplate foundations were what kept the scene so insistent on quality control in the first place. That attitude still tickles down from history with many fans refusing to get involved in voting and many DJs not campaigning for votes because it might be deemed as ‘selling out’ or a bit cheesy. It isn’t. Trust us; Drum&BassArena scientists have proven that voting makes you 89% more sexually appealing and 99% more likely to have a nicer day*. This old attitude might have been appropriate in 1995 but it’s 2015 and this is an awards ceremony dedicated to the scene from a brand that’s been supporting, celebrating and documenting drum & bass since 1996. Award ceremonies don’t come any more authentic or genuine.
It’s 100% drum & bass
There are A LOT of dance music awards out there. And drum & bass barely gets a look-in on pretty much all of them. Let the EDM / house-every-weekend babies have their bottle; The Drum&BassArena Awards is one of only two genre-exclusive award ceremonies drum & bass has. Embrace this rare opportunity to get involved and support the music YOU LOVE.
Represent ALL corners of the scene!
Drum&BassArena supports and celebrates every aspect of the genre. No snobbery or beard stroking for 19 years and counting; we love and support all styles and subgenres and sub-subgenres. Our aim has always been for the Drum&BassArena Awards to reflect every aspect of the ever-evolving genre and for votes to be recognised as THE drum & bass benchmark.
And ALL corners of the globe…
Last year we had registered voters in 147 countries. That’s almost as many countries repping in the Olympics. As a result artists/labels/events from over 20 countries were nominated from South Africa to Canada to Austria and Australia. From its UK roots, drum & bass is worldwide. This is something we should all be incredibly proud of.
100% fan voted!
Okay… so it’s technically 93.75% fan-voted (the Hall Of Fame category is voted by DJs and industry insiders) but the remaining 15 categories are powered by YOU the drum & bass fan. If everyone votes then the nominations will be the most accurate representation of the worldwide drum & bass movement possible… And anyone can win.
Most D&B artists won’t spend time asking for support on social media…
Why? Because they’re too busy focussing on their actual job: making awesome music and playing in clubs. Some artists don’t even have social media accounts because that’s not their game and they’re buried waaaay too deep in their art to spend waste time on Facebook. Give drum & bass artists’ social silence a voice!
Finally: Represent!
Every year we see the same comments once the winners are announced: ‘ah man, this is bullshit!’ ‘These dudes don’t deserve to win!’ ‘My mum never hugged me as a kid!’
If you feel that strongly about who wins, then VOTE. Then tell your mates to vote. And get them to tell their mates to vote. Campaign on your favourite artist’s behalf and generate awareness of their work… Current mainstream exposure aside, drum & bass is still an inherently underground genre – spread the bass gospel and make sure your friends know exactly what type of vibes you love. They may not go as far as voting, but they’ll click the links and listen to the noises you’re sharing. You may spark an interest that they didn’t know they had. And that is what the awards are about at the end of the day: sharing the love, saluting the scene and making people aware that drum & bass is the most exciting, forward-thinking genre in electronic music. Full Stop.
*Results fabricated. Drum&BassArena does not have a science department.