Arlo Parks has said that she is honoured to be shortlisted in four categories at the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Awards 2021, as the full list of nominations is revealed.
Parks won in the One To Watch category at last year’s event, and follows that success with nominations for UK Independent Breakthrough, Best Independent Track, Best Independent Album and Best Independent Video. The artist’s haul of four nominations is the most this year, with Yorkshire group Working Men’s Club scoring three.
Parks is signed to Transgressive Records – which is up for Best Independent Label – and released her debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams earlier this year. The London-based artist won the breakthrough category at The BRITs last month. She starred on the cover of Music Week alongside Moses Boyd last summer.
Parks said: “What an honour to be nominated for four AIM Awards!! This is far beyond my wildest dreams and I’m so glad my work has reached this far and touched so many, especially in these tumultuous times.”
Working Men’s Club, who join Parks in the album category, said: “It’s a real honour to be nominated for three AIM Awards, many thanks to AIM and to everyone that has backed our record. We can’t wait to be back out playing in front of real people as soon as possible.”
This is far beyond my wildest dreams
Arlo Parks
For the second year in a row, the AIM Awards will take place virtually, with the livestream set for broadcast via YouTube, Facebook and On Air on August 25. BBC Radio DJs Tiffany Calver and Jamz Supernova will host the show, while Tomorrow’s Warriors and Refugee Council are charity partners.
Tiffany Calver said: “Having presented the ceremony in 2020, this will be marking a year of the world being in a global pandemic, a year where music and community really helped so many of us get through the tough times. To be able to celebrate the innovators and independent artists that flourished through such a challenging period is a true honour. I'm so excited to be co-hosting alongside Jamz this time, and continuing to champion great music as we have both done on a weekly basis with our individual shows and channels.
AIM has announced Paulette Long OBE as the first winner of the new Diversity Champion award. Long created the UK music industry’s first Diversity Charter and is deputy chair of UK Music’s Diversity Taskforce.
In another first, this year will see two separate winners of the Indie Champion: Bandcamp and Love Record Stores. The nominees for the Best Live [Streamed] Act and PPL Award for Most Played New Independent Artist will be announced next month.
These awards represent the incredible of array of talent and breadth of success in our community
Paul Pacifico, AIM
AIM CEO Paul Pacifico: said “Every year I find myself saying how exciting and diverse the list of nominees is at the AIM Independent Music Awards, and 2021 is no exception. These awards genuinely represent the incredible of array of talent and breadth of success in our community.
“The artists and creative entrepreneurs we recognise are innovators at the cutting edge of culture. Building on our first ever virtual event last year, we’ve got some very special plans for the show in August and look forward to delivering a dynamic and spectacular interactive show.”
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been chosen by AIM to be one of their charity partners for this year’s awards. Refugees and people seeking asylum face significant challenges and we are extremely grateful to AIM for supporting our work to help some of the most vulnerable people in our society have food on their tables, a safe place to sleep and support to begin rebuilding their lives.”
Gary Crosby OBE, artistic director and co-founder & Janine Irons MBE, CEO and co-founder of Tomorrow’s Warriors added: “We are absolutely delighted that Tomorrow’s Warriors has been chosen as a charity partner for this year’s AIM Awards. AIM is doing important work for the independent music community, so we are excited and grateful to be part of such an inspiring global event at the AIM Awards and to collaborate as a charity partner."
Aly Gillani, European artist and label Rep, Bandcamp, said: “First, congratulations to Love Record Stores who have also been named an Indie Champion. We salute all the work you've done to support independent record stores this past year. On behalf of everyone here at Bandcamp, thanks to AIM and its members for this award. We've always sought to put artists first and to treat music as art, and are humbled you've chosen to highlight our work this past year and look forward to continuing to do that for many years to come
Love Record Stores co-founder Jason Rackham commented: “The team behind the Love Record Stores campaign are thrilled to receive this award. In the depths of lockdown last year we were motivated to create a social media activation to help drive revenues into record stores whilst they were forced to shutter. The campaign grew into a movement driven by the independent community and the June and December LRS events helped drive over 1.5 pounds million worth of revenues into stores. The support and passion for record stores shown by artists, labels, distributors, and the broader independent community was quite something to behold. It illustrated what a powerful engine the sector is when it comes together to create a positive call to action, and the campaign was fully embraced by the stores themselves.”
The full list of nominees for the AIM Awards 2021 is as follows:
UK Independent Breakthrough in association with YouTube Music
Arlo Parks (Transgressive Records)
Conducta (Kiwi Rekords)
India Jordan (Ninja Tune)
Rina Sawayama (Dirty Hit)
Working Men's Club (Heavenly Recordings)
International Breakthrough in association with Deezer
Bicep (Ninja Tune)
Fontaines D.C. (Partisan Records)
Jayda G (Ninja Tune)
Park Hye Jin (Ninja Tune)
Tkay Maidza (4AD)
Best Independent Track in association with Facebook
Arlo Parks - Hope (Transgressive Records)
Bonobo & Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Heartbreak (OUTLIER - Ninja Tune)
ENNY - Peng Black Girls ft. Amia Brave (FAMM)
Katy J Pearson - Take Back The Radio (Heavenly Recordings)
Lava La Rue - Magpie (Marathon Artists)
Mustafa - Air Forces (Young)
serpentwithfeet - Fellowship (Secretly Canadian)
Shygirl - TASTY (Because Music)
Squid - Narrator ft. Martha Skye Murphy (Warp Records)
Tkay Maidza - Shook (4AD)
Best Independent Album in association with Spotify
Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams (Transgressive Records)
Che Lingo - The Worst Generation (7Wallace Music)
Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg (4AD)
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises (Luaka Bop)
Krust - The Edge of Everything (Crosstown Rebels)
Moses Sumney - græ (Jagjaguwar)
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher (Dead Oceans)
Speaker Music - Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry (Planet Mu)
Rian Treanor - File Under UK Metaplasm (Planet Mu)
Working Men's Club - Working Men's Club (Heavenly Recordings)
Best [Difficult] Second Album in association with BBC Radio 6 Music
AJ Tracey - Flu Game (Revenge Records)
Bicep - Isles (Ninja Tune)
Dream Wife - So When You Gonna... (Lucky Number)
Fontaines D.C. - A Hero's Death (Partisan Records)
Leon Vynehall - Rare, Forever (Ninja Tune)
Best Independent Remix in association with SoundCloud
Bon Bon (Mike Lindsay Remix) - Songhoy Blues (Transgressive Records)
Fair Chance ft. Ty Dolla $ign & Lil B (Floating Points Remix) - Thundercat (Brainfeeder)
Megapunk (Elkka Remix) - Ela Minus (Domino)
Soulboy (IZCO Remix) - p-rallel, Greentea Peng (Different Recordings)
Sweat ft. LIZ (SOPHIE Remix) - Sonikku (Bella Union)
One To Watch in association with BBC Music Introducing
Che Lingo (7Wallace Music)
ENNY (FAMM)
Lava La Rue (Marathon Artists)
Nova Twins (Nova Twins Ltd)
TSHA (Ninja Tune)
Best Creative Packaging
AJ Tracey - Flu Game (Special Edition) (Revenge Records)
Figaro de Montmartre - Emotion Soap (Figaro de Montmartre)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Eco Wax Editions (Heavenly Recordings and Flightless Records)
Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs (Rough Trade Records)
Working Men's Club - Working Men's Club (RAW Edition) (Heavenly Recordings)
Best Independent Video in association with Vevo
Arlo Parks - Hope (Transgressive Records)
Julien Baker - Hardline (Matador Records)
Kojaque - No Hands (Different Recordings)
Novo Amor – If We’re Being Honest (AllPoints)
Wesley Joseph - Thrilla (EEVILTWINN)
Best Independent Label in association with [Integral]
4AD
Dead Oceans
Forever Living Originals
Partisan Records
Transgressive Records
Best Small Label in association with Believe
Athens of the North
Finesse Foreva
Killing Moon
Sonic Cathedral
Strut Records
Indie Champion in association with MCPS
Bandcamp
Love Record Stores
Diversity Champion
Paulette Long
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